SUPERMAN - CARTOON CRAZE #1

These are all cartoons from the 40's! Probably
played as an addendum to feature movies being
shown! They are all quite short(about 10 minutes
each) with good animation and stories, especially
considering the age!!

SUPERMAN:
(Sept. 26th, 1941)

This first episode shows the origin of Superman! A-

A dude with an "Electrothanasia-Ray" is threatening
Metropolis!!! He uses this to cause havoc throughout
the city! This is a job for SUPERMAN!! B+

From an IMDb.com customer

I love the Fleischer Superman cartoons. The animation
is smooth and fluid with vivid colors. The distinct art-deco
style, vintage science fiction imagery, and use of noirish
hadows gave them a look unlike any other cartoons.
The music and voicework is superb. They're fun,
accessible, enduring animation classics.

This first of the Fleischer series is one of the finest
animated shorts ever produced. After a brief rundown
of Superman's origin, it wastes no time getting right
into the plot. The Mad Scientist (voiced by Popeye's
Jack Mercer) is threatening to use his death ray on
the city. Newspaper editor Perry White assigns the
story to his two best reporters, Clark Kent and Lois
Lane. However, Lois wants to crack the story on her
own so she hops in her plane and flies off. Yep, Lois
Lane in this short is not only a fearless reporter but
also an aviatrix! Needless to say if you are familiar
with Superman at all, Lois is captured by the bad guy.
It's up to Superman to save the day. But is he any
match for the Mad Scientist's deadly weapon? This
is a simple, fun, exciting cartoon. Some of the people
today raised on "grim & gritty" comic books might
scoff at certain elements, such as the Scientist's
comical bird sidekick or the image of Superman
punching the ray beams. Unfortunately these cynics
miss the point entirely. This cartoon is pure
unadulterated escapism. It's imaginative, fantastic
fare for those who just want to smile for ten
minutes. - utgard14

A maniac is using robots(the term used here is,
of course, mechanical monster), to loot and plunder
Metropolis! The amazing thing here is the animators
attention to detail! Just pay attention to the robots
that Superman encounters!! B+

From an IMDb.com customer

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. - Wayne Malin

A billion dollars in gold is en-route to the mint,
and Lois is on the train covering the story when,
of course someone tries to steal itl! B+

From an IMDb.com customer

A SUPERMAN Cartoon

A huge shipment of gold is being sent across
country by train. Using ultra-modern techniques,
a sophisticated gang of hooded thieves try to
waylay the gold. With intrepid reporter Lois
Lane as the only passenger on board, it's
Superman to the rescue. But now that it's
become a runaway train, can even he stop
the BILLION DOLLAR LIMITED?

This was another in the series of excellent
cartoons Max Fleischer produced for Paramount
Studio. They feature great animation and
taut, fast-moving plots. Meant to be shown
in movie theaters, they are miles ahead of
their Saturday Morning counterparts. - Ron Oliver

An archeological expedition looking for fossils
discovers a giant frozen monster!! They are
able to free it from its frozen prison, and they
bring it to the US!! Of course, mayhem is only
an accident away!! B+

From an IMDb.com customer

"The Arctic Giant," a 1942 Superman cartoon
by the Fleischer brothers, is significant in its
portrayal of a giant dinosaur on the rampage
in a major city (New York--we see the "Museum
of Natural Science," a dead ringer for the Museum
of Natural History, and a baseball stadium that
sure looks like Yankee Stadium). As such it looks
forward to both THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS
(1953) and GODZILLA (1954). BEAST featured Ray
Harryhausen's debut as a special effects director,
as he animated a stop-motion dinosaur on the
loose in Manhattan. Ishiro Honda's GODZILLA
featured a giant dinosaur (created by an actor
in a rubber dinosaur suit) looking very much
like the one in this cartoon on the loose in
Tokyo. As in the other Paramount Superman
cartoons, the animation is absolutely
breathtaking. - Brian Camp

Unless the Mayor turns over the entire funds
of the treasury, the Bulleteers will start
destroying all public buildings!! This one
is REALLY short!! B+

From an IMDb.com customer

I love the Fleischer Superman cartoons.
The animation is smooth and fluid with
vivid colors. The distinct art-deco style,
vintage science fiction imagery, and use
of noirish shadows gave them a look unlike
any other cartoons. The music and voicework
is superb. They're fun, accessible, enduring
animation classics.

The fifth in the series is about a group
of costumed criminals known as the
Bulleteers. They have a bullet-shaped
rocket car and are terrorizing the city,
destroying buildings and thumbing their
noses at the law. They also have the coolest
secret lair on top of a mountain outside
of town. The mayor tries to organize the
police to stop them but it's no use! As
the Bulleteers' rampage continues,
Superman shows up. But, as he fails
to stop them, we have to ask: are the
Bulleteers too much for the Man of Steel?

Another great Fleischer Superman cartoon,
although a step below the previous entries
in the series. The Bulleteers' rocket car
and awesome mountaintop hideout are
cool visuals like you expect from this series.
I also loved the scenes of the police
scrambling to fortify and fight back
against the seemingly indestructible
rocket car. Those little touches are
prime examples of the beauty of the
Fleischer cartoons. There's so much
going on that's just fun and exciting
to watch. - utgard14

The mayor wants the scientist who has
created a magnetic telescope to stop
using it, but he doesn't want to and
threatens the city with his experiments!! B+

From an IMDb.com customer

I love the Fleischer Superman cartoons.
The animation is smooth and fluid with
vivid colors. The distinct art-deco style,
vintage science fiction imagery, and use
of noirish shadows gave them a look unlike
any other cartoons. The music and voicework
is superb. They're fun, accessible, enduring
animation classics.

The fifth in the series is about a group
of costumed criminals known as the
Bulleteers. They have a bullet-shaped
rocket car and are terrorizing the city,
destroying buildings and thumbing their
noses at the law. They also have the coolest
secret lair on top of a mountain outside
of town. The mayor tries to organize the
police to stop them but it's no use! As
the Bulleteers' rampage continues,
Superman shows up. But, as he fails
to stop them, we have to ask: are the
Bulleteers too much for the Man of Steel?

Another great Fleischer Superman cartoon,
although a step below the previous entries
in the series. The Bulleteers' rocket car
and awesome mountaintop hideout are
cool visuals like you expect from this series.
I also loved the scenes of the police
scrambling to fortify and fight back
against the seemingly indestructible
rocket car. Those little touches are
prime examples of the beauty of the
Fleischer cartoons. There's so much
going on that's just fun and exciting
to watch. - utgard14

A disgruntled Native American(at the time
this was made they were Indians) is determined
to have Manhattan turned back over to them!!
He has constructed a device that will create
an earthquake that will destroy the city!!! B+

From an IMDb.com customer

I love the Fleischer Superman cartoons. The
animation is smooth and fluid with vivid colors.
The distinct art-deco style, vintage science
fiction imagery, and use of noirish shadows
gave them a look unlike any other cartoons.
The music and voicework is superb. They're
fun, accessible, enduring animation classics.

The seventh in the series is one of the best
and most interesting. A Native American scientist
demands the return of Manhattan to his people.
Everybody but Lois Lane believes his threats
to be empty. Lois sneaks onto the guy's
motorboat and follows him back to his secret
lair, which is a very cool underwater laboratory.
After the scientist straps Lois into a chair
ready-made to keep someone prisoner, he
begins to unleash his earthquake device on
the city. He has large electric cables connected
to the bedrock of Manhattan island and, when
he sends electric surges through the cables,
he causes earthquakes. This results in some
exciting scenes. Superman is quickly on the
job and into the water, where he discovers
the cables and proceeds to try to undo them.
This proves harder than it looks. The rest of
the cartoon is fun, non-stop action as Supes
tries to save the city from the earthquake
machine.

This is a great cartoon. The plot is a little
more detailed than the average entry in
the series and the villain is very unique.
It's also interesting that the city is explicitly
referred to as the real place of Manhattan,
as opposed to the fictional city of Metropolis
where Superman's adventures usually take
place. - utgard14

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