Vulcão

Volcano (1942)

** (out of 4)

Eighth film in the Paramount series is by far the weakest so far. Lois and Clark are sent to report on an active volcano when the thing starts to go off trapping Lois inside, Superman must once again come to the rescue but all the results are rather lame. There's really not too much going on in this short, which is why it's the weakest of the series so far for me. The movie even has some fairly poor animation including one scene where we see Lois walking through the lava and yet nothing every happens to her because of it. The short also runs about a minute shorter than the previous films and all the action seems missing. There's one good sequence where Superman must save something from crashing into the lava but that's about it.

As part of sitting through the old 1940s "Superman" animated stories, I came upon the 1942 "Volcano".

I have watched it before, during my childhood in the 1980s, so it wasn't exactly anything new and undiscovered for me. However, I will say that it was nice to get to sit down and watch it again. I watched it for the first time about some 40 years after it was initially released, and then watched it against some 40 years after my first time watching it. I am sort of seeing a pattern here.

The storyline in "Volcano" was pretty straight forward. However, I found the story that Bill Turner and Carl Meyer wrote for this particular short animated feature to be a bit too simplistic. Sure, it is limited what you can manage to accomplish in just 8 minutes, but some of the other stories from the same era were more well-rounded.

Sure, "Volcano" was watchable and enjoyable, and definitely felt like something in the spirit of "Superman". The narrative was just a bit too generic and predictable.

All in all watchable for what it was. My rating of "Volcano" from directors Dave Fleischer and Willard Bowsky lands on a six out of ten stars.

Mt. Monokoa (located on a nice little island) seems like it's about to erupt. Naturally there's a town right at the base of the mountain. Reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane are sent to cover the story for the Daily Planet. While there Lois hides Clark's press pass so she can see the mountain for herself and "scoop" him on the story. While Lois is at the top of the mountain it explodes! She's trapped up there with the lava flowing all around. Superman is around but how can he save her and the entire town?

Very good cartoon--quick-moving, beautifully animated and some very nice sequences when the volcano explodes. Never a dull moment--I especially like how Lois tries to escape from the lava! Worth catching.

Lois Lane acts in the most selfish of ways, endangering the life of Clark Kent for her own gain. Yes, she is a successful reporter, but if it weren't for Superman, she would be in a cemetery. In the one she steals his press pass, not allowing him to investigate the eruption of a major volcano which endangers a whole village and herself. She doesn't know that Clark is Superman (one of those amazing things, but that's the way it is). Superman is there, naturally, but her actions make it incredibly hard to do his job. He must divert a lava flow and keep a mass of the molten rock off our fair maiden's head. There are some nicely drawn scenes concerning the erupting volcano.

In VOLCANO, Superman must save a village from annihilation while also rescuing the adventurous Lois Lane. A volcano has erupted, spewing lava.

Another entertaining entry in the Fleischer brothers' animated series. True to the formula, Lois goes off on her own, leaving Clark behind. Soon enough, it's up to Superman to save her and everyone else.

Lots of volcano action ensues. The template for all future superhero films has been set firmly in place...