DVD Review: Max Fleischer's Superman 1941 - 1942
Warner Home Video Brings Classic Paramount, DC Cartoons to DVD
Apr 21, 2009
How can you make a hard-bitten animation writer squeal like a little kid? Throw Max Fleischer's Superman 1941 - 1942 into your DVD player. This DVD contains all 17 theatrical cartoons that Paramount Pictures produced in the early days of World War II.
Full of innovative animation and storytelling, these War-era shorts are a crucial first step towards the modern superhero cartoons enjoyed by big and little kids alike. Now these groundbreaking and highly influential shorts have been restored and collected into a two-DVD set by Warner Home Video.
If you enjoy animated shows like Batman TAS or the recent Wonder Woman direct-to-DVD feature (also reviewed on this site), you must check out these shorts.
Max Fleischer Studio's Superman: Classic 1940's Theatrical Cartoons
In 1939, Paramount Pictures asked animation pioneer Max Fleischer to produce a serious of theatrical animated shorts about the Man of Steel. Reluctant to commit to such a massive project, Fleischer high-balled Paramount with an offer of $100,000 per episode (about $2.6 million in today's dollars). Paramount fired back an offer of $50,000 and Fleischer agreed, outmaneuvered at his own game.
These shorts were an instant sensation: Fleischer used his pioneering rotoscoping techniques (still in use in many studios) to animate Superman, using techniques and visual effects that still thrill today. He also convinced voice actors Bud Collyer (Superman/Clark Kent) and Joan Alexander (Lois Lane) from the popular Superman radio show to reprise their roles. Many of these shorts literally wrote the Superman mythos, detailing and increasing his powers (instead of "leaping tall buildings in a single bound," he now flew through the air).
Despite their success, Paramount took over Fleischer's studio after 9 shorts, using a feud between Fleischer and his director brother David as an excuse for the takeover. Paramount then dramatically trimmed costs and changed the tone of the series.
Unlike the Fleischer shorts – where Superman battled thieving robots, Ice Age monsters and mad scientists – Paramount showed the Man of Steel doing his patriotic duty, thwarting Wartime spies ("The Japoteurs," "Destruction Inc.") and destroying enemy shipping in Japan itself ("Eleventh Hour"). Despite their success, Paramount canned the series after 17 episodes, citing the high cost of making the shorts.
1940's-Era Superman: Caricatured Minorities and Lois Lane in Peril
Even though these shorts were incredibly innovative, they were still products of their time, and many of the themes and depictions might offend more politically sensitive viewers.
For instance, feminists will likely seethe at the portrayal of Lois Lane. Although she performs minor acts of heroism (alerting people, saving a child from a rampaging gorilla), her main job is to get into peril so that Superman can pull her out of danger.
The other big concern is the portrayal of minorities. Shorts like "The Japoteurs" and "Eleventh Hour" were made after the US had joined World War II and the caricatured images of evil Japanese spies and soldiers are pretty broad: slit eyes, round glasses, and buck teeth, just to name a few. Other minorities were caricatured as well, especially the Jewish-looking mad scientist in the first short (to be fair, the Fleischers were Jewish themselves, so it's harder to argue anti-Semitism in that one).
That's why Warner Home Video warns that the DVD is "intended for the adult collector and is not suitable for children." That's a bit harsh, considering the violence in these shorts is pretty tame by modern standards, but parents should still consider themselves warned.
DVD Extras
Considering how revered and influential these theatrical cartoons were (Bruce Timm calls them a major influence on the look of Batman TAS), this DVD set isn't as lavish as one might think.
There are two featurettes: "First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series" offers interviews with former Fleischer employees, current DC staff and animation historians who talk about how important these shorts were to the history of animation.
"The Man, the Myth, Superman" looks at Twentieth Century superhero myth as part of a larger cultural mosaic, comparing Superman to classic heroes like Herakles or Gilgamesh. Both these featurettes are on the short side, and could use more analysis.
Finally, there's a sneak peak at Green Lantern: First Flight, plus a preview for the already-released Wonder Woman DVD.
The Final Analysis
Even though these classic Superman shorts are giddy fun to watch, they are definitely a product of their pre-feminist, World War II era time. That said, such concerns are a pretty poor reason not to check out these classic animated shorts.
Max Fleischer's Superman 1941 - 1942 gets an 8/10.
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