Superman (1940s animated film series)

Superman
Title card from the first Superman animated short produced by Fleischer Studios.
Directed by
Story by
  • Seymour Kneitel
  • I. Sparber
  • Bill Turner
  • Tedd Pierce
  • Dan Gordon
  • Carl Meyer
  • Jay Morton
  • Robert Little
Based on
Produced byMax Fleischer
Sam Buchwald
Dan Gordon
Seymour Kneitel
I. Sparber
StarringBud Collyer
Joan Alexander
Julian Noa
Jack Mercer
Jackson Beck
Music bySammy Timberg
Winston Sharples (uncredited)
Lou Fleischer (uncredited)
Animation by
  • Steve Muffatti
  • Frank Endres
  • George Germanetti
  • Myron Waldman
  • Willard Bowsky
  • Reuben Grossman
  • Orestes Calpini
  • Graham Place
  • Thomas Moore
  • Arnold Gillespie
  • Otto Feuer
  • Jimmy Davis
  • Nicholas Tafuri
  • William Henning
  • David Tendlar
  • H.C. Ellison
Color processTechnicolor
Production
companies
Fleischer Studios (1941–1942)
Famous Studios (1942–1943)
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
September 26, 1941 –
July 30, 1943
Running time
10 minutes (one reel)
LanguageEnglish

The Fleischer Superman cartoons are a series of seventeen animated superhero short films released in Technicolor by Paramount Pictures and based upon the comic book character Superman, making them his first animated appearance.

They were originally produced by Fleischer Studios, which completed the initial short and eight further cartoons in 1941 and 1942. Production was resumed in May 1942 by Famous Studios, a successor company to Fleischer, which produced eight more cartoons in 1942–1943. Superman was the final animated series initiated by Fleischer Studios before Famous Studios officially took over production.[1]

Although all entries are in the public domain,[2] ancillary rights, such as merchandising contract rights, as well as the original 35 mm master elements, are owned today by Warner Bros., which has also owned Superman's publisher, DC Comics, since 1969. In 2023, Warner Bros. released a Blu-ray set containing the 17 cartoons, taken from high-definition restorations of the original 35mm source elements.[3][4][5]

  1. ^ Barrier, Michael (1999). Hollywood Cartoons. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 303-305. ISBN 0-19-516729-5.
  2. ^ Rossen, Jake (2008). Superman Vs. Hollywood: How Fiendish Producers, Devious Directors, and Warring Writers Grounded an American Icon. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-56976-501-2. Archived from the original on May 30, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  3. ^ Nash, Anthony (March 8, 2023). "Max Fleischer's Superman Cartoons Get Blu-ray Release Date". ComingSoon.net – Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  4. ^ Dar, Taimur (March 8, 2023). "Max Fleischer SUPERMAN shorts get remastered Blu-ray release". Comicsbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "MAX FLEISCHER'S SUPERMAN 1941–1943". DC. Archived from the original on March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.