We all know the animated classics from Walt Disney. We have fond memories of the Looney Tunes shorts from Chuck Jones, as well as the Saturday-morning comedies from Hanna-Barbara. Many of us (myself included) revere the masterworks of Hayao Miyizaki and Studio Ghibli, while the stop-motion television specials by Rankin-Bass continue to delight us every holiday season. I doubt, however, that many of us--other than the historian or "old school" circles--are as familiar with the legacy of Max Fleischer. Specifically, his influence on superheroes and comic-books adapted for the big screen.
Known for creating such iconic characters as Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailor Man, Max (along with his brother, Dave, and several fellow artists)'s animation studio is underappreciated for its technological breakthroughs in the medium during the first-half of the 1900s. And while Superman and his mild-mannered alter ego Clark Kent debuted in Action Comics in 1938, he would make his first cinematic appearance not in live-action (that was to come a few years later) but in cartoon form.
Prior to the first Superman short film debuting in September 26, 1941, cartoons were generally seen as silly and happy-go-lucky (i.e, Disney's "Silly Symphonies"). Fleischer's team went above and beyond by creating serials that were not only action-adventures, but also became benchmarks in human animation. Part of this had to do with a process known as rotoscoping, a decades-old special-effects technique where artists basically trace over live-action footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic movement. The results are lively, bold, exciting, and very cinematic even by today's standards.
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| Superman's debut in Action Comics No. 1, June 1938 |
Because this was the general public's first visualization of the Man of Steel, these cartoons established various trademarks that have become commonplace in popular culture. The look of the Daily Planet, the city of Metropolis, the character of Lois Lane (who always seems to be putting herself in dangerous situations). Even the "S" logo on Sup's chest is a red-and-black emblem (very different from the red and blue that generally comes to mind). This was also the first time audiences visually saw Superman "fly" (a trait he didn't have in the comics up to that point).
There were a total of 17 short films--nine made by the Fleischers; the remaining eight by Famous Studios. While not the most thematically heavy stories, these shorts are (and should be) seen as staples of Superman's physical strength, determination, and essentially his character and integrity. Clark Kent even winks at the audience on more than one occasion, letting us in on his little secret. If anything, these serials are basically Clark Kent and Lois Lane risking their lives for newspaper stories (as well as doing the right thing) and Superman saving the day from mad scientists, flying robots, wild animals, and rocket racers. The origins of the planet Krypton (along with Kal-El's backstory) are mentioned for only a few seconds.
If these cartoons have a downside, it's in their outdated stereotypes of World War II Japanese soldiers and other tribal characters in a few of the Famous Studios serials (i.e., "Japateurs," "Eleventh Hour," "Jungle Drums"). These were products of the 1940s, after all.
Not only are these shorts notable for popularizing various catchphrases ("Look, up in the sky . . ." or "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound," or "This looks like a job for Superman!"). They also had a major influence on subsequent filmmakers, animators, and even studios. The tyrannosaurus in "The Arctic Giant" reportedly inspired the creation of Godzilla, by Toho Studios, in the 1950s. The flying machines in "The Mechanical Monsters" are given something of an homage in Miyizaki's 1986 film Castle in the Sky, as well as Kerry Conran's 2004 special-effects feature Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and possibly even Brad Bird's now-revered 1999 animated classic The Iron Giant. Even the look and tone of Batman: The Animated Series from the 1990s--and just about every DC Animation property since--owes a great deal to the Fleischer shorts.
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