| FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF ANIMATION The Superman animated cartoons listed above, commonly known as the "Fleischer Superman cartoons" are part of a series of seventeen (17) animated Technicolor short films, released by Paramount Pictures between 1941 and 1943. They are based upon the comic book character Superman and are seen as some of the finest animated cartoons produced during The Golden Age of American animation (1930s-40s). "NEW MUSIC" SOUNDTRACKS These 8 animated films feature new music composed and recorded by John Pritchard with keyboardist Adam Holzman adding inventive tracks to 5 of the films. Each soundtrack has been selected to provide an alternative cinematic experience and avoid rehashing the characteristic adventure theme music of the original cartoons. The new soundtracks provide minimal dialogue and musical motifs to advance the storyline. Instead the music aims to provide more presence to the engaging film noir style of the Fleischer Brothers' imagination and celebrate the sheer visual beauty of their unique work. These are some of the greatest animated films ever made. While the Superman cartoons were originally made for Saturday matinees during World War II, they can be appreciated today as high forms of art, like any Picasso or Van Gogh. THE ORIGINAL SUPERMAN SERIES BY THE FLEISCHER BROTHERS ON DVD  $9.99 Amazon.com Catch the original animated adventures on DVD with the complete 1941-1943 Paramount Superman cartoon classics! Legendary animation innovators Max & Dave Fleischer were the first to bring Superman to theater screens, only four years after the comic book hero's debut. Capturing the comic book spirit better than any live action film with the stunning early art-deco look of the original Superman/Action Comics era and a film noir feel, these stylish adventures proved so powerful that they influenced every Superman production afterward. Now restored to their best possible quality, these 17 animation masterpieces are presented in superbly clear quality! FEATURING: Superman (Pilot), Mechanical Monsters, Billion Dollar Limited, The Arctic Giant, The Bulleteers, The Magnetic Telescope, Electric Earthquake, Volcano, Terror on the Midway, Japoteurs, Showdown, Eleventh Hour, Destruction Inc., Mummy Strikes, Jungle Drums, The Underground World, & Secret Agent. |
| "The Arctic Giant - 1942" 8:34 min. soundtrack by John Pritchard and Adam Holzman The original 1942 soundtrack was composed by Sammy Timberg and can be heard at the bottom of this page via YouTube.com. The Arctic Giant February 27, 1942 Director: Dave Fleischer Animation: Willard Bowsky, Reuben Grossman Story: Bill Turner, Ted Pierce Musical Arrangement: Sammy Timberg In Siberia, scientists discover a giant dinosaur frozen in ice. They bring it America and display it in a museum, still encased in ice. The Daily Planet's editor receives a call from a professor saying that the monster might still be alive. At the museum Lois is getting a tour of the refrigeration unit when a can of oil falls into a generator, causing serious malfunctions. Workers race to get the system working again while the ice thaws and the dinosaur awakens. It breaks free of the ice and destroys the building, trapping Lois inside. The Daily Planet receives word of the event, and Clark changes into Superman. He frees Lois of the rubble, then uses a boulder to fix a dam that the creature broke. The dinosaur lumbers through a river and breaks through a bridge, which Superman supports and ties up with thick metal cords. Lois enters a sporting arena and reaches an upper level to take photographs of the beast. Superman hurls a metal cord from the bridge at the dinosaur, tying it up. It is close enough to Lois that it catches her in its mouth, but Superman pries its jaws open and rescues her. Superman subdues the creature and Lois writes about the adventure, saying that the dinosaur will be on display. The dinosaur is listed in the museum as a "tyrannosaurus." There was no such creature in real life, but there is the commonly known "tyrannosaurus rex." Though this monster is obviously based on a T-rex, it is good that it is named differently, as it looks more like Godzilla and is likewise as huge as a skyscraper, whereas a T-rex was nowhere near as big.
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