Terror on the Midway

This is the ninth, and final, Superman cartoon made by Max and Dave Fleischer. While the rest of these initial series of animated shorts are virtually made by the same crew, the Fleischer brothers are nowhere near them since they would get ousted by Paramount due to financial and personal troubles between them. In this one, Lois and Clark are assigned to cover the circus which isn't one of their more exciting projects...until a gorilla is inadvertently let loose by a monkey and causes havoc to his surroundings. As always, Lois is the damsel in distress and it's up to Superman to rescue her...Quite exciting seeing all the animals reacting to the gorilla's presence and Superman struggling to keep the simian at bay though, as always, it all ends a bit too soon. Still, Terror on the Midway is well worth a look.

While Clark and Lois are at an amusement park, the parks main attraction Gigantic the gorilla escapes and wrecks havoc. This a job for Superman! Superman helps the police round up the escaped animals and saves Lois from the clutches of Gigantic the gorilla.

Sort of "Superman vs King Kong" except the giant ape doesn't fall in love with Lois and take her atop the tallest building in Metropolis. What can be said about this entry in the Superman cartoon series can be said about the series as a whole; superb animation and art work, fast pace and action, and beautiful vivid technicolor. These forties Superman cartoons are highly recommended to those enjoy good cartoon animation.

As is the case with the other Superman cartoons from the Fleischer Brothers, this cartoon can often be found in multi-cartoon packs for little money. However, you can also download them for free at archive.org--legally, since they are in the public domain.

The short begins with Lois and Clark at the circus. Lois is doing a story and taking photos and Clark decides to head back to work. However, just as he's about to enter the Daily Planet Building, he sees a commotion and rushes back to the circus. An enormous ape (Kong-sized) escaped and in the process freed a lot of other dangerous animals. So, it's up to Superman to round up the beasts and save Lois.

As usual, Superman saves Lois--though at least here she isn't being stupid but ends up in harm's way because she's trying to save a child. The plot is interesting and a bit atypical for the series. Worth a look.

Terror on the Midway (1942)

** (out of 4)

Ninth film in the Superman series has Lois and Clark going to the circus to write a story on it when a large gorilla breaks loose and starts causing damage. When Lois finds herself in trouble it's up to Superman to save the day. This is a pretty weak short in the series as Superman actually doesn't show up until the six-minute mark, which is even stranger when you consider the short doesn't even run nine-minutes. It's nice seeing him not having to battle some sort of mad scientist but instead just a large gorilla. It's also nice seeing him take a beating from the creature, which was another new touch to the series. With that said, that's pretty much all there is here because the rest is pretty dull. Not enough action to make the film worth viewing and as with the rest there isn't any comedy.

I love the Fleischer Superman cartoons. The animation is smooth and fluid with vivid colors. The distinct art-deco style, vintage science fiction imagery, and use of noirish shadows gave them a look unlike any other cartoons. The music and voice work is superb. They're fun, accessible, enduring animation classics.

The ninth in the series (and last for Fleischer) is a very simple story about Lois and Clark on assignment covering a circus when things go haywire and a large gorilla named Gigantic escapes and begins to attack people. Clark takes his sweet time about it but eventually changes into Superman, where he battles the gorilla, as well as other animals, to restore order to the circus.

I have mixed feelings on this one. There is a certain laziness about the story and, for a nine minute cartoon, it does seem to inexplicably have some padding. Still, the sequences with the animals are well-animated and exciting. It's entertaining, as the whole series is, but clearly something is missing. This would be the last Superman cartoon to be done by Fleischer Studios. Paramount would seize control of the studio, fire Dave and Max Fleischer, and rename it Famous Studios. Many of the same artists and animators would carry over, as would the voice talent. But the Fleischers would no longer be making Superman cartoons.