The Bulleteers

A SUPERMAN Cartoon

Three evil inventors have developed a fantastic `bullet car' - shaped like a rocket, it can fly and destroy any building by simply crashing through it. After smashing the Metropolis Police Headquarters, the extortionists demand a huge payment, which the mayor refuses to pay. In fury, the bullet car begins the destruction of the city. With intrepid reporter Lois Lane now a prisoner of the villains, can the Man of Steel possibly stop the incredible technology in the hands of THE BULLETEERS?

This was another in the series of excellent cartoons Max Fleischer produced for Paramount Studio. They feature great animation and taut, fast-moving plots. Meant to be shown in movie theaters, they are miles ahead of their Saturday Morning counterparts.

In THE BULLETEERS, a gang of nefarious criminals flies through Metropolis crashing through buildings at will. They're soaring around in a ballistic juggernaut, and they're attempting to extort money from the entire city.

These guys even give Superman some trouble!

Then, Lois is captured by them, and our hero takes things up a notch. An epic battle unfolds.

This fifth instalment in the Fleischer bros. Series is definitely exciting! The titular gang and their vehicle are an innovative addition.

Recommended for all fans of Superman, as well as meticulously-rendered animation...

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 fifth in the series is about a group of costumed criminals known as the Bulleteers. They have a bullet-shaped rocket car and are terrorizing the city, destroying buildings and thumbing their noses at the law. They also have the coolest secret lair on top of a mountain outside of town. The mayor tries to organize the police to stop them but it's no use! As the Bulleteers' rampage continues, Superman shows up. But, as he fails to stop them, we have to ask: are the Bulleteers too much for the Man of Steel?

Another great Fleischer Superman cartoon, although a step below the previous entries in the series. The Bulleteers' rocket car and awesome mountaintop hideout are cool visuals like you expect from this series. I also loved the scenes of the police scrambling to fortify and fight back against the seemingly indestructible rocket car. Those little touches are prime examples of the beauty of the Fleischer cartoons. There's so much going on that's just fun and exciting to watch.

The 1942 animated short "Superman" story titled "The Bulleteers" from writers Bill Turner and Carl Meyer wasn't really the most interesting of storylines in these 1940s short stories. Sure, it was watchable and enjoyable enough, given the fact that it is a "Superman" story, but in comparison to most of the other stores in the series, then it was fairly bland.

The animation style and art style is the same in "The Bulleteers" as in the other animated short stories, for better or worse. I do like the style, because there is a classic sense to it, a sense of familiarity and agelessness actually.

And with the voices of Bud Collyer and Joan Alexander, whom have been lending their voices to these episodes throughout the 1940s, definitely does something for the overall presentation.

If you enjoy Superman comics or cartoons, then I will say that "The Bulleteers" should be worth checking out, though it is not the best of stories.

My rating of "The Bulleteers" from directors Dave Fleischer and Orestes Calpini lands on a five out of ten stars.

Right at the very beginning we see a bullet-shaped aircraft smash right through the Police Headquarters, demolishing it. The evil masked men on it demand all the money from the town hall or they'll attack. The mayor refuses to pay and the police brace themselves for an all out attack. It begins and they're no match. Good thing Superman is around. And Lois Lane is held captive (again).

It's sort of amusing to see Lois always being captured and tied up in these cartoons. Still, this is quick, tight, full of action and has the incredible animation that we expect. Fun with incredible sound effects (in the restored DVD version).