Max Fleischer's Superman 1941-1942

The Fleischer Superman cartoons of the 1940s are among the most influential theatrical film productions in the history of animation and comic book media. They were produced by Max and Dave Fleischer (Dave as director) in between 1941-2 and subsequently, when Fleischer Studios dissolved after the first season of nine installments, they were tackled by Famous Studios from 1942-3, completing the next eight productions. These short films were shown in theatres as compliments to the screening feature films, and the Fleischers were given a big budget of $50,000; resulting in some of the most lavish, bright and meticulously plot-driven animated shorts produced during the golden age of American cinema.Originally distributed by Paramount Pictures, these seventeen shorts have garnered much praise as the first animated visual depiction of the Man of Steel, being in only three years of publication at the time, alongside his supporting cast of Lois Lane and Perry White. As such, the Fleischer shorts portray a Superman who is slightly different from his modern-age incarnation and, in my eyes, he is more of a representation of the original Superman of Earth-Two within the pre-crisis DC Multiverse (in which DC's golden-age characters reside). This Superman hails from a Krypton that was inhabited by a highly advanced civilisation before it's destruction, with abilities that far outweighed its Earthen counterparts, such as near-impenetrable skin, super strength and the ability to leap long distances in the blink of an eye. At this time of the character's publication, Superman was merely portrayed as leaping and jumping and it was the Fleischer series of shorts that gave him his famous flying ability, as this would apparently look far more visually aesthetic than having him leaping everywhere in a somewhat limited manner. Bud Collyer and Joan Alexander provide the voices of Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane, respectively, in the same vain as they voice their characters in the 'Adventures of Superman' radio show and, subsequently, during the first season of the animated, Filmation produced 'New Adventures of Superman' in 1966.Regarding plots, the generic make-up of each short generally includes having Lois becoming embroiled in some sort of trouble whilst attempting to scoop a lead story ahead of Superman's altar-ego, Clark Kent. He, then, changes in the shadows to Shelley Timberg's iconic musical score, into the Man of Steel before dispatching of the story's villain(s) or threat(s). In the first series of nine shorts, produced by the two Fleisher brothers, the plots are driven with a more science-fiction theme with robotic machinations, Godzilla-esque beasts and mad scientists bent on global corruption. The second series of eight shorts, which were handled by Famous Studios on behalf of Paramount, turn away from science-fiction elements and focus more on war-time topicality, having Superman go up against stereotypical portrayals of Japanese saboteurs and Nazi soldiers, with Hitler, himself, making a cameo appearance at the end of 'Jungle Drums'. It must be noted that, of course, these portrayals can be seen as grossly stereotypical and racially offensive by today's standards. However, it is important to remember that this type of war-time propaganda is part of our world history and it must be seen through the eyes of a 1940s audience. Lest we forget, this was a time in which the whole world was up in arms and the Nazi threat was all around. The world has moved on, and the racial stereotypes presented here are simply a reminder of a time in which the world was heavily divided. As such, this particular DVD set has been deemed as 'intended for the adult collector and...not suitable for children'. Because of all seventeen shorts falling into the public domain after their copyright policies were not renewed, there have been a plethora of home video releases on VHS and DVD, which still continue to be churned out to this day. However, these releases are neither official nor authorized by the current owners of the master prints (Warner Brothers) and they are usually of variable quality.This two-disc DVD set, entitled 'Max Fleischer's Superman: 1941-1942' and released in April of 2009, is the first official and authorized set of the Fleischer shorts, distributed by Warner Brothers and 'remastered from superior, original vault elements'. The animation has been cleaned up to a more than reasonable standard, and the rotoscopic motion of the characters seem much more fluid, with environments that show detailed precision. As opposed to the many unofficial releases in circulation, this set is a true testament to the Fleischer brothers, presenting their work in the way these iconic short theatrical films should be seen - in vivid and bright detail. The seventeen entries, lasting 145 minutes in total, are presented over two disks, with the first disk holding the first nine instalments of the series produced by Fleischer Studios, and the second disk holding the eight remaining Famous Studio-produced series of shorts. There are optional subtitles provided for the English hard-of-hearing and for the French-speaking audience, and the shorts are presented in full-frame format, 'preserving the aspect ratio of their original theatrical exhibitions'. Regarding special features, Warner has provided an exclusive sneak peek at the, then, upcoming DC Universe animated feature 'Green Lantern' on the first disk, which gives some background information on the origins of the Green Lantern character, as well as storyboard concepts and cast and crew interviews exploring their motivations for crafting the film. On the second disk, two featurettes are provided, lasting roughly ten minutes or so each. 'The Man, the Myth, Superman' explores the tradition of superhuman heroes on the page and screen, stretching from the ancient Roman and Greek myths of Hercules and Mercury to the more contemporary comic-book adaptations that are so prevalent in both literature and in the media. The final featurette, entitled 'First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series', explores the origins and influence that these shorts have had on past, present and future interpretations of the Man of Steel and on animation and storytelling in general.Among the many DVD releases that contain the Fleischer Superman shorts, this official and authorized set stands tall above the rest. For golden age animation fans and lovers of comic-book lore, 'Max Fleischer's Superman: 1941-1942' finally provides these historic theatrical thrills with a worthy outlet and gives the heartened collector an appreciative nod in the process.

the definitive Superman production (as if you really had to ask) is the film series starring Christopher Reeve. second place is a little cluttered, though, consisting of the George Reeves tv series, the Kirk Alyn matinee serials...and the first ever animated Man Of Steel. cartoon producers Max and Dave Fleischer did admittedly have a couple of more successful properties in their stable in Popeye and Betty Boop, but their masterpiece is easily the all too brief series of 17 Superman shorts.it's not simply the Superman fan in me speaking. it was indeed the former Kal-El's introduction to the Silver Screen, but that is but one of a number of things that make the series a milestone in the art of animation.most obviously, it was the very first, literally first ever, action/adventure (or otherwise non-comedic) cartoon production. animation was largely considered to of been meant to be whimsical by nature (possibly because it was so obviously a cousin of the comic-strip), so whoever suggested this was literally flying in the face of conventional wisdom. it demonstrated that animation, like so much else, was capable of things other than that with which it was generally associated.further ground was broken by unprecedented production values. cartoons hadn't yet had to bother with recognizable environments, so the likes of Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse occupied a sort of limbo world, which was meant to be surreal anyway. in this case however, because Superman was well known to be based in a composite of New York City, it was incumbent upon the animators to make sure the New Yorkness of Metropolis was unmistakable.it was also the first time animation had been designed to reflect how the human body moved. this was achieved by a technique known as "rotoscoping," which basically amounts to filming actual people and modelling the cartoon on that footage. it sounds simple, but it was a new enough approach to make an impression.it even contributed a thing or two to the still burgeoning Superman continuity. (the comic book was only a few years old at the time.) initially, for instance, our hero simply leaped, as in "tall buildings in a single bound." it was under the Fleischers' auspices that he began to fly. also, his first nemesis herein, identified only as The Mad Scientist, could almost be called a prototype for Lex Luthor. when he premiered in the comic a few years later, about all Lex hadn't inherited was the Mr. T hairstyle and the pet raven.(you can tell how early this is in Superman's life from the relative absence of Jimmy Olsen, not to mention the suspiciously even disposition of Perry White.)it hadn't been much earlier that Superman's radio adventures premiered, so it was only logical to enlist radio actors Bud Colyer (Clark Kent) and Joan Alexander (Lois Lane) for the big screen incarnation. Colyer's most significant angle on the role was to play Clark in a softer tenor voice, but becoming a booming baritone upon becoming Superman. this not only established a line between the characters, but suggested one plausible reason why the Daily Planet staff never recognized their hero as one of their coworkers. curiously, that duality is only used here in the aforementioned Mad Scientist episode. from there on in Colyer only used the baritone voice, most likely because this incarnation of Superman turned out to be a man of so few words.most importantly, though, they still pack the same whollop as ever. it's like Star Wars, which is well noted for having broken new ground technologically even in an age when said innovations are so de rigueur that they're harder to feel in the film than they once were. similarly, the Superman series has as strong a sense of drama and excitement as one could hope for, which it was able to fall back on once the revolution it introduced had become the status-quo. (fittingly, there are those who call this series the Star Wars of cartoons.) some have criticized these cartoons for being a little scanty on story, but they don't actually do too badly, considering that they run an average of 8 to 10 minutes. they manage to be quite engrossing.but alas, it's reign was all too brief. there were a total of 17 installments over two years. there are any number of potential reasons it was such a blip on the radar. given the ground it broke, it may of become too complicated and/or expensive to maintain. it's also possible that the Fleischers and company simply underestimated it. unlike producer Alexander Salkind and director Richard Donner, who knew that they were dealing with a significant piece of lasting Americana, Max and Dave were, for all intents and purposes, contributing to that mythos. you can never tell what's gonna have staying power. truth to tell, in the days before television syndication and/or home-video, posterity wasn't necessarily an issue.but either way it was fun while it lasted, and it remains the very best Superman cartoon production ever mounted (or likely to be mounted).

I had VHS copies of many of these Fleischer films as a kid. The DVD quality seems to match my memory, if not better, and is generally good for their age. Quality does vary from film to film, however. I’m sure these are also of much better quality than most of the public domain releases of probably lesser quality, or those available for free online. This release does cost more, but that being said, I have no regrets with this purchase at all.

I have the Bosco version from years ago and enjoy it, but the quality on this edition is far superior and details pop right out that were a bit obsure before. Well worth having!

This show is amazing, the animation is great, and Lois lane is a badass in the series. I don't know why this said for " mature audiences and not for kids " .... was Lois to cool and she made the Boy Scout look not as cool to kids?

The shows are superb but as far as I can count the DVD does not include all 17 of the Fleischer's Superman. Disappointing especially since I can get other media for less.

La edición es excelente. Aunque se trata de unos dibujos animados con bastantes años de antigüedad, se encuentra editada con una muy buena calidad de imagen, a pesar de los pequeños defectos que presenta en algunos momentos la imagen debido al estado de conservación del original.La pena es que el Castellano no se encuentra entre los idiomas disponibles.