The Mechanical Monsters

Mechanical Monsters, The (1941)

*** (out of 4)

Second in the Fleischer/Paramount series has another mad scientist moving into town and bringing along his giant robots. He sends these robots out to steal money and jewelry, which gets reporter Lois involved but of course she's taken hostage and Superman must save the day. I found this film to be much more entertaining than the first because, while the stories are just a like, this one here features much more action, which makes the film overall more exciting. I really liked the monsters this time out and especially the way they were drawn. I also liked most of the action sequences including the best one, which involves Superman having to use his cape to stop some burning fluids from getting on Lois. The story itself was rather weak and unoriginal but it's good enough to make this short worth watching.

Another mad scientist has constructed a bunch of giant robots to rob banks and jewelry for him. They also can transform themselves into planes and fly to their targets (!!!). Lois Lane hitches a ride on one of the robots. The scientist discovers her and is ready to boil her alive in lava. Superman has to rescue her but he's attacked by the scientists' multiple robots...

Another great animated short. I was surprised by the violence (you see a large bunch of policeman shooting at the giant and Superman takes quite a beating from the robots) but it's still perfect for kids. Also they show Superman using his X-Ray vision--that sequence alone was just unbelievable!

Fast, fun, full of action. Just great! A 10.

Sometimes you don't realize how drab something is until you see it juxtaposed against something really bright. And so it is with this old Fleischer Superman short.

Acting as the "bright", it illustrates just how "drab" the modern world, and by extension its pop culture, has become.

The animation here is just incredible. That it was done over 80 years ago makes it even more so. Can you imagine seeing this on a big screen in 1941? They must've been scraping the audience's Jaws off of the floor.

Completely free from the ironic, relativistic and naval-gazing zeitgeist of the 21st century, this "Oh, boy!"/"Gee whiz!" little serial is a breath of fresh air.

The Mechanical Monsters see's the return of our favourite superhero as this time he takes on a villian with a small army of giant robots he uses in his jewellery heists.

Alike the others this is quaint and highly nostalgic, with action happening in time with the music, cheesy one liners and Lois Lane there simply to be saved.

At 10 minutes in length there isn't much to see but it makes up for it being a nice slice of old school wartime entertainment.

The Good:

Highly nostalgic

Charming

The Bad:

Very short

Somewhat cheesy

Things I Learnt From This Short:

Every good villian needs a moustache

A villians lair isn't complete without a lava pool

I'm suddenly genuinely curious whether the police actually had tommy guns

Do you like killer robots? Well, THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS is one of the earliest appearances of these audacious automatons. Superman must battle an army of them and uncover their human master.

One of the best of the series, this short cartoon is loaded with action, including the robots robbing banks, defying the police and their puny weapons, and flying!

The boffo finale pits Superman against all of them!

Innovative and meticulously animated, the Fleischer brothers really made a quality series of cartoons here. The robots themselves are wonders to behold. Their lair, complete with charging stations, is also worth mentioning.

A true blast from the past that's built to last!...