Poe’s Saturday Cartoon – THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS (1941)

Today on Poe’s Saturday Cartoon we continue our “seven deadly sins” series and focus in on that one sin that beats up on gamblers, politicians and criminal masterminds: greed. To do this I will be showing a classic Fleisher Studios Superman cartoon titled THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS.

The Superman series produced by the Fleishers in the early 1940s were among some of the most strikingly animated films of their time. Hugely influential, the shorts have inspired such later day artists as Frank Miller, Hayao Miyazaki and Alex Ross. Produced early on in Superman’s career, the cartoons were actually responsible for the man of steel being able to fly, as the early comics only had him “super leaping’” around from place to place. Fleisher animators found this ability difficult to continuously animate and with permission from DC Comics they gave Clark Kent’s alter ego the ability to soar through the air.

THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS is the second short in the series. In it, Superman does battle with a criminal mastermind who is using a robot army to rob museums of their priceless jewels. Full of action and realistic animation, the cartoon features some incredible visuals including a wonderful bit where a number of policemen battle a robot with Tommy Guns (this sequence inspired the 2004 film: SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW). Also noteworthy is the excellent background animation in the criminal mastermind’s secret lair.

So buckle up cartoon and comic book fans for one of film’s greatest interpretations of a super hero. And I have to wonder; if the Fleishers had given us their take on Batman, would he be flying around today as well?



Zevk,
Poe