Fleischer Studios
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'''Fleischer Studios, Inc.''' is an [[United States|American]] corporation which originated as an [[animation]] studio located at 1600 [[Broadway (New York City)|Broadway]], [[New York City, New York]]. It was founded in [[1921]] by brothers [[Max Fleischer]] and [[Dave Fleischer]] who ran the company from its inception until [[Paramount Pictures]], the studio's parent company and the distributor of its films, forced them to resign in April of [[1942]]. In its prime, it was the most significant competitor to [[Walt Disney Productions]], and is notable for bringing to the screen cartoons featuring [[Koko the Clown]], [[Betty Boop]], [[Bimbo (Fleischer)|Bimbo]], [[Popeye the Sailor (1933 cartoon)|Popeye the Sailor]], and [[Superman (1940s cartoons)|Superman]]. Unlike other studios, whose most famous characters were anthropomorphic animals, most of the Fleischers' most popular characters were humans.
==Silent films==
[[Image:Smiles.jpg|right|200px|thumb|A scene from the eleventh ''[[Screen Song]]'' cartoon, ''[[Smiles (animated short)|Smiles]]'' (1929).]]
The company had its start when Max Fleischer invented the [[rotoscope]], which allowed for extremely lifelike animation. Using this device, the Fleischer brothers got a contract with [[Bray Studio]] in [[1919]] to produce their own series called ''[[Out of the Inkwell]]'', which featured their first characters, the as yet unnamed [[Koko the Clown]], and Fitz the Dog, who would evolve into [[Bimbo (cartoon)|Bimbo]] in 1930. ''[[Out of the Inkwell]]'' became a very successful series. As the Bray theatrical operation started to diminish, the brothers began their own studio in 1921. Dave served as the director and supervised the studio's production, while Max served as the producer. The company was known as Out of the Inkwell Films, Incorporated, and later became Fleischer Studios in January, 1929.
Throughout the 1920s, Fleischer was one of the top producers of animation, with clever humor and numerous innovations including the Rotograph, an early photographic process for compositing animation with live action backgrounds. Other innovations included ''[[Song_Car-Tunes|Ko-Ko Song Car-Tunes]]'', sing-along shorts (featuring the famous "[[bouncing ball]]"), which were a sort of precursor to [[Karaoke]]. From May 1924 to September 1926, the studio used Dr. [[Lee De Forest]]'s [[Phonofilm]] [[sound-on-film]] process to produce 19 early cartoons with synchronized sound tracks, including ''Come Take a Trip in My Airship'', ''Darling Nelly Gray'', ''[[ Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly]]'' and ''[[By the Light of the Silvery Moon]]''. The Ko-Ko [[Song Car-Tunes]] series ended in 1927, but returned as the ''[[Screen Songs]]'' series from 1929 to 1938.
==Sound and color==
With their ealier experience with sound, Fleischer Studios made the transition with ease. Their production and distribution deal with Paramount allowed to expand on their song film format in their new''[[Screen Songs]]'', a continuation of the earlier ''Ko-Ko Song Cartunes''. The first of these was ''[[The Sidewalks of New York]]'', released on [[February 5]], [[1929]]. In October of that same year, the Fleischers introduced a new series called ''[[Talkartoons]]''. Earlier entries in the series were mostly one-shot cartoons, but [[Bimbo (cartoon)|Bimbo]] would become a staple of the series. Bimbo was quickly upstaged by his girlfriend, [[Betty Boop]], who quickly became the star of the studio, and by August of 1932, the Talkartoon series was renamed as Betty Boop cartoons; Fleischer Studios also gained more success by using Cab Calloway in three Betty Boop cartoons. Betty was the first featured female character in American animation, and she reflected the distinctive adult urban orientation of the studio's product.
[[Image:Betty-boop-opening-title.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Betty Boop, from the opening title sequence of the earliest entries in the ''Betty Boop Cartoons'' series.]]
The studio's initial successes began to turn as the 1930s continued. In [[1934]], the [[Hays Code]] was enacted in Hollywood, which resluted in severe censorship for films. Betty's sexuality was neutralized, and much of her charm was lost. At the same time, the Hays Code affected the tone of Paramount's films. Paramount had also gone there three reorganizations from bankruptcy between 1931 and 1936. And the new management 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, who was urging Fleischer to consider emulating the Walt Disney's cartoons. The most notable example of the Fleischers' adaptation of the Disney style was their ''[[Color Classics]]'' series, which was essentially a copy of Disney's ''[[Silly Symphonies]]''.
The Fleischers' success was further solidified when they licensed [[E.C. Segar]]'s [[comic strip]] character [[Popeye|Popeye the Sailor]] for a cartoon series of his own. ''Popeye'' eventually became the most popular series the Fleischers ever produced, and its success rivaled that of [[Walt Disney]]'s [[Mickey Mouse]] cartoons. Three [[Technicolor]] ''Popeye'' featurettes were produced in 1936, 1937, and 1939, and were billed in many theatres alongside with or above the main feature.
==Later period==
Fleischer Studios' efforts to emulate the Disney studio culminated in the production of animated feature films, following the success of Disney's ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]]'' ([[1937 in film|1937]]). Paramount loaned Fleischer the money for a larger studio, which was built in [[Miami, Florida]] in order to take advantage of [[tax]] breaks and to break up [[trade union|union]] activity resulting from a bitter 1937 strike. The new Fleischer studio opened in October [[1938]], and production on the first feature, ''[[Gulliver's Travels (1939 film)|Gulliver's Travels]]'', went from the development stage into active production.
Upon its [[Christmas]] [[1939]] release, ''Gulliver'' performed modestly, although the quality of the story and animation was far behind that of the film it tried to emulate, ''Snow White''. Between the release of ''Gulliver'' and the follow-up feature ''[[Mr. Bug Goes to Town]]'' ([[1941 in film|1941]]), the Fleischers produced their best work from this period, a series of high quality shorts based upon the [[comic book]] [[superhero]] ''[[Superman (1940s cartoons)|Superman]]''. <ref name="Supes" /> The first short in the series, simply titled ''Superman'', had a budget of $50,000, <ref name="Supes">Barrier, Michael (1999). ''Hollywood Cartoons''. New York: Oxford University Press. Pg. 304.</ref> the highest ever for a Fleischer theatrical short, and was nominated for an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]].
[[Image:Fleishersuperman.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The ''[[Superman (1940s cartoons)|Superman]]'' series, Fleischer Studio's most successful late period project.]]
However, this late success did not help the studio lift its financial trouble. The expanded staff of the new Miami studio created a high overhead, necessitating steady production. A number of the shorts turned out during this period, such as the continuing ''Popeye'' shorts and a [[1941]] two-reel adaptation of ''[[Raggedy Ann and Andy]]'', maintained a high level of quality. Others, like the ''Stone Age'' shorts, and the various ''Gulliver'' spin-off series, were among the studio's least successful output.
==Acquisition by Paramount==
{{seealso|Famous Studios}}
As profits dwindled, the Fleischers had to surrender their shares of the studio. To make matters even worse, Max and Dave were no longer on speaking terms as a result of professional and personal disputes.<ref name="Beck">{{cite web
| last = Beck
| first = Jerry
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Fleischer Becomes Famous Studios
| work = Cartoon Research
| publisher =
| date =
| url = http://www.cartoonresearch.com/paramount.html
| format =
| doi =
| accessdate = 2007-06-21 }}</ref> Paramount had both Fleischers submit a signed letter of resignation, to be used at Paramount's discretion, in order for the Fleischer Studio to receive financing for the 1940–1941 film season. On [[May 24]] [[1941]], Paramount assumed full ownership of Fleischer Studios, Inc. <ref name="BarrierBug">Barrier, Michael (1999). ''Hollywood Cartoons''. New York: Oxford University Press. Pgs. 303-305. ISBN 0-19-516729-5.</ref> The Fleischers remained in control of production through the end of [[1941]].
''Mr. Bug Goes to Town'' was finally released on December 5, 1941. Unfortunately, its release fell just two days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which brought The United States into World War II. ''Mr. Bug'' failed to get a general release, and while it was made within its $500,000 budget, its costs could not be recouped. Dave Fleischer, no longer able to cooperate with brother Max, left the studio at that time to become the head of [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]]'s [[Screen Gems]] animation studio in [[California]] one month premature of the expiration of his Paramount contract. With the co-owner of their animation studio now working for a competitor, Paramount cited a "breach" of contract and produced the letters of resignation, calling their loan, which bankrupted Fleischer Studios, Inc. As a result, the Fleischers were removed from control of the studio <ref name="BarrierBug" /> and Paramount formed a new company, [[Famous Studios]], as a successor to Fleischer Studios in mid-1942.
Max Fleischer went on to become Head of the Animation Division of the [[Jam Handy Organization]], and [[Sam Buchwald]], [[Isadore Sparber]], [[Dan Gordon (animator)|Dan Gordon]], and Max Fleischer's son-in-law [[Seymour Kneitel]] became the new heads of Famous Studios, which was moved back to New York by [[1943]]. <ref name="BarrierBug" /> The Fleischers were never a major force in the industry again, but their films and characters have remained popular. By the 1980s, the Fleischers were recognized as the animation pioneers that they really were. Fleischer Studios is today an in-name-only company, handling the merchandise licensing of Betty Boop.
==Copyright Status==
[[Image:Popeye-a-date-to-skate.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Popeye]] and [[Olive Oyl]] in the Fleischer Studios ''Popeye the Sailor'' cartoon ''A Date to Skate'' (1938), one of many Fleischer cartoons now in the [[public domain]].]]
The issue of rights to the Fleischer/Famous Studios cartoon library is complicated. With the exception of the ''Superman'' (sold to Motion Pictures for Television, which produced the 1950's ''Superman'' TV series) and ''Popeye'' cartoons, Paramount's cartoon library was originally sold to a company called [[U.M.&M. T.V. Corp.]] (which later became National Telefilm Associates [NTA] and [[Republic Pictures]]). U.M.&M. (as well as its NTA successor) altered the original negatives to a majority of the cartoons and modified their original front-and-end credit sequences, either blocking out all references to Paramount or creating new but cheaply done credits.
In [[1958]], the 1950–1958 cartoons were sold to Harvey Comics, which also bought the 1958–1962 cartoons as well (today they are owned by [[Classic Media]]). The copyright for most of the Fleischers' cartoons was not [[renew]]ed by Famous or Paramount, and entered the [[public domain]]. This included the ''Color Classics'' series, the ''Betty Boop'' series, the ''Superman'' series, and [[Gulliver's Travels (film)|Gulliver's Travels]]. ([[Mr. Bug Goes to Town]] and some cartoons of [[Popeye]] are renewed and till copyrighted.) Some cartoons of the ''Popeye'' series did not become public domain as Popeye's trademark was enforced by King Features Syndicate and the cartoons themselves acquired by [[Associated Artists Productions]] (a.a.p., which later became part of [[United Artists]]), including the three public domain two-reel ''Popeye Color Specials'' (''[[Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor]]'', ''[[Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves]]'', and ''[[Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp]]'').
Most of the Fleischers' color [[public domain film]]s have been widely available on video since the 1980s, often on inexpensive (and poor quality) videotapes sold in supermarkets and department stores as parts of collections of other public-domain cartoons. Both animation fans and the [[UCLA Film and Television Archive]] have worked to give the classic Fleischer cartoons the credit they deserve, and high-quality restored editions of the Fleischer cartoons have also been made available on pay-cable, home video and [[DVD]]. Many of these restored prints include the original front-and-end Paramount titles.
Roughly half of the entries in the ''Betty Boop'' series, and most of those in the ''Out of the Inkwell''/''Inkwell Imps'' series have also entered the public domain, though they are not as widely available because of the popular belief among today's video producers that [[black-and-white]] and [[silent film|silent]] cartoons in general do not appeal to young children. Some of these cartoons have also appeared in restored versions (mostly with their original credits).
The ''Superman'' and ''Popeye'' series, in one way or another, ended up under the ownership of [[Warner Bros.]] Entertainment via its various subsidiaries. [[DC Comics]] (acquired by Warners in the late 1960s) now owns the original film elements to the ''Superman'' series, while [[Turner Entertainment]] (acquired by Warners current parent [[Time Warner]] in 1996) owns the ''Popeye'' series outright (with the exception, of course, of the later produced 1960s made-for-TV shorts which are owned by King Features Entertainment).
Meanwhile, Paramount (through Republic, which the studio's parent company, [[Viacom]], acquired in [[1999]]), in a twist of irony, now owns the original elements to its 1927–1950 output they themselves originally released (in addition to the 1962–1967 shorts they have retained the rights to). Paramount now also owns the theatrical rights, while Republic's video licensee, [[Lions Gate Entertainment|Lions Gate Home Entertainment]], holds the home video rights, and what is now [[CBS Paramount Television]] now holds most major TV rights (aside from other major and minor/low budget film, TV, and video companies that distribute the public domain cartoons). Although there were official releases in the late 1980s of ''Betty Boop'' compilation VHS and [[Laserdisc|LaserDisc]] box sets by [[Live Entertainment]] (Lions Gate's predecessor), and select ''Superman'' cartoons by Warner Home Video (as part of separate VHS and LaserDisc collections of episodes from ''The Adventures of Superman'' TV series of the 1950s), it would take longer for any official DVD releases of the Fleischer cartoons due to Republic's ownership and video license changes, the potential film and/or digital restoration costs, and the financial viability as the result of releasing restored versions.
There have been some notable video releases for the ''Superman'' series, among the best reviewed of these was 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 high-quality transfers from 35mm prints. At least two separate versions of the ''Superman'' series was released on DVD, both of which feature all 17 original episodes: ''The Complete Superman Cartoons — Diamond Anniversary Edition'' (released in [[2000]] by [[Image Entertainment]], this DVD was a re-issue of the Bosko Video tape set) and ''Superman Adventures'' (released 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]] as part of their DVD [[Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition|box set of Superman films]]; and [[VCI Entertainment]]/[[Kit Parker Films]]' DVD compilation of all the ''Color Classics'' entitled ''Somewhere In Dreamland'', which includes only a fraction of shorts remastered from 35MM, but otherwise taken from the best available sources Kit Parker could provide VCI, and digitally recreating the original front-and-end Paramount titles. (Animation archivist [[Jerry Beck]] served as consultant for this box set, as well as providing audio commentary for select shorts.)
==Influence==
{{Expand-section|date=November 2007}}
The loose, improvisatory animation, frequently [[Surrealism|surreal]] action (particularly in films such as ''[[Snow White (Betty Boop cartoon)|Snow White]]'' and ''[[Bimbo's Initiation]]''), grungy atmosphere, and racy [[pre-Code]] content of the early Fleischer Studios cartoons have been a major influence on many [[Underground comix|underground]] and [[Alternative comics|alternative]] cartoonists. [[Kim Deitch]], [[Robert Crumb]], [[Jim Woodring]], and [[Al Columbia]] are among the creators who have specifically acknowledged their inspiration.
Much of [[Richard Elfman]]'s 1980 [[cult film]] ''[[Forbidden Zone]]'' is a live action [[pastiche]] of the early Fleischer Studios style.
== Filmography ==
: *:(all works are in) public domain
: #:some works are in public domain
===One-reel shorts series===
*''[[Out of the Inkwell]]'' (1921 – 1926; earlier entries produced by [[John R. Bray]] from 1918 to 1921)
*''[[Inkwell Imps]]'' (1927 – 1928)
*''[[Song Car-Tunes]]'' (1924 – 1926)
*''[[Screen Songs]]'' (1929 – 1938)
*''[[Talkartoons]]'' (1929 – 1932)
*''[[Betty Boop]]''# (1932 – 1939)
*''[[Popeye the Sailor]]''# (1933 – 1942)
*''[[Color Classics]]'' (1934 – 1941)
*''[[Stone Age (cartoon)|Stone Age]]'' (1940)
*''[[Animated Antics]]'' (1940 – 1941)
*''[[Gabby (cartoon)|Gabby]]'' (1940 – 1941)
*''[[Superman (1940s cartoons)|Superman]]''* (1941 – 1942)
===Two-reel shorts===
*''[[Darwin's Theory of Evolution (1923 film)|Darwin's Theory of Evolution]]'' (1923)
*''[[The Einstein Theory of Relativity]]'' (1923)
*''[[Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor]]''* (1936)
*''[[Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves]]''* (1937)
*''[[Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp]]''* (1939)
*''[[Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy]]'' (1941)
*''[[The Raven]]'' (1942)
===Feature films===
*''[[Gulliver's Travels (1939 film)|Gulliver's Travels]]''* (1939)
*''[[Mister Bug Goes to Town|Mr. Bug Goes to Town (a.k.a. Hoppity Goes to Town)]]'' (1941)
==See also==
* [[Animation Before Hollywood: The Silent Period]]
* [[The Golden Age of American animation]]
* [[William Sturm]]
* [[Famous Studios]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.toonopedia.com/fleischr.htm Toonopedia: Max Fleischer Studio]
* [http://www.davemackey.com/animation/fleischer/ Fleischer Sound Cartoons Filmography]
*{{bcdb2|path=cartoons/Paramount_Pictures/Fleischer_Studios/|title=Fleischer Studios}}
* [http://www.archive.org/details/PopeyeAliBaba Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves] at the Internet Archive.
*[http://www.flixens.com/the_real_heroes_of_superman_part_3 "The Real Heroes of Superman"] essay on Max Fleischer from Flixens.com
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