Fleischer Studios () is an American

animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals o ...

founded in 1929 by brothers Max and

Dave Fleischer Dave Fleischer (; July 14, 1894 – June 25, 1979) was an American film director and producer, best known as a co-owner of Fleischer Studios with his older brother Max Fleischer. He was a native of New York City. Biography Fleischer was the ...

, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of its films. In its prime, Fleischer Studios was a premier producer of animated cartoons for theaters, with

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

being its chief competitor in the 1930s. Today, the company is again family owned and oversees the licensing and merchandising for its characters. Fleischer Studios characters included

Koko the Clown Koko the Clown is an animated character created by Max Fleischer. He first appeared as the main protagonist in '' Out of the Inkwell'' (1918-1929), a major animated series of the silent era. Throughout the series, he goes on many adventures with ...

, Betty Boop,

Bimbo Bimbo is slang for a conventionally attractive, sexualized, naive, and unintelligent woman. The term was originally used in the United States as early as 1919 for an unintelligent or brutish man. As of the early 21st century, the "stereotypic ...

Popeye the Sailor Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Superman. Unlike other studios, whose characters were anthropomorphic animals, the Fleischers' most successful characters were humans (with the exception of Bimbo, a black-and-white cartoon dog). The cartoons of the Fleischer Studio were very different from those of Disney, both in concept and in execution. As a result, they were rough rather than refined and consciously artistic rather than commercial, but in their unique way, their artistry was expressed through a culmination of the arts and sciences. This approach focused on surrealism, dark humor, adult psychological elements, and sexuality. Furthermore, the environments were grittier and urban, often set in squalid surroundings, reflecting the Great Depression as well as

German Expressionism German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...

History

The Silent Era

The Fleischer Studio was built on Max Fleischer's novelty film series ''

Out of the Inkwell ''Out of the Inkwell'' is an American major animated series of the silent era produced by Max Fleischer from 1918 to 1929. History The series was the result of three short experimental films that Max Fleischer independently produced from 191 ...

'' (1919-1927). The novelty was based largely on the results of the "

rotoscope Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, animators projected photographed live-action movie images onto a glass panel and traced o ...

", invented by Fleischer to produce realistic animation. The first ''Out of the Inkwell'' films were produced through The Bray Studio. They featured Fleischer's first character, "The Clown," which became known as

Ko-Ko the Clown Koko the Clown is an animated character created by Max Fleischer. He first appeared as the main protagonist in ''Out of the Inkwell'' (1918-1929), a major animated series of the silent era. Throughout the series, he goes on many adventures with h ...

in 1924. In 1921, The Bray Studio ran afoul with legal issues, having contracted for more films than it could deliver to its distributor,

Goldwyn Pictures Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1 ...

. The Fleischer Brothers left and began their own studio Out of the Inkwell Films with Dave as director and production supervisor, and Max as producer, at 129 East 45th Street, later to 1600 Broadway,

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

, midtown Manhattan,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 1924, animator,

Dick Huemer Richard Huemer (January 2, 1898 – November 30, 1979) was an American animator in the Golden Age of American animation, Golden Age of Animation. Career While as an artist-illustrator living in the Bronx, New York City, Huemer first began his ...

came to the Out of the Inkwell Films studio and redesigned "The Clown" for more efficient animation. Huemer's new design and experience as an animator moved them away from their dependency on the rotoscope for fluid animation. In addition to defining the clown, Huemer established the Fleischer style with its distinctive thick and thin ink lines. In addition, Huemer created Ko-Ko's companion, Fitz the Dog, who would evolve into

in 1930. Throughout the 1920s, Fleischer was one of the leading producers of animation with clever moments and numerous innovations. These innovations include the "Rotograph", an early "Aerial Image" photographic process for compositing animation with live action backgrounds. Other innovations included ''

Ko-Ko Song Car-Tunes '' Ko-Ko Song Car-Tunes'', ''Song Car-Tunes'', or (some sources erroneously say) ''Sound Car-Tunes'', is a series of short three-minute animated films produced by Max Fleischer and Dave Fleischer between May 1924 and September 1927, pioneering t ...

'' and sing-along shorts (featuring the famous " bouncing ball"), a precursor to

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music i ...

. In 1924, distributor Edwin Miles Fadiman and Hugo Riesenfeld formed the Red Seal Pictures Corporation. Riesenfeld was the theatrical manager of the Strand, Rivoli, and Rialto theaters on Broadway. Because the Out of the Inkwell films were a major part of the program in Riesenfeld's theaters, the Fleischers were invited to become partners. The Red Seal Company committed to an ambitious release schedule of 26 films with The Inkwell Studio as the primary supplier. The following year, Red Seal released 141 films that included documentaries, short comedy subjects, and live-action serials. Carrie of the Chorus, also known as Backstage Comedies, was one of the Red Seal series that featured Max's daughter, Ruth in a supporting role. Ray Bolger made his screen debut in this series and dated Ruth for a short time. Red Seal released cartoon novelty series such as ''The Animated Hair'' Cartoons by Cartoonist "Marcus," and Inklings. ''The Animated Hair'' series resembled the on-screen hand drawing gimmick established in Out of the Inkwell. In this case, "Marcus" produced high-quality ink line portraits of celebrities and political figures. Then through stop motion animation techniques, the lines and forms would break away to entertainingly re-form the portrait into another. Inklings was similar in concept to the ''Animated Hair'' films, but was more of a visual puzzle novelty using a variety of progressive scratch-off/reveal techniques and rearranged animated cutouts to change the images. It was during this time that Lee de Forest started filming his

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film proce ...

s experiments featuring several of the major Broadway headliners. The Red Seal company began acquiring more theaters outside of New York and equipped them with sound equipment produced by Lee de Forest, displaying "talkies" three years before the sound revolution began. Because of Max's interest in technology, Riesenfeld introduced him to deForest. And it was through this partnership that Max produced a number of the Ko-Ko Song Car-tunes as sound releases. Of the 36 song films produced between 1924 and 1927, 12 were produced as sound films beginning in 1926 with standard silent versions as well. The first sound release was ''Mother Pin a Rose on Me''. Other sound releases included ''Darling Nellie Gray'', ''Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?'', ''When the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam, ''Coming Through the Rye'', ''My Wife's Gone to the Country'', ''Margie, Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning'', ''Sweet Adeline,'' ''Old Black Joe'', ''Come Take A Trip in My Airship'', and ''By the Light of the Silvery Moon''. Red Seal owned 56 theaters, extending as far west as Cleveland, Ohio. But after only two years of operation, Red Seal was broke. Max (Fleischer) sought an appointment of receiver in bankruptcy in October 1926. Just as the situation looked hopeless, Alfred Weiss appeared from the horizon with a Paramount contact. The Paramount deal provided financing and distribution. But due to legal complications of the bankruptcy, the title to ''Out of the Inkwell'' was changed to ''The Inkwell Imps'' (1927-1929) and the studio was renamed Inkwell Studios. One year into the relationship, the Fleischer Brothers discovered mismanagement under Weiss and left before the end of the ''Imps'' contract. Out of the Inkwell Films, Inc. filed bankruptcy in January 1929. In March, Max formed Fleischer Studios with Dave as his partner. Operations were first set up at the Carpenter-Goldman Laboratories in Queens. With a skeleton staff, Fleischer Studios started out doing industrial films, most notably, '' Finding His Voice'', a technical demonstration film explaining Western Electric's Variable Density recording and reproduction system. Max Fleischer secured a new contract with Paramount to produce a revival of the "Bouncing Ball" song films, re-branded as ''

Screen Songs ''Screen Songs'', formerly known as KoKo Song Car-Tunes, are a series of animated cartoons produced at the Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1938. Paramount brought back the sing-along cartoons in 1945, n ...

'', with ''

The Sidewalks of New York "The Sidewalks of New York" is a popular song about life in New York City during the 1890s. It was composed in 1894 by vaudeville actor and singer Charles B. Lawlor (June 2, 1852 – May 31, 1925) with lyrics by James W. Blake (September 23, ...

'' as the first release on February 5, 1929.

Sound films

The early experiments with sound synchronization gave Fleischer Studios experience in perfecting the post-production method of recording, aided by several inventions by founder, Max Fleischer. And with the conversion to sound, Paramount needed more sound films, and cartoons could be produced faster than feature films. As the ''

'' returned Fleischer to the established song film format, a new sound series, ''

Talkartoons ''Talkartoons'' is a series of 42 animated cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1932. History For the Fleischer brothers, the transition to sound was relatively easy. With the new contract ...

'' replaced the silent ''Inkwell Imps'', the first being '' Noah's Lark'' released on October 25, 1929. Earlier entries in the series were one-shot cartoons, until the appearance of ''Bimbo'' as of the fourth entry. Bimbo evolved through several redesigns in each cartoon for the first year. While the intent was to develop him as the star of the series, it was the cameo appearance of a Helen Kane caricature in the seventh entry, ''

Dizzy Dishes ''Dizzy Dishes'' is an animated cartoon created by Fleischer Studios in 1930, as part of the ''Talkartoon'' series. It is noted for being the first cartoon in which Betty Boop appears. Plot The cartoon begins with four anthropomorphic flappe ...

'' that took center stage. Audience reactions to the New York preview were so great that Paramount encouraged the continued development of the most famous character to come from the Fleischer Studio by that time, Betty Boop. While originated as a hybrid human/canine character, Betty Boop was transformed into the human character she is known as by 1932. Having become the main attraction of the ''Talkartoons'', she was given her own series, which ran until 1939. The "Jazz Baby" Flapper character, Betty Boop lifted the spirits of Depression Era audiences with her paradoxical mixture of childlike innocence and sexual allure. Being a musical novelty character, she was a natural for theatrical entertainment. Several of her early cartoons were developed as promotional vehicles for some of the top Black Jazz performers of the day including Louis Armstrong (''I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal, You''),

Don Redman Donald Matthew Redman (July 29, 1900 – November 30, 1964) was an American jazz musician, arranger, bandleader, and composer. Biography Redman was born in Piedmont, Mineral County, West Virginia, United States. His father was a music teacher ...

(''I Heard''), and most notably, the three cartoons made with Cab Calloway, ''Minnie the Moocher'', ''Snow White'', and ''The Old Man of the Mountain''. This was considered a bold action in light of the Jim Crow policies active in the South where such films would not be shown. In 1934, the

Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

resulted in severe censorship for films. This affected the content of all of Paramount's films as well, which tended to reflect a more "mature" tone in the features of the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...

W.C. Fields WC or wc may refer to: * Water closet or flush toilet Arts and entertainment * ''W.C.'' (film), an Irish feature film * WC (band), a Polish punk rock band * WC (rapper), a rapper from Los Angeles, California * Westside Connection, former ...

, and most of all,

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

. As a result, each of these stars was released as Paramount changed the content of its films to reflect a more "general audience" in order to comply with the new Code and stay in business. Paramount had also gone through three reorganizations from bankruptcy between 1931 and 1936. The new management under

Barney Balaban Barney Balaban (June 8, 1887 – March 7, 1971) was an American film executive who was the president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964 and an innovator in the cinema industry. Life and career Barney Balaban (formerly Birnbaum) was the el ...

set out to make more general audience films of the type made at MGM, but for lower budgets. This change in content policy affected the content of cartoons that Fleischer was to produce for Paramount, which urged emulation of the Walt Disney product. Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves

Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves

While Paramount was a large organization with a network of theaters, its fiscal consciousness was largely responsible for preventing Fleischer Studios from acquiring the three-strip

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

process, leaving it available for a four-year exclusivity with

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

, who created a new market for color cartoons, established by Academy Award winner, ''

Flowers and Trees ''Flowers and Trees'' is a 1932 '' Silly Symphonies'' cartoon produced by Walt Disney, directed by Burt Gillett, and released to theatres by United Artists on July 30, 1932. It was the first commercially released film to be produced in the full- ...

'' (1932). Paramount acquiesced to the release of the

Color Classics ''Color Classics'' are a series of animated short films produced by Fleischer Studios for Paramount Pictures from 1934 to 1941 as a competitor to Walt Disney's ''Silly Symphonies''. As the name implies, all of the shorts were made in color fo ...

series starting in 1934. But with the exclusivity of the three-color process still held by Disney, Fleischer Studios used the available two-color processes, Cinecolor, a two-emulsion red and blue process, and Two-color Technicolor, using red and green. By 1936, the Disney exclusivity had expired, and Fleischer Studios used the three-color process in its color cartoons beginning with ''

Somewhere in Dreamland ''Somewhere in Dreamland'' is a 1936 animated short in Max Fleischer's Color Classics series. The film was produced by Max Fleischer, directed by Dave Fleischer, co-directed by Dawn Fleischer, and was animated by Fleischer veterans Seymour Kneite ...

'' and continued using it for the remainder of its active years. The Fleischer Studio's greatest success came with the licensing of E.C. Segar's comic strip character

Popeye the Sailor Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's Mickey Mouse cartoons, documented by popularity polls. And with the availability of full spectrum color, the Fleischer Studios produced three two-reel ''Popeye'' featurettes, '' Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor'' (1936), '' Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves'' (1937), and '' Popeye the Sailor Meets Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp'' (1939). This series of longer-format cartoons were an indication of the emergence of the animated feature film as a commercially viable project beginning with Walt Disney's ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...

'' (1937). The Fleischer Studios had reached its zenith by 1936, with four series and 52 annual releases. Due to the phenomenal success of the Popeye cartoons, Paramount demanded more, and the Fleischer Studio experienced rapid expansion in order to balance out the increased workload. The crowded conditions, production speedups, drawing quotas, and internal management problems resulted in a labor strike beginning in May 1937 which lasted for five months. This strike was a test case, the first launched in the motion picture industry, and produced a nationwide boycott of Fleischer cartoons for the duration. GulliversTravelsFleisherStudios003

Max Fleischer had been petitioning Paramount for three years about producing an animated feature. Paramount vetoed his proposals until the proven success of Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (1937). Paramount now wanted an animated feature for a 1939 Christmas release. This request came at the time of preparations for relocating to

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. While the relocation had been a consideration for some time, its final motivation was made a reality due to lower corporate

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

structures and an alleged escape from the remaining hostility from the strike. The new Fleischer Studio opened in October 1938, and production on its first feature, '' Gulliver's Travels'' (1939), went from the development stage begun in New York to active production in Miami. The score was by Paramount staff composer, Victor Young and recorded at the Paramount west coast facilities. While limited to only 60 theaters in a one-month release, ''Gulliver's Travels'' earned more than $3 million, in spite of exceeding its original $500,000 estimated cost. Accordingly, a second feature was ordered for the Christmas period, ''

Mr. Bug Goes to Town ''Mr. Bug Goes to Town'' (also known as ''Hoppity Goes to Town'' and ''Bugville'') is a 1941 American animated Technicolor feature film produced by Fleischer Studios, previewed by Paramount Pictures on December 5, 1941, and released in California ...

'' (1941).

Fall of Fleischer

The personal relationship between Max and Dave Fleischer deteriorated during the Miami period due to complications associated with the pressures of finishing the studio's first feature film and Dave's very public

adulterous Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

affair with his secretary, Mae Schwartz. Max and Dave stopped speaking to each other altogether by the end of 1939, communicating solely by memo. Dave gained total control of production in 1940, relegating Max to business affairs and research. The studio was in need of new products going into the new decade, but the new shorts series that debuted in 1939 and 1940, '' Gabby'', '' Stone Age Cartoons'', and ''

Animated Antics ''Animated Antics'' is an animated cartoon series produced by the Fleischer Studios from 1940 through 1941, and distributed through Paramount Pictures. Each cartoon ran less than 7 minutes, all in black & white (reports that ''Copy Cat'' was i ...

'', were unsuccessful. Theater operators complained, with the ''Popeye'' cartoons having the only value. Paramount acquired the rights to

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

superhero '' Superman'' in 1941, and the Fleischers were assigned to work on a series of animated ''Superman'' shorts. The first entry, ''Superman'', had a budget of $50,000,Barrier, Michael (1999). ''Hollywood Cartoons''. New York: Oxford University Press. Pg. 304. the highest ever for a Fleischer theatrical short, and was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. The animated ''Superman'' series, with its action-adventure and science fiction fantasy content, was a huge success, but that did not help the studio out of its financial trouble. It was penalized $350,000 for going over budget on ''Gulliver's Travels'', and the revenues earned from the rentals of the ''Popeye'' cartoons had to be used to offset the loss of $250,000 incurred by the rejection of cartoons in 1940.

Acquisition by Paramount

While profits dwindled, Paramount continued to advance money to Fleischer Studios to continue the production of cartoons with its focus mainly on ''Popeye'', ''Superman'', and ''

'', a new feature film for the 1941 Christmas season; all in hope of rekindling the studio. On May 24, 1941, Paramount demanded reimbursement on the penalties still owed after 18 months and assumed full ownership of Fleischer Studios, Inc.Barrier, Michael (1999). ''Hollywood Cartoons''. New York: Oxford University Press. Pgs. 303-305. . The Fleischers remained in control of production until November 1941. ''Mr. Bug Goes to Town'', intended for release in December 1941, was not released until February 1942, and never recouped its costs. In spite of living up to his contractual obligations and delivering the film, Max Fleischer was asked to resign. Dave Fleischer had resigned the month before, and Paramount finished out the last five months of the Fleischer contract without the Fleischer brothers. The last cartoon produced at the credited Fleischer Studios was the ''Superman'' cartoon '' Terror on the Midway''. Paramount formed a new company, Famous Studios, as a successor to Fleischer Studios effective July 3, 1942.

Television

With the exception of the ''Superman'' and ''Popeye'' cartoons, Paramount's cartoon library of releases prior to October 1950 was originally sold to U.M. & M. TV Corporation in 1955. A condition of the purchase required the removal of the Paramount logos and copyright lines from the main titles. As soon as the Fleischer library was sold to television, Max Fleischer noticed that some of the cartoons were being shown without his name in the credits, which was a violation of his original contracts. On June 17, 1956, Max Fleischer filed suit against Paramount and its TV distribution partners, seeking $2,750,000 in damages. The infringement on his name was corrected on all subsequent prints exhibited on television. Before U.M.& M. had finished the title alterations, the company was bought by

National Telefilm Associates National Telefilm Associates (NTA) was an audio-visual marketing company primarily concerned with the syndication of American film libraries to television, including the Republic Pictures film library. It was successful enough on cable television ...

. NTA placed their logo at the heads and tails of the films and blacked out references to Paramount,

, Cinecolor, and

Polacolor ''Polacolor'' was the trade name of two very different color photography products developed by the Polaroid Corporation. Motion picture print process The first Polacolor was a post- World War II process for making 35mm color motion picture print ...

. The majority of the Fleischer cartoons were off the air by the mid 60s when the original copyrights were due for renewal. NTA failed to renew the copyrights, which placed the majority of the Fleischer film library (including the ''Color Classics'' series, the ''Screen Songs'' series, and '' Gulliver's Travels'') into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

. ''

'', various '' Betty Boop'' cartoons, and the 1938 ''Color Classic'', ''The Tears of an Onion'', are among the few films that remain under copyright to Melange Pictures, LLC. In the mid-1970s, NTA converted 85 black and white ''Betty Boop'' cartoons to color through Fred Ladd's Color Systems company. The process was done by having the cartoons traced and re-colored by Korean animators. These were packaged in 1976 under the title ''Betty Boop for President''. This was refashioned as a compilation feature, ''Hooray for Betty Boop'', and ran on HBO in 1980. Paramount has reacquired ownership of the original Fleischer film library (through their acquisition of Republic Pictures) and continues to own the theatrical rights.

''Popeye'' and ''Superman''

The ''Popeye'' series, a property licensed from King Features Syndicate, was acquired by Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.), which later became part of

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

(for info on the ''Popeye'' retitling, see the a.a.p. article) and

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

Turner Entertainment Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...

, after briefly owning MGM outright, settled for ownership of the library, including the ''Popeye'' cartoons, in 1986. A small number of ''Popeye'' cartoons have also entered the public domain. ''Superman'', the other series based on licensing, reverted to National Comics after Paramount's rights to the character expired. TV syndication rights were initially licensed to Flamingo Films, distributors of the 1950s ''Superman'' TV series. All 17 entries in this series entered the public domain in the late 1960s, when National failed to renew their copyrights. Nevertheless, the ''Superman'' and ''Popeye'' cartoons are now under the ownership of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.; Warner bought the original film elements to the ''Superman'' series in 1969, after becoming a sibling (and later the parent) to DC Comics.

Home video

Most of the Fleischer color titles have been widely available on video since the 1980s, often on inexpensive videotapes sold in supermarkets and discount stores. Both animation fans and the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the ar ...

have worked to release high-quality restored editions of the Fleischer cartoons. These have also been made available on pay-cable, home video and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

. Many of these restored versions now include the original front-and-end Paramount titles. Most of the silent Fleischer titles from the ''Out of the Inkwell''/''Inkwell Imps'' series have entered the public domain. An official ''Betty Boop'' VHS set, ''Betty Boop Confidential'', was released by Republic Pictures in 1995, included several black-and-white ''Betty Boop'' cartoons as well as Betty's only color appearance, ''Poor Cinderella''. There have been several video releases for the ''Superman'' series. These include a 1991 VHS set produced by Bosko Video, titled ''The Complete Superman Collection: Golden Anniversary Edition - The Paramount Cartoon Classics of Max & Dave Fleischer'' released as two volumes which featured transfers from 35mm prints. It was reissued on DVD as ''The Complete Superman Cartoons — Diamond Anniversary Edition'' in 2000 by

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

, and ''Superman Adventures'' in 2004 by Platinum Disc Corporation. A third (and more "official") compilation using restored and remastered materials was released in November 2006 by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

as part of their DVD box set of Superman films. In 2009, Warner gave these Superman shorts their own stand-alone 2-disc DVD release, ''Max Fleischer's Superman: 1941-1942''.

Olive Films The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

, under exclusive license from Melange/Viacom, acquired the rights to the 66 non-public domain Betty Boop cartoons, and released four volumes of ''Betty Boop'' DVDs and Blu-rays. Warner Home Video has released all of the Fleischer Popeye cartoons in three volumes as part of the ''

Popeye the Sailor Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Jerry Beck Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955, in New York City) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer. Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including '' The 50 Greates ...

served as consultant for this box set, as well as providing audio commentary for select shorts. VCI Entertainment also released a DVD compilation of all the public domain ''Popeye'' cartoons (both Fleischer and Famous) entitled ''Popeye the Sailor Man Classic Cartoons: 75th Anniversary Collector's Edition'' in 2004. In Japan, ''Mr. Bug Goes to Town'' was released on DVD in April 2010 by

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...

as part of the

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and h ...

's Ghibli Museum Library collection.

Fleischer Studios today

In 1985, DC Comics named Fleischer Studios as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication ''

Fifty Who Made DC Great ''Fifty Who Made DC Great'' is a one shot published by DC Comics to commemorate the company's 50th anniversary in 1985. It was published in comic book format but contained text articles with photographs and background caricatures. Publication h ...

'' for its work on the Superman cartoons. Today, Fleischer Studios continues to hold to the rights to Betty Boop and associated characters such as Koko the Clown, Bimbo and

Grampy Professor Grampy is an animated cartoon character appearing in the ''Betty Boop'' series of shorts produced by Max Fleischer and released by Paramount Pictures. He appeared in nine of the later ''Betty Boop'' cartoons beginning with '' Betty Boop ...

. It is headed by Max's grandson Mark Fleischer, who oversees merchandising activities. Fleischer Studios utilizes King Features Syndicate to license Fleischer characters for various merchandise. In 2021, after decades of being shown in altered and worn prints, the Fleischer estate (in co-operation with Paramount Pictures) finally launched an initiative to formally restore the entire classic animation library from the surviving original negatives, beginning with ''Somewhere in Dreamland''; the restored cartoon had its premiere on the

MeTV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...

network in December, that same year.

Legacy and influence

The loose, improvisatory animation, frequently surreal action generally termed "The New York Style", (particularly in films such as ''

Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...

'' and ''

Bimbo's Initiation ''Bimbo's Initiation'' is a 1931 Fleischer Studios Talkartoon animated short film starring Bimbo and featuring an early version of Betty Boop with a dog's ears and nose. It was the final Betty Boop cartoon to be animated by the character's co- ...

''), grungy atmosphere, and racy

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

content of the early Fleischer Studios cartoons have been a major influence on many

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

and

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

cartoonists.

Kim Deitch Kim Deitch (born May 21, 1944 in Los Angeles, California)Donahue, Don and Susan Goodrick, editors. Deitch bio, ''The Apex Treasuet of Underground Comics'' (Apex Novelties, 1974), p. 127. is an American cartoonist who was an important figure in th ...

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

Jim Woodring James William Woodring (born October 11, 1952) is an American cartoonist, fine artist, writer and toy designer. He is best known for the dream-based comics he published in his magazine '' Jim'', and as the creator of the anthropomorphic cartoo ...

, and

Al Columbia Al Columbia (born 1970) is an American artist known for his horror and black humor-themed alternative comics. His published works include the comic book series ''The Biologic Show'', the graphic novel/art book '' Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear ...

are among the creators who have specifically acknowledged their inspiration. Much of

Richard Elfman Richard Elfman (born March 6, 1949) is an American actor, musician, director, producer, screenwriter, journalist, author and magazine publisher. Early life Richard Elfman was born in the Watts district of inner-city Los Angeles. His mother, B ...

's 1980 cult film ''

Forbidden Zone ''Forbidden Zone'' is an American absurdist musical fantasy comedy film produced and directed by Richard Elfman, and co-written by Elfman and Matthew Bright. Shot in 1977 and 1978, the film premiered in 1980 and was distributed in 1982. Origi ...

'' is a live action pastiche of the early Fleischer Studios style. The Fleischer style was also used in the 1995 animated series ''

The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat ''The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat'' is an American animated television series produced by Film Roman. The series first aired on September 16, 1995 on CBS lasting for two seasons with the final episode airing on April 12, 1997. The first seaso ...

''. The studio's art style and surreal atmosphere was a central influence on the indie game ''

Cuphead ''Cuphead'' is a run-and-gun video game developed and published by Studio MDHR. The game follows the titular Cuphead who, in a deal with the Devil after losing a game at the Devil's casino, is sent on a quest to repossess the souls of runaway ...

'', with the studio being described as "magnetic north" for the game's art style.

Fleischer Studios staff; 1929–1942

Producers

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became ...

Directors

* James Culhane (''

''; uncredited) *

Writers

* Eric St. Clair *

Pinto Colvig Vance DeBar Colvig Sr. (September 11, 1892 – October 3, 1967), professionally Pinto Colvig, was an American voice actor, newspaper cartoonist, and circus and vaudeville performer whose schtick was playing the clarinet off-key while mugging. C ...

* Max Fleischer * Dave Fleischer *

Warren Foster Warren Foster (October 24, 1904 – December 13, 1971) was an American writer, cartoonist and composer for the animation division of Warner Brothers and later with Hanna-Barbera. Early life He was born in Brooklyn, New York to Marion B. Fos ...

* Dan Gordon *

Cal Howard Calvin Henry Howard (March 24, 1911 – September 10, 1993) was an American cartoon story artist, animator and director mostly remembered for his work at Walter Lantz Productions and Warner Bros. Cartoons. He was also the voice actor of Gabby Goat ...

* Seymour Kneitel * George Manuell *

Jack Mercer Winfield B. Mercer (January 31, 1910 – December 7, 1984), professionally known as Jack Mercer, was a prolific American voice actor, animator and TV screenwriter. He is best known as the voice of cartoon characters Popeye the Sailor Man and F ...

* Carl Meyer *

Tedd Pierce Edward Stacey "Tedd" Pierce III (August 12, 1906 – February 19, 1972) was an American screenwriter and voice actor of animated cartoons, principally from the mid-1930s to the late 1950s. Biography Pierce was the son of a stockbroker, Samue ...

* Graham Place *

Hal Seeger Harold Seeger (May 16, 1917 – March 13, 2005) was an American animated cartoon producer and director who owned his own studio the Hal Seeger Studio (Hal Seeger Productions). He is most famous as the creator of the 1960s animated series '' Batfi ...

* Edmond Seward *

Isadore Sparber Isadore Sparber (March 7, 1906 - August 29, 1958) was an American storyboard artist A storyboard artist (sometimes called a story artist or visualizer) creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. Work A storyboard ar ...

David Tendlar David Benjamin Tendlar (August 8, 1909 – September 9, 1993) was an American animator, best known for his work with Fleischer Studios and its successor, Famous Studios. Tendlar was born in Dayton, Ohio on August 8, 1909. He joined Fleis ...

* William Turner * Jack Ward * Bob Wickersham

Animators

* Tom Baron * Bob Bemiller * Eli Brucker * Robert Bentley *

Willard Bowsky Willard Gustav Bowsky (September 26, 1907 – November 27, 1944) was an American animator best known for his work at Fleischer Studios in New York City and Miami, Florida, where he worked on cartoons featuring Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor, ...

* Orestes Calpini * Joel Clive * Herman Cohen * Roland Crandall * James Culhane * Joe D'Igalo * James Davis * Nelson Demorest * Anthony Di Paola * H.C Ellison * Frank Endres * Al Eugster * Otto Feuer * Don Figlozzi * Dave Fleischer * Max Fleischer *

Lillian Friedman Astor Lillian Friedman Astor (born April 12, 1912 – July 9, 1989) was the first American female studio animator, working at for the Fleischer Brothers' studio, inking and eventually animating various Betty Boop cartoons, as well as one Popeye ...

* George Germanetti * Arnold Gillespie * Tom Golden * Reuben Grossman * William Henning * Winfield Hoskins * Tom Johnson * Abner Matthews Kneitel * Seymour Kneitel * Bob Leffingwell * Michael Maltese * Carl Meyer * Thomas Moore * George Moreno Jr. * Steve Muffati *

Grim Natwick Myron "Grim" Natwick (' Nordveig; August 16, 1890 – October 7, 1990) was an American artist, animator, and film director. Natwick is best known for drawing the Fleischer Studios' most popular character, Betty Boop. Background Born in Wis ...

* Bill Nolan *

Joe Oriolo Joseph Oriolo (February 21, 1913 – December 25, 1985) was an American cartoon animator, writer, director and producer, known as the co-creator of Casper the Friendly Ghost and the creator of the ''Felix the Cat'' TV series. He provided the vo ...

* Sid Pillet * Graham Place * Lod Rossner *

Ted Sears Edward Robert Sears (March 13, 1900August 22, 1958) was an American animator during The Golden Age of American animation. Sears worked for the Fleischer Studios in the late-1920s and early-1930s, and was hired away from Max Fleischer to work at ...

* Hal Seeger * Gordon Sheehan * Ben Solomon * Irving Spector * Sam Stimson * William Sturm *

Dave Tendlar David Benjamin Tendlar (August 8, 1909 – September 9, 1993) was an American animator, best known for his work with Fleischer Studios and its successor, Famous Studios. Tendlar was born in Dayton, Ohio on August 8, 1909. He joined Fleische ...

* Jim Tyer * Edith Vernick *

Myron Waldman Myron Waldman (April 23, 1908 – February 4, 2006) was an American animator, best known for his work at Fleischer Studios. Early life Waldman was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 23, 1908. He was a graduate of the Pratt Institute, where ...

* Harold Walker * John Walworth * Bob Wickersham * Lou Zukor

Animation directors

(Note: An animator who is credited first in a Fleischer cartoon is a director of animation. Dave Fleischer's role during production is more in line with a creative supervisor) * William Bowsky * Orestes Calpini * Roland Crandall * James Culhane * H. C. Ellison * Al Eugster * Arnold Gillespie * Tom Johnson * Seymour Kneitel * Bob Leffingwell * Bill Nolan * Tom Palmer * Graham Place * Stan Quackenbush * Dave Tendlar *

Layout and scenic artists

* Eddi Bowlds * Hemia Calpini * Robert Connavale * Robert Little * Anton Loeb * Shane Miller * Erich Schenk * Gustaf Tenggren

Voice actors

Joan Alexander Joan Alexander (born Louise Abrass; April 16, 1915 – May 21, 2009)
''

Dave Barry * Jackson Beck *

Bud Collyer Bud Collyer (born Clayton Johnson Heermance Jr., June 18, 1908 – September 8, 1969) was an American radio actor and announcer and game show host who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars. He is best remembered for ...

* William Costello *

Margie Hines Margaret Louise Hines (October 15, 1909 – December 23, 1985), also known as Marjorie Hines or Margie Hines, was an American voice actress. She was known for her work as a voice artist at Fleischer Studios, where she was the original voice of ...

* Little Ann Little *

* Billy Murray * Julian Noa *

William Pennell William Pennell (March 3, 1889 – September 5, 1956) was an American voice actor and baritone singer, who was the original voice of the character Bluto on the animated ''Popeye'' shorts produced by Fleischer Studios. At the time, Pennell sang ...

Bonnie Poe Bonnie Poe (October 15, 1912 – October 16, 1993) was an American actress and voice artist, best known for providing the voice for the Fleischer Studios animated character Betty Boop beginning in 1933, starting with the Popeye the Sailor seri ...

Mae Questel Mae Questel (born Mae Kwestel, September 13, 1908 – January 4, 1998) was an American actress. She was best known for providing the voices for the animated characters Betty Boop (from 1931) and Olive Oyl (from 1933). She began in vaudeville, ...

* Ann Rothschild *

Gus Wickie August Wicke (May 7, 1885 – January 3, 1947), also known as Gus Wicke and Gus Wickie, was an American bass singer, and stage and voice actor. He was one of the voices of Bluto in the animated series, ''Popeye the Sailor'', by Fleischer Studi ...

* Kate Wright

Musical supervisor and arrangements

* Lou Fleischer (Supervisor, 1930–1942) * George Steiner (1930–1935) *

Sammy Timberg Samuel Timberg (May 21, 1903 – August 26, 1992) was an American musician and composer for the stage, film studios, and television. Biography Timberg was born in New York City to a Jewish family originating in Austria, youngest son of Israel and ...

(1932–1942) *

Winston Sharples Winston Singleton Sharples (March 1, 1909 – April 3, 1978) was an American composer known for his work with animated short subjects, especially those created by the animation department at Paramount Pictures. In his 35-year career, Sharples s ...

(1940–1942)

Selected filmography

References

External links

*
DVDs

"The Real Heroes of Superman"
essay on Max Fleischer from Flixens.com

{{ViacomCBS Adult animation studios American animation studios American companies established in 1929 American companies disestablished in 1942 History of animation Mass media companies established in 1929 Mass media companies disestablished in 1942 Paramount Pictures Mass media companies based in New York City 1929 establishments in New York City 1942 disestablishments in Florida 1942 mergers and acquisitions