Last time we were together, we discussed
Superman's appearances outside the pages
of the Superman comic book titles and
the men who brought Superman to life.
In that previous article, the Man of
Steel's appearances in newspapers,
radio, and on live-action television
were covered. This time around, I'm
going to explore his appearances in
animation.
Animation
In
1941, Paramount Studios approached
animators Max and Dave Fleischer to
produce a series of animated short films
portraying the adventures of Superman.
The story goes that the Fleischers felt
the cost of realism and special effects
needed to accurately portray Superman
would be nearly impossible. When they
came back to Paramount with a price tag
of $100,000, they expected an answer of
no; but instead Paramount agreed. The
result was a series of animated film
shorts which are even today considered a
standard of animation greatness.
Employing the technique known as
rotoscoping (combining the movements of
a live actor with an overlay of
animation), the films fluid movements
and spectacular special effects were
beyond anything which had previously
been done before and won critical
acclaim and an Acade
my
Award nomination. Bud Collyer, already
well-known as the voice of Superman from
the radio series, provided the voice of
Superman. While the stories challenged
Superman with a series of mad scientist,
mechanical monsters, criminal
masterminds, and even Axis enemies, they
were simplistic in their presentation.
In total, there were 17 short films
produced with the last being released in
1943. Superman and animation fans alike
still thrill to these adventures and the
level of quality which went into each
one.
In
1966, Superman returned to animation
again. Saturday morning cartoons had
become the major outlet for animation in
the United States and a new studio
called Filmation Studios entered the
foray with "The New Adventures of
Superman". Opening on CBS-TV as the
highest rated animation series,
Filmation produced 44 episodes
chronicling Superman's adventures. Once
again, Bud Collyer was tapped as the
voice of Superman. The series success
provided a springboard for a number of
other costumed super-heroes to appear on
Saturdays. As part of the series, a
segment showed the adventures of
Superboy as well. In 1967, the show was
repackaged as "The Superman / Aquaman
Hour of Adventure" and featured the
undersea-dwelling character Aquaman as
well as Superman. In 1968, with the
success of the "Batman" live-action
television show on ABC-TV, Filmation
repackaged the Superman cartoons once
again in the form of "The Batman /
Superman Hour". It ran for two years
until advocacy groups asked that the
show be taken off the air for violent
content.
In
1973, ABC-TV broadcast the first
incarnation of the "Super-Friends".
This one- hour cartoon, produced by
Hanna-Barbera, centered around the
adventures of Superman, Batman, Robin,
Aquaman, and Wonder Woman (not to
mention their zany side-kicks Wendy,
Marvin, and Wonder Dog) in pursuit of
environmental accidents, science
projects gone wrong, and criminal
activity which wasn't really criminal
only misunderstood. Voice actor Danny
Dark did the voice of Superman.
"Super-Friends" was repackaged two years
later as "The New Super-Friends Hour".
The adventures were basically the same
only this time around, the old
side-kicks had been replaced by the
alien Wonder-Twins, Zan and Jayna, and
their zany pet space-monkey, Gleek. In
1978, the Super-Friends concept was
changed in favor of "Challenge of the
Super-Friends". Now 90 minutes long,
this show included 10 members of the
Justice League of America against 13
members of the Legion of Doom. Superman
villains Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Toyman,
and Bizarro were all featured. The
Wonder Twins were no longer around.
That is, until the next year when, the
Super-Friends was redone again as the
one-hou
r
long "The World's Greatest
Super-Friends". The original group of
heroes were back as well as the Wonder
Twins. The next year the show would be
renamed simply "Super-Friends" and run
for four years. In 1984, as a tie-in
with a new line of toys being developed
by Kenner, the Super-Friends was once
again renamed and restructured to be
called "Super-Friends: The Legendary
Super-Powers Show" where familiar
villains returned as agents for the
legendary Darkseid, evil ruler of
Apokolips. In it's final season,
1985-86, it should be no surprise that
the show was renamed once again, this
time as the half-hour "The Super-Powers
Team: Galactic Guardians". Of all it's
incarnations, this one was probably the
most faithful to it's comic book
origins. Overall, ABC-TV broadcast the
"Super-Friends" in one form or another
for over twelve years and 80 episodes.
In
1988, Superman returned to CBS-TV in a
short-lived series from Ruby-Spears
Enterprises called "Superman". The
cartoon series only lasted one season
but, boasting writing and artwork
talents of comic book creators, the show
was very well done. Coming two years
after the Superman revamp in the comic
books, the show reflected those
changes. Beau Weaver provided the voice
for Superman / Clark Kent. The major
difference was that villain Lex Luthor
was now shown as the multi-billionaire
industrialist rather than an evil mad
scientist.
In
1996, with the success of "Batman: The
Animated Series", Warner Brothers
Television and creators Alan Burnett,
Paul Dini, and Bruce Timm, produced
"Superman: The Animated Series". The
first installment, "Superman: Last Son
of Krypton" was a 90-minute three part
episode which introduced the character.
The series was an immediate success.
Taking a cue from "Batman: TAS",
well-known actors from Hollywood
provided the voice work in this series.
Tim Daly, from the television series
"Wings", provided the voice of Superman
/ Clark Kent while Dana Delany (Lois
Lane), Clancey
Brown (Lex Luthor), Malcolm MacDowell
(Metallo), Michael Ironside (Darkseid),
and Gilbert Gottfried (Mxyzptlk)
provided many other recurring roles. TV
Guide said the series was Superman at
his finest and put it at the top of it's
list of shows recommended for children.
The series ran for two years before
being combined with Batman episodes for
"The Batman / Superman Adventures".
Each new season brought new episodes
including special team-up episodes where
Superman and Batman fought alongside
each other. "Superman: TAS" was very
well made with exciting storylines
harkening back to the Fleischer Studios
Superman.
In
2001, with the success of reruns of
"Batman: TAS", "Superman: TAS", and
"Batman Beyond", the Cartoon Network
announced it would begin broadcasting a
new half-hour series called "Justice
League" in it's 2002 season. This new
version of the Justice League had as
it's members Superman, Batman, Wonder
Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, and
Hawkwoman. Due to scheduling
difficulties, Tim Daly could not reprise
his role as Superman. The creators
chose actor George Newburn
.
Just like the previous super-hero
series, the "Justice League" series had
well-known actors performing the voice
roles. Also like those previous series,
the high standard of quality that went
into the production of those series went
into the "Justice League". Creator
Bruce Timm called this "...the
Super-Friends for a new generation..."
and viewers were not disappointed. The
action pacing and upbeat musical score
contributed to a well-done, critically
acclaimed series. Adult and child fans
alike agreed that costumed heroes were
once again holding their own in the
world of animation. Currently, "Justice
League" is one of the hottest series in
the Cartoon Network's Saturday night
line-up. Now in it's second season, it
looks like they are well on their way to
a third and beyond.
Looking over all that's been covered, I
think this is a good place to end for
now. Next time, I'll cover Superman's
motion picture outings as well as other
media outlets. I hope to see you back
here again.
