Superman Classic! New Cartoon Short!

[Mr Vim]

I stumbled onto this the other day, and have been enjoying it so much.

A Disney animator, Robb Pratt produced his own Superman cartoon! It reminds me very much of the Fleischer cartoons, plus it is set to the score of the old serials!

Here is the link to youtube, enjoy folks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2WVlmNqMMs

 

[The Wolf]

That was quite cool.
I'm glad you found it.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Doctor Strange]

Meh. I don't like the character designs, and it reminded me too much of Sky Captain.

While I have adored the Fleischer shorts for nearly 50 years - and own many copies of them on Super 8, 16mm, VHS, and DVD - and believe that they are unsurpassed in the (admittedly small) category of dramatic theatrical short cartoons, the Superman depicted in them is downright embryonic, just a three-year-old character with few of the traits of the mythos to come.

My favorite animated version is the late-nineties animated series, which (like B:TAS before it) found the right combination of 50 years of comics/films/TV lore and came up with one of the definitive interpretations. Sure, a bit too much of it is taken up with just dumb slugfests, but the smarter episodes are great. And Dana Delany's voicing of Lois is my favorite take on the character since Phyllis Coates.

Coincidentally, I just ordered a copy of S:TAS from Amazon yesterday - the entire series (54 episodes on 15 discs) for just $21. I call that a super-bargain!

 

[dhermann1]

I would somewhat agree with the good Doctor, tho not with quite such a harsh tone. I don't mind the more angular drawing style on the characters, but I would like to see more of the pyrotechnics the Fleischer cartoons were famous for. I just saw a double feature of 30's classics in a classic Loew's movie palace, and that experience made me really try to imagine the Fleischer Superman cartoons on the big screen. It must have been awesome!
If you watched this clip on the Youtube site, there are links adjacent to a couple of the original Fleischer versions. Interesting comparison.
But I would certainly encourage these guys to take another stab. They have captured some, but not all, of the spirit and feeling of the earlier cartoons.

 

[Mr Vim]

21 bucks? You're a lucky man Doc, I'm looking for that.

And I agree, it is a good first attempt. This fella did that all on his own...

 

[Atomic Age]

Meh. I don't like the character designs, and it reminded me too much of Sky Captain.

Not too surprising when you consider that Sky Captain was heavily influenced by the Max Fleischer Superman cartoons.

Doug

 

[Doctor Strange]

Of course.

But while I was watching it, this new animation had me immediately thinking about Sky Captain rather than "Mechanical Monsters". That kind of gut reaction indicates to me that it's a bit off base, at least if it's really trying to honor the Fleischer approach.

 

[Mr Vim]

I was talking with an artist friend the other night who used to work for Hanna Barbara, she told me about some of the Disney animators had a very specific style and after drawing so much the same way for so long, it is a tough habit to break.

Having said that, I really dug the background plates, those were awesome. I would love to see this guy keep going with some different stuff.

 

[The Wolf]

Maybe Rob Pratt should do something similar but with Doc Savage and his crew.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Lady Day]

The character designs seemed a bit dwarfy to me but the animation was lovely. Hell, Im just ecstatic to see something done in 2D!

LD

 

[hbenthow]

I don't much care for the style he drew the characters in, but other than that, it's pretty good.

 

[resortes805]

Superman finally made an appearance on Batman: Brave and The Bold, tons of in-jokes for those familiar with Superman's golden and silver age reputation as a superdi........fferent person.