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The Great Cartoons: Superman
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Superman in action.
Max Fleischer was, from the late 1920s through 1942, Walt Disney’s chief rival in short-form animation. Though the two men shared the marketplace during that era, their films could not have been more different. Disney’s cartoons were characterized by their lavish visual treatment as well as their regard for traditional storytelling. Fleischer’s shorts, on the other hand, were more anarchistic in both their animation and their narrative approach. If Walt’s films are analogous to classical music, then Fleischer’s work is more like jazz.
The jazzy, irreverent tone of Fleischer’s cartoons apparently found its roots in Max’s management style. More of a tinkerer than an artist, Fleischer was not as dedicated to advancing the art of animation as Walt Disney. He was also not a particularly good businessman. He saw little point in merchandising his creations which seems remarkably short-sighted when viewed through the lens of our synergistic modern culture. He also had difficulty with employee turn-over since his animators often used his studio as a springboard to employment with the more forward-thinking Disney. Max’s problems were further compounded by the fact that he owned only one of his cartoon stars outright -- Betty Boop. Popeye, arguably the studio’s biggest box office draw, came to Fleischer via a licensing deal with King Features Syndicate. The addition, in the early 40s, of Superman (another “borrowed” character) did little to aid in the long-term health of the Fleischer Studio.
Introduced in 1938, the character of Superman quickly became a sensation on both radio and in comics. When Paramount offered to license Superman to the Fleischer Studio in 1940, Max and his brother, animation director Dave Fleischer, initially balked. In his book Of Mice and Magic, Leonard Maltin says, “The story goes that a Paramount representative proposed a Superman cartoon series to the Fleischers and Dave Fleischer replied that it would be virtually impossible. With the requirements of realistic animation and special effects, the costs of doing such a series would be prohibitive. When Paramount asked how much, Dave decided to quote such a high price that the studio would immediately say no. He said $100,000 [per entry] -- four times the cost of the average cartoon. Surprisingly, Paramount said yes -- and the Fleischers were obliged to produce a Superman series.”
Superman, the 1941 cartoon which launched that series is, in modern terms, both a milestone and a disappointment. The storyline -- which concerns a mad scientist’s scheme to death-ray Metropolis out of existence -- was obviously arrived at hastily and never iterated upon. Even allowing for the film’s ten minute running time, the characters move without logic through a narrative free of dramatic tension. But Superman is not a great cartoon because of its story. It is the short’s unusual tone and subject matter as well as its visual styling which ultimately make it a success. For the most part, anthropomorphic animals and caricatured humans dominated theatrical short cartoons prior to Superman’s appearance. Here then was an alternative: an adventure cartoon done more or less straight. Though funny animals and kooky people continued to be staples for some time after the final Superman short, the impact of the series could be felt a few years later when boys’ adventure shows became a mainstay of the new format of television. Had it not been for the pioneering efforts of the Fleischer Studio, these programs might not have appeared or they may have appeared in a different form. Superman is also remarkable for its visuals. All of those artificially inflated dollars are evident on the screen. Not only do the characters and settings hew closely to their comic book counterparts, the special effects and human animation are particularly good for both the period and the short format. Perhaps the most obvious beneficiary of the Fleischer Superman legacy was Batman: The Animated Series, the landmark television show which ran from 1992 through 1999. Not only was “Batman” an adventure cartoon played more or less straight, the look of the program was remarkably similar to the 1940s animated Superman outings. The producers of “Batman” have been very candid in admitting that the Fleischer cartoons were a tremendous influence upon them.
Max Fleischer, for numerous reasons, failed to become a household name like his rival Walt Disney. Despite producing some terrific short cartoons, he was forced, in 1942, to cede control of his studio to Paramount, his distributor. Paramount changed the name of the company to Paramount/Famous Studios and continued to produce cartoons -- albeit not particularly good cartoons -- until 1967. Max himself dabbled in animation throughout most of the remainder of his life. He died in 1972, outliving Disney by six years.
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