Superman: The Mad Scientist A Short Film Review

When we think of comic book cartoon we usually think of ones that are on TV. Well there was a time when cartoons would debut exclusively in cinemas with one of those being the Superman cartoons and so then join me as I review the cartoon that helped to inspire another iconic DC animated TV show with the cartoon in question being called simply just "The Mad Scientist" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when a mad scientist writes a note proclaiming that will attack Metropolis its up to Superman to stop him and rescue Lois Lane. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad as even tho it was a rather simple plot that's all it really needed to as the best aspect of these cartoons is there simple set ups as that's where they thrive the best with this films plot also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is Bud Collyer as Clark Kent / Superman , Joan Alexander as Lois Lane and Jackson Beck as Perry White. Also starring in this film is Jack Mercer as The Mad Scientist and Grant Richards as The Narrator. Cartoons from around this time more often then not only had one or two actors per-cartoon as such it is quite surprising to see a cartoon that actually has quite a few actors in it.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With all of this films main actors turning in some really good performances which is something that really ďoes make sense as Bud Collyer also played Superman on the radio and as such he really would know how best the character with the rest of the films actors more then holding there own when it comes to acting against him with the acting that's in this very film really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors really have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance really will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.

Doing the animation for this film is the true legends and the really greats that are currently over at Fleischer Studios. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good which is something that's not all that surprising given the fact that Fleischer Studios more likely then not produced some very high quality animation with the animation that's in this film not being any exception to that rule as it looks like the kind of animation that Disney was pitting into his feature length films as that's just how good this films animation really is.

As was mentioned at the very start of this review this cartoon and this whole series of cartoons helped to inspire another classic DC animated TV show. That being Batman: The Animated Series as the makers of that show looked to this series for inspiration when it comes to storytelling as not only this cartoon but the rest of these shorts have a very dark and gritty look to them with this cartoon also being very noir in its storytelling and plot as such when it came to making Batman: The Animated Series the makers of that show gave it a very dark and gritty look and made like a crime noir thriller much in the line of this cartoon.

If there's anything that this episode does wrong it's in the fact that the titular Mad Scientist really isn't given much in the way of personality. As a result of that is the fact that he comes across as being quite the dull and boring character when it would have made more sense for him to be quite a scary and intimidating villain heck he's not even given a reason for being evil and as a result of that is the fact that he just comes across as being evil for the sake of being evil and while this film really wouldn't have had the time needed in order to fully develop his character it is something that would have made the cartoon even better as a hero is only as good as the villain that there facing there for if The Mad Scientist is a weak villain then it makes Superman out to be a weak hero as well.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly ten minutes and thirty six seconds. With this being the perfect running time for this film to have as this film has the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount running with this film even taking the time to tell Superman's origin story as well as tell the main plot of the film and while yes this film really would have benefitted from having a longer running time as that would then allow for the films plot to become more fleshed out and the central villain of the film to be more developed as well it is something that would have been impossible to do as animated films had only just become full length feature films and nobody was doing superhero films at all but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is an action film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. As for the time that this film was made in they really do have alot of action in it with best and only action scene in the whole entire film being the fight between Superman and The Mad Scientist as its there that we get to see the weapon that the scientist wants to use on Metropolis really get the better of the man of steel and seeing Superman rise to the occasion to take this villain is truly something that really does need to seen to be believed in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall if the new Superman film is as good as this short film from the forties is then alot of people really will be happy as this short film is just that good in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly an 8.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Batman: The Animated Series fandom wiki page , the official DC Universe fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them being better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Superman 1940 Reviews "Superman" And "The Mechanical Monsters" Review

The character of Superman has been had so many cartoon shows and animated movies it's hard to really keep track of them all. So I thought that i'd do something that's a little bit different ans talk about some of the very first Superman cartoons since i've honestly not seen people talking about these cartoons which for the life of me I don't know why since these cartoons are still stunning to look at the first two cartoons "Superman" and "The Mechanical Monsters" enjoy.

The plot of the first cartoon "Superman" is a mad scientist is going to use a deadly laser beam at midnight and it's up to Superman to stop him , where as in the second cartoon "The Mechanical Monsters" the plot is someone is using robots to steal millions of dollars in jewels and it's up to Superman to put a stop to it once and for all. Plot wise these cartoons are freaking great even tho they have a basic plot line they make it work and due to that both plots become engaging and exciting to see play out.

Starring in these two cartoons are Bud Collyer as Clark Kent / Superman and Joan Alexander as Lois Lane. Also starring in these two cartoons are Julian Noa as Perry White , Jack Mercer as the Mad Scientist and Jackson Beck as the Narrator, Radio Newscaster and in the case of the second short Bud Collyer as The Inventor. Now I know he's i've listed Julian as being in both cartoons but he's only in the first one but he does get a mention in the second one.

In terms of what I thought about the acting in both the shorts it was honestly really freaking good in my opinion. WE don't get alot of dialog in both shorts since they rather understandably have to move the story along but what lines of dialog we do have are well delivered and it's clear to anyone who watches even a few minuets of these cartoons that all of the actors are clearly doing the best that they can and it really does show in my opinion.

Doing the animation for the first nine of these shorts and thus these first two shorts was Fleischer Studios. To put it simply the animation in these shorts look like they were made in the either the eighties or the nineties and not the early forties that's how good it is. In my opinion the animation looks like it belongs in a feature length film I honestly implore any animation fan or even any fan of Batman: The Animated Series to check these cartoons any of them it doesn't matter because they all have great freaking animation in them.

What you guys might not know is that the first short "Superman" is actually a historical cartoon in the world of Superman since it's the first time that the character had the ability to fly. In the early comic books he had the power to leap tall building in a single bound which does look good in comic book and in radio form but not so much in animation and so Superman was instead given the power to fly and it's been with the character ever since.

Not all is good with these cartoons tho since for obvious reasons we don't get to find out much about the villains. Which I fully understand why since each short is only around ten minuets but a key part of story telling is getting across all points of view and that does mean getting the villains point across as well but due to the tight running time we only spend a few minuets in these first two shorts with the villains and so we don't really get to find out what there end goal is or why there even evil in the first place.

I will say that the pacing for both of the cartoons is honestly really good with both cartoons not feeling to fast nor to slow. They only spend a few minuets at the start of both cartoons setting up the story with the remaining several minuets being filled with exciting action and stunning visuals as such there's no room to think about things such as story or character because your so sucked into what's happening that those things become secondary in my opinion.

Since these are action cartoons that does mean that we have to talk about the action that's in both cartoons. In my opinion the action in both cartoons was extremely exciting to see and it's during these action sequences which also take most of the cartoons running time where the animation really stands out since we get to see things which would have been difficult to do back in the forties like buildings almost falling over or cars crashing for example and it all looks so freaking good.

Overall I cannot give these cartoons enough praise since even all of these years later they are still so freaking good. Like I said in the review there is one thing that I personally didn't like even tho the reasons behind it are very understandable it still have to be taken into account as such I give the first cartoon short "Superman" an 8.5 out of 10 and the second animated short "The Mechanical Monsters" a 7.5 out of 10 and the entire collection of cartoons is up on Youtube so go and watch them all right freaking now and there in the public domain as well.