The Great Animation Studios - Fleischer Studios (2000)

One of the most innovative studios in the history of American animation, the Fleischer brothers' offered an alternative vision to the increasingly dominant Disney style during the '30s. A well-chosen collection of Fleischer cartoons is long overdue; unfortunately, this collection offers examples of their second-rate work. Betty Boop is represented by the uninspired "Ker-Choo" and two late films, when the cartoon flapper had been turned into a hausfrau. Two "Out of the Inkwell" shorts taken from badly faded prints lack the visual imagination that made the series popular. The saccharine and dreary "Small Fry," "Ants in the Plants," and "It's a Hap Hap Happy Day" exemplify the work the studio did when the Fleischers were under pressure from Paramount to imitate Disney's "Silly Symphonies." The two-reel color "Aladdin" (1939) with Popeye in the title role is a genuine rarity, although it's weaker than the earlier "Sinbad" and "Ali Baba." Despite the blurb on the cover, the first 20-minute "Popeye" film (which was released in 1936, not 1935) was not "the first long form cartoon" by almost 20 years--it wasn't even the first long film from the Fleischers. Winstar needs more careful writers and researchers. Not rated; suitable for all ages; contains minor cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon Amazon.com

I returned this to the store! There are other, better, releases.

This looks horrible! If you want to see Max Fleischer cartoons I re-direct you to the following sources:

Koko & Inkwell cartoons: "Out of the Inkwell" DVD from Inkwell Images.

Betty Boop cartoons: "The Betty Boop Collection" (out of print) VHS & Laserdisc from Republic Home Video.

Popeye cartoons: to be restored & released by Warner Home Video on DVD in 2007.

Color Classic's cartoons: "Dancing On The Moon" DVD from VCI Home Video. June 12, 2006

They should learn to respect....

...cartoons of such great value! How could they mess with great cartoons like that? April 10, 2006

all about bypassing public domain

these are basically reworked with cheezy new soundtracks etc so that they don't fall into the public domain, as they should. get the originals in a decent format instead! July 27, 2004

Great Animation Studios--Fleischer Studio

Customers, BEWARE! The ugly packaging should be a warning sign of the quality of this DVD. First the transfers are inconsistant, and do not look like first rate orignals. Second, why did the packagers find it necessary to tamper with the original soundtracks? Their amateurish attempts to "enhance" the sound only muffles it, and is mostly out of sync! Although a noble idea to give tribute to this great animation pioneer, the selection of films was not done with much thought or careful research....
September 6, 2001

THE GREAT ANIMATION STUDIOS--FLEISCHER STUDIOS

With Winstar's resources, it is amazing that they have managed to asemble such an atrosity. The material is haphazardly selected with inconsistant quality. First, the transfers appear to have been taken from other tape sources. The OUT OF THE INKWELL examples are so contrasty they aren't watchable. One of the color cartoons appears to have drop out from the tape source. Another has a horizontal picture weave that does not appear in the others. Some have a flicker, suggesting a flaw in the video engineering. For a DVD, the customer deserves better.

The BETTY BOOP cartoons have clearly been lifted from the Republic releases, with an attempt to disguise them with a still of the framed mountain motif sans Paramount logo lettering. But most of all, their "feel the sound" concept muffles the original soundtrack, and is just a bad attempt at replacing the existing sound effects with new ones that are too loud. Everything sounds like a bowling ball dropped in one's face--and not even in sync at that! Winstar is taking a chance with some of these titles since the international copyrights are in effect, and Paramount is taking such bootleg distribuors to court. The buyer needs only to look at the badly designed cover to know what is inside. There is superior product on Fleischer Studios on the market. This is not it! August 14, 2001

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