Superman 1941 | Episode 1 | The Mad Scientist | 4K, 60FPS
It may seem archaic to younger viewers today, but it was decades ahead of its time when it was released.
Some notes on the historical significance of the Fleischer Superman cartoons.
1. The Superman cartoons formed the first action/adventure/science fiction animated series, thus setting the stage for all anime, Saturday morning action TV cartoons, video games, and much more.
2. The Superman series quietly helped spread art deco and other modernist design styles in popular culture.
3. The episode "The Arctic Giant" predates the "Giant Dinosaur" film cycle by about ten years; the design of the arctic giant was clearly an inspiration for Toho's Godzilla design.
4. The drawing style of the Superman comics was quite crude, like most action comics of the time. The Superman cartoons, on the other hand, feature a smooth line style, using dark shadows for modeling. This style had a major impact on the "illustrated novel" style of comics that developed in the late 1970s, around the time the series was rediscovered by comic book/cartoon fans.
5. Apparently, Fleischer Studios simply ignored the live-action Superman series of the time. Therefore, instead of pursuing complicated plots that are only resolved through dialogue, they chose a compressed, almost dialogue-free narrative style that emphasizes the plot as achievable only through action.
6. Because of this compact narrative style, Fleischer's writers were the first to grapple with Superman's eternal dilemma: how to truly threaten a character who is all-powerful and invincible, at least to the point of plotting a motivating conflict. They aren't always successful – the episode about the runaway circus gorilla is especially unconvincing – but the effort is fascinating, especially since Superman comic book writers didn't address the issue until the 1970s (after having used the kryptonite ruse to avoid the problem for 20 years).
7. Interestingly, the Fleischer Superman series, with its greater violence and deeper themes, and its commitment to a kind of visual realism, is clearly aimed at a more mature audience than comic books or live-action series, despite appearing only as the major studios' animation workshops began to resign themselves to entertaining younger audiences.
8. The episode "The Eleventh Hour," featuring Superman acting as a saboteur in a personal war against Japan, premiered almost 3 weeks BEFORE Pearl Harbor. The Fleischers had Superman join the fight against fascism worldwide before the United States finally became involved in the battle. 9. It's true that the animated series defines its character and story differently from the comic book version; but this was when the Superman mythos was still developing, and the Fleischers were exploring possibilities for the character that comic book writers hadn't yet considered (for example, his ability to fly, his invulnerability, the strangely playful relationship between Clark and Lois, which in the cartoons has a real adult romantic attraction advantage that wasn't available to comic book writers).
It's easy to see why the Superman series didn't save Fleischer Studios from its eventual dissolution: it's dark and violent scenes of science fiction drama at a time when audiences expected cartoon animals to play pranks on each other. But it's harder to understand why it lasted so many episodes. I think the Fleischers realized they were breaking new ground and were willing to give it as much chance of success as possible. Unfortunately, they were literally decades ahead of their time. As a particular style of animation, we wouldn't see it again until the Warner Bros. TV series. Batman from the 1990s, a time when the medium was simply accepted as one of many available to animators and cartoonists.
Superman (1941) is the first installment in a series of seventeen Technicolor animated shorts based on the DC Comics character Superman. Also known as The Mad Scientist, Superman was produced by Fleischer Studios and released in theaters by Paramount Pictures on September 26, 1941. Superman ranked 33rd on a list of the fifty greatest animated shorts of all time obtained in a 1994 survey of 1000 animation professionals, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1942.