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Max and Dave Fleischer: Difference between revisions
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However, in 1933, the Fleischers acquired the license to make short subjects based on a [[Older Than They Think|popular comic strip character]] they had a fondness for called [[Popeye]]. This is easily the most recognized of the Fleischer's works, and the series was an immediate success upon release, even eclipsing Betty Boop in popularity! (which was fortunate, since by the mid-30's the [[Hays Code|Hays Office]] had cracked down on her and forced her to become [[Bowdlerized]] beyond recognition.) While usually animated quickly, and with limited time for crafting the story, the series became hugely popular, eclipsing even [[Mickey Mouse]] (to the point that at least one concerned parents organization complained that, gee, wasn't it a shame that this surly, fighting, angry sailor was more popular than the charming, well-behaved mouse ... comments that were echoed eighty years later, when someone noticed that more kids knew who [[Super Mario Bros.|Mario]] was than Mickey.)
Meanwhile, [[Executive Meddling]] from Paramount Studios (their distributor and source of finance) drove them to play [[Follow the Leader]] with [[Disney]] and [[Tom and Jerry|MGM]]'s animation studios, including both subject matter (i.e. Their ''[[Color Classics]]'' lineup, which were shameless clones of Disney's ''[[Silly Symphonies]]'') and techniques-- although they had always been technological innovators, their methods didn't match the Disney look. They even rose to the challenge of ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|Snow White]]'' with an [[Max Fleischer's Gulliver's Travels|animated film of their own]], an [[Animated Adaptation|adaptation]] of ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]''.
The reasonable success of the film led to them producing another of their most famous works -- a lovingly, lavishly produced series of ''[[Superman]]'' animated shorts. The cartoons featured Superman battling natural disasters, [[Mad Scientist|mad scientists]], and [[Humongous Mecha|giant robots]]. They're also the reason that Superman became a ''[[Flying Brick|Flying]]'' [[Flying Brick|Brick]] instead of just "leaping tall buildings in a single bound". The first installment was nominated for an [[Academy Award]], and the style of the cartoons was an influence on creators ranging from [[Frank Miller]] to [[Hayao Miyazaki]] -- not to mention ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' and the rest of [[The DCAU]].
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