Originally written January 11, 2017

In the early 40s, Fleischer Studios produced a series of nine Superman cartoons (before being taken over by Famous Studios, who made eight more…but that’ll be for another review). This was during the age that you would go to the movies and have a short cartoon play before the feature presentation, and so these 8-10 minute cartoons would play at the beginning of a movie. These were some of the earliest superhero features to be on screen (and definitely the first time Superman was adapted from page to screen), and so they set a huge precedent for ages to come.

I’m going to do something that I don’t normally do with reviews, where instead of reviewing the collection as a whole, I want to give brief thoughts on each of the cartoons. Before I do that, I’ll just give my impression on the cartoons as a whole. I truthfully wasn’t expecting much from the cartoons since they were a very early attempt at adapting superheroes, but the cartoons are actually legitimately amazing. They feature some of the most beautiful animation seen at the time, which still holds up extremely well today. They’re short, sweet, and to the point, and they actually gave us many of the tropes that we’ve come to know and love from Superman. For example, this cartoon introduced Superman’s ability to fly, as before this in the comics he was only able to leap far distances. It’s also responsible for some of the most famous Superman lines, such as “look up in the sky!…it’s a bird!…it’s a plane!…it’s Superman!” The cartoons just have a simple charm to them that make them extremely enjoyable to watch. So, without further ado, here is my thoughts on each individual one.

Superman (a.k.a. The Mad Scientist) (1941)

The first introduction to Superman was also one of the best. This cartoon gives us an introduction to the origin of Superman, and then wastes no time in giving us a short plot centering around Superman having to save The Daily Planet from a mad scientist. It’s an awesome introduction to the character, and it stands on its own as an amazing piece of cartoon history.

4.5/5

The Mechanical Monsters (1941)

This cartoon centers around Superman having to battle an army of giant robots at the command of a mad scientist. I’m not sure exactly why, but this one is my favorite of the Fleischer cartoons. Its beautiful visuals captured my full attention, and it was amazing seeing Superman square off against the robots and save Lois from harm. This one just had real charm to it.

4.5/5

Billion Dollar Limited (1942)

This cartoon is a classic train robbery scenario. A billion dollars is being transported on a train, and robbers try to take it until Superman steps in. This one is also one of my favorites, simply because I found it to be extremely entertaining. Some of the action sequences on the train are top notch and provide genuine excitement even today.

4.5/5

The Arctic Giant (1942)

In this cartoon, a giant arctic monster (resembling something like Godzilla) thaws from ice and starts to terrorize the city. This one is highly entertaining if you like giant monsters. While it may sound simplistic, for me there was just a lot of joy to be had that came from watching Superman punch the arctic giant. It made for an extremely entertaining time.

4.5/5

The Bulleteers (1942)

This cartoon finds Superman defending the city against a gang of criminals known as The Bulleteers, who possess a bullet-shaped rocket. This was the first cartoon where I found myself slightly less interested, as I didn’t think it quite held up with the first four. However, it still is really good and at the very least still has some great action scenes.

4/5

The Magnetic Telescope (1942)

This cartoon centers around Superman trying to stop a comet from hitting Earth that is being drawn toward the planet by a magnetic telescope. I feel like around this time the Fleischer brothers might have gotten a little worn out from making the cartoons, because there were some moments in the episode that felt a little lazy. I felt like the sound quality didn’t match up as well and it felt a bit rushed. Aside from those few moments, the second half of the cartoon is still really good though.

4/5

Electric Earthquake (1942)

This cartoon is all about a scientist trying to destroy Manhattan with electrically-induced earthquakes. Where I felt like The Magnetic Telescope dipped in quality a bit, I felt like this one gained it back. There are some really entertaining moments in this episode, and it was a blast watching Superman rush around trying to save everybody from the earthquakes.

4/5

Volcano (1942)

Volcano centers around the subject of its title. In it, a volcano on a small island has stopped being dormant and is about to erupt. Superman must save its inhabitants from the volcano before the whole island is destroyed. This one probably has some of the best action sequences out of all of the cartoons, and for that I thoroughly enjoyed it. My only complaint is that it ends in a really weird way, where I felt like there was just pure destruction and that Superman didn’t really succeed.

4.5/5

Terror on the Midway (1942)

The final Fleischer cartoon takes place at a circus, where all of the circus animals escape their cages and Superman has to save everyone from the wild animals. This one was definitely my least favorite of the cartoons. It just simply wasn’t all that entertaining to watch Superman go around saving people from a gorilla. It’s still a well-produced cartoon though, so the animations still make it worth it.

3.5/5