Cartoon Wars 1.03

Superman Inspired Anime

Two techniques used by Fleischer Studios were rotoscoping and animating over films of live actors. These techniques were first seen by lots of people in Gulliver's Travels. They also used these techniques in the Superman cartoons. 

The first Fleischer Superman cartoon was originally supposed to be a movie. It was so successful as a short that the studio was commissioned to do 8 more.

Mr. Bug Goes to Town was the 2nd full length movie for the Fleischer Studio but it was too expensive and it was released on Dec 7, 1941. Fleischer studios went out of business. Dave and Max Fleischer stopped working together.

Max went on to work for Jam Handy Studios where he worked on cartoons like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Dave struck a deal with Paramount which led to the founding of Famous Studios. Famous Studios finished up the run Superman cartoons in 1943. Some of the Superman cartoons made by Famous Sudios included racist caricatures of Africans and Japanese people.

There are clips of most of the Superman cartoons made by Fleischer and Famous Studios.