DVD review: “Max Fleischer’s Superman: 1941-1942”
A high point of early animation comes to DVD with “Max Fleischer’s Superman: 1941-1942.” These 17 war-era cartoons originally released by Paramount get an official release from Warner Bros.
Since the cartoons themselves are in the public domain, cheap reproductions of them have been available for years. These remastered editions, however, are much higher quality. Hardcore Superman fans may already own these remastered editions, as they were split between the special editions of “Superman: The Movie” and “Superman II” in 2006.
The DVD is marked “not for children – for adult collectors,” which likely has to do with the racial stereotypes that were commonplace in 1941 and 1942 but are glaring now.
Extras include “The Man, the Myth,” which talks about superhero archetypes in mythology, and “First Flight,” which examines animation and the rotoscoping technique used in the “Superman” cartoons. Bruce Timm talks about these cartoons’ influence on “Batman: The Animated Series” in “First Flight.” The Fleischer “Superman” cartoons are even more fluid, however. The facial expressions, detailed backgrounds and smooth movements are still among the best in 2-D animation.
- Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
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good review, thanks for the info.