He brought such animated characters as betty boop, koko the clown, popeye, and superman to the movie screen and was responsible for a number of technological innovations. On the first disc, max fleischers superman, all of the story summaries and histories are the same throughout at least they were on my disc. Click on a film title to bring up more specific information about the film you can scroll through the entire list or you can sort by series, title, production company or year by clicking on the headers below. This probably might not appeal to fans of the modern day superman. Max fleischer cartoons of superman 8 episodes color 1985. The fact is both slogans were first heard in the fleischer brothers superman cartoons. They were supermans first cartoons, and their creators, dave and max fleischer, invented rotoscope. July 19, 1883 september 25, 1972 was an american animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Max fleischer 18831972 was an animator, director, and producer whose fleischer studios was one of the leading producers of theatrical animated shorts in the 1920s and 1930s, predating the arrival of walt disney.
Another concern was animating realisticlooking human figures rather than funny animals. Rocky jones, space ranger manhunt in space plus two bonus. Max fleischer was born on july 19, 1883 in krakau, galicia, austriahungary. The first animated superman series was a string of eightminute cartoon shorts produced by max and dave fleischer for fleischer studios. Max fleischers super superman cartoons lines and colors. They were released in technicolor and done in an art deco style by max and dave fleischer. Superman the mad scientist 1941 fleischer studios animated. These nine prints are sharper and brighter than the existing ia copies, and they are in the correct aspect ratio of their original theatrical releases. The first animated superman series was a string of eightminute cartoon shorts produced. The announcement of the superman series deeply concerned the fleischer brothers, max and. Max fleischer max fleischer popeye max fleischer july 19. In 1942, fleischer studios was dissolved and reorganized as famous studios, which produced the final eight shorts. This is the first of what would turn out to be 17 superman cartoons produced by the fleischer brothers for paramount studios. Superman 1941 is the first installment in a series of seventeen animated technicolor short films based upon the dc comics character superman.
How max fleischers superman impacted the characters legacy. Max fleischers superman episodes 17 theatrical shorts 19411943 reuben abrams. Only the first nine cartoons were produced by fleischer studios. Many of the slogans and attributes we ascribe to superman today originated in this series. Complete 17 episode animated cartoon serial directed by. Cartoon impresario max fleischer was the among the first to bring the printed superman comics to a. This cartoon happens to be the only episode where superman employs his xray vision. Nov 25, 2008 a shining case in point are the wonderful 8minute superman cartoons created by max and dave fleischers studio. This collectors edition set contains all episodes of max fleischers superman animated series, a collection of adventures following the iconic hero as he attempts to protect the earth from harm. An evil mad scientist threatens to attack the city at midnight. Fleischer helped pioneer the use of rotoscoping filming and tracing footage of live actors in its out of the inkwell series with koko the clown, and was granted the patent on the. As i mentioned in that post, the cartoons themselves can be viewed online via the internet archive or purchased on dvd. It is not generally known what a great influence the fleischer films had on the superman mythos.
He was a pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon and served as the head of fleischer studios. Superman animated theatrical cartoon series fleischer studios 1941 1942. The man of steel fights a mad scientist who is destroying metropolis with an energy cannon. On both discs, the restoration demonstration is impressive. Superman the lost episodes were produced after the demise of fleischer studios and the exit of dave fleischer.
They were all produced in famous studios new york facilities. On the first disc, max fleischer s superman, all of the story summaries and histories are the same throughout at least they were on my disc. Also known as the mad scientist, superman was produced by fleischer. The fleischer superman cartoons are a series of seventeen animated short films released in. This pilot episode is entitled only as superman but is also known as the mad scientist or the death ray in later releases. Fleischer superman cartoons superman cartoons produced by paramount pictures and fleischer studios, and famous studios last eight cartoons. Superman is the first installment in a series of seventeen animated technicolor short films cartoons based upon the dc comics character. Together they contain all of the superman cartoons produced in the early 1940s. Max fleischers superman episodes 17 theatrical shorts. Superman 1941 max fleischer cartoon animation series dvd. Cartoon impresario max fleischer was the among the first to bring the printed superman comics to a wide audience in these fanciful 1940s shorts featuring the man of steel saving his true love, lois lane, battling mad scientists, and thwarting nazis. The first one is superman s first appearance on the big screen and was nominated for an oscar.
The first superman cartoons produced by paramount in the early 1940s. Fastforward to the present, and warner home videos bold move of finally releasing a standalone edition of max fleischer s superman. The ultimate max fleischer cartoon collection from vci entertainment released on may 30. Between the years 1941 and 1943, paramount pictures released a series of animated superman short films. In total, seventeen episodes were completed and have been widely released. Watch superman max fleischer cartoons 19411942 starring jackson beck, joan alexander, bud collyer on dc universe. Also known as the mad scientist, superman was produced by fleischer studios and released to theaters by paramount pictures on september 26, 1941. Superman 1941 is the first installment in a series of seventeen animated. The first fleischer superman cartoon, simply named superman. Max fleischer s superman episodes 17 theatrical shorts 19411943 reuben abrams. Cartoon impresario max fleischer was among the first to bring the printed superman comics to a wide audience in these fanciful 1940s shorts featuring the man of steel saving his true love, lois lane, battling mad scientists and overthrowing nazis. Seventeen episodes in total were made, each 810 minutes long. On the lost episodes disc, the cartoons are allowed to awkwardly fade out at the ends. He is known for his work on the tantalizing fly 1919, popeye the sailor meets sindbad the sailor 1936 and the ouija board 1920.
The first disc max fleischer s superman contains the 9 superman cartoons produced by the fleischer studio, while the second disc superman. In the early 1940s, max fleischer s superman cartoons gave the man of steel an art deco flair and plenty of robots to defeat. The first onscreen superman was a gorgeous series of animated. Max fleischers superman episodes 17 theatrical shorts 1941. Beginning in 1941, fleischer studios produced nine animated segments of superman, at which point production was switched over to famous studios, where the series continued until 1943. It was founded in 1921 as inkwell studios or out of the inkwell films by brothers max fleischer and dave fleischer who ran the company from its inception until paramount pictures, the studios parent company and the distributor of its films, acquired. Max fleischer popeye max fleischer july 19, 1883 september 11, 1972 was an american animator. The lost episodes contains the 8 which were produced by famous studios.
The golden girls season 6 episode 10 girls just wanna have fun. Looking back at the classic max fleischer superman cartoons. Unlike the first nine episodes max fleischer s superman these eight are far more modern. Classic max fleischer superman cartoons are officially. Heres a brief history and some episodes of the cartoon.
Dec 03, 20 also known as the mad scientist, superman was produced by fleischer studios and released to theaters by paramount pictures on september 26, 1941. They contracted with max and dave fleischer to produce them as the. Lois writes the article concerning the mad scientists evil plot to destroy the city. The complete collection of superman cartoons from max fleischer. The mad scientist attempts to escape, but superman nabs him and flies him to prison.
The character was only four years old when paramount pictures contracted max and dave fleischer to produce a series of cartoons based on the popular character. Beginning in 1941, fleischer studios produced nine animated. Rocky jones, space ranger beyond the moon plus two bonus. The quality of the fleischer famous studios superman cartoons in this new release is the same as superman. Superman the fleischer cartoons, the complete series. In the early 1940s, max fleischers superman cartoons gave the man of steel an art deco flair and plenty of robots to defeat. Brainchild season 1, episode 9 of the tick, with the robbery committed by skippy, a cyborg dog. With bud collyer, joan alexander, jackson beck, jack mercer. Something to cure your postback friday sticker shock blues.
The pilot and first eight shorts were produced by fleischer studios from 1941 to 1942, while the final eight were produced by famous studios, a successor company to fleischer studios, from 1942 to 1943. The max fleischer superman cartoons and their creators are legendary for a number of reasons. Lois lane hops in her airplane and flies to the scientists hide out. Max fleischer cartoons of superman 8 episodes color 1985 vintage new. Born in krakow, fleischer immigrated to the us where he became a pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon and served as the head of fleischer. At first the brothers did not want to do this series. Supermans first cinematic appearance was in animated theatrical shorts first produced by fleischer studios. For more detail, see my previous post about max fleischer. By mid1941, brothers max and dave fleischer had recently finished their first animated feature film, gullivers travels, and were deep into production on their second, mister bug goes to town. Max fleischer july 19, 1883 september 11, 1972 was an american animator. In other words, the colors and clarity are bright and. Paramount pictures released a series of superman theatrical animated shorts between 1941 and 1943. Mar 29, 2019 the announcement of the superman series deeply concerned the fleischer brothers, max and dave, for a number of reasons including the fact that for the first time paramount was dictating what cartoons they would be making, and it foreshadowed future problems. From the legendary fleischer studios, these early 1940s animated theatrical cartoons represent the first time the man of steel leapt from the comic book pages to the big screen, starting a media sensation with superman that hasnt stopped since.
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