In the world of animation, Max Fleischer is both a pioneer and an icon. Fleischer Studios brought Popeye, Betty Boop, Superman, and many others to life. Now those shorts are being restored and we've got the inside scoop from producer Mauricio Alvarado, granddaughter Jane Fleischer Reid, and historian Ray Pointer! FleischerCartoons.com @fleischertoons on all social media rockinpins.com th-cam.com/users/RayPointer The Art and Inventions of Max Fleischer: American Animation Pioneer by Ray Pointer: amzn.to/41jY0c5 Out of the Inkwell: Max Fleischer and the Animation Revolution by Richard Fleischer: amzn.to/4gfn5JB **************************************************************** When shopping on Amazon, please use Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: amzn.to/3LAgnlt **************************************************************** Become a Member and unlock exclusive videos, early access, and much more at Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight or through TH-cam Memberships at www.youtube.com/@CerealAtMidnight/membership **************************************************************** Movie Review Archive: CerealAtMidnight.com/p/reviews.html Cereal At Midnight Swag: CerealAtMidnight.Threadless.com Ebay.com/usr/cerealatmidnight Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight bsky.app/profile/cerealatmidnight.bsky.social www.threads.net/@cerealmidnight Facebook.com/CerealMidnight Twitter: CerealMidnight Instagram: CerealMidnight TikTok: OfficialCerealAtMidnight Letterboxd: CerealAtMidnite
Saturday morning with TCM showing a Popeye cartoon is appointment tv. These cartoons are so clever that I marvel at how they are created with the ideas involved.
I remember reading Leslie Cabarga's 'The Fleischer Story' as well as Leonard Maltin's 'Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons' back in the late 1980s and I was so inspired that I rented as many Betty Boop, Popeye, and Superman cartoons (as well as the features 'Gulliver's Travels' and 'Hoppity Goes to Town') that I could find to immerse myself in as much animation history as possible. These days, I have plenty of Fleischer animation on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray, as well as a Betty Boop record that featured many of the songs from her classic cartoons of the 1930s. :)
This is the kind of stuff that warms my heart. The works of the great early pioneering animators like Max Fleischer, Ub Iwerks, Winsor McCay and the like are often overlooked and overshadowed by figures like Disney and Hanna/Barbera. To hear the passion for preserving and restoring these classic animated shorts from your guests (and the audiences that are enthusiastic for watching them) gives me great hope. Hopefully, this will lead to a rediscovery and appreciation from new audiences, and more physical media for our own preservation of these wonderful films!
Ray @ 47:35..... "Even the average people are wondering whether this is right, if it's too bright" You 2 days ago.... They are "nit picking" and "the problem, as we both well know, is when movie fans act as if they know more about the restoration process than the people who actually restore film for a living" Well which is it? Are the 'average people' Ray mentions wrong to challenge the work of the people doing restoration at Warner Bros? Are they "acting as if they know more about the process" ? Or are they just picking up that something's 'not right' ? and like Ray have a valid point ? Ray appears to have more respect for what the movie fans think about what they are watching then you do He definitely didn't dismiss their concerns as 'nit picking' "the people who actually restore film for a living" can stuff up too, they're human, and it might not even be their fault because isn't it easily possible that they don't get the time/resource they'd like or need to get it all done right?
Fantastic interview. The Fleischer Bros,, UB Iwerks and Winsor McCay are all in desperate need of restoration and releases at reasonable prices. Throw George Pal's puppetoons on the pile as well. Sadly, much of this stuff is priced in a way that negates any interest than incites it. We need an interest market and not just some connoisseur market. This stuff was created for the masses, not the hoarder.
There's been basically NO Fleischer animation on TV in Australia. The first thing I saw was when I was 21, the old movie channel on pay TV played a documentary hosted by Leonard Maltin.... at 4 in the morning. But I stayed up and watched it because I like the Warner and Disney cartoons and then.... MIND 💥 BLOWN! That was the most fun I've had at that time of day without (ahem) other things. The thing is, there's practically nothing available here.
Author Leslie Cabarga (now 70 years old) would also have been a great guest given that he wrote 'The Fleischer Story' in 1976 which was updated in 1988 and it's a really fantastically written as well as lavishly illustrated book which I highly recommend. :)
@@CerealAtMidnight, yes, it was great seeing Leslie's book being mentioned and shown (with the newer cover from the 1988 updated softcover reissue) and at the time of the original issue from 1976, there were relatively few books that discussed animation or particular animation studios in-depth. I've got about 70 books on animation dating from the 70s, 80s, and 90s with some great early animation books like Kit Laybourne's 'The Animation Book', 'The World of Animation' by Kodak, as well as 'The Complete Kodak Animation Book' by Charles Solomon, 'Animation by Preston Blair', and later in the 80s, 'Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life' (known at "the animator's Bible") by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston (as well as their other books), 'Chuck Amuck', an autobiography by Chuck Jones, etc. :)
In the world of animation, Max Fleischer is both a pioneer and an icon. Fleischer Studios brought Popeye, Betty Boop, Superman, and many others to life. Now those shorts are being restored and we've got the inside scoop from producer Mauricio Alvarado, granddaughter Jane Fleischer Reid, and historian Ray Pointer!
FleischerCartoons.com
@fleischertoons on all social media
rockinpins.com
th-cam.com/users/RayPointer
The Art and Inventions of Max Fleischer: American Animation Pioneer by Ray Pointer: amzn.to/41jY0c5
Out of the Inkwell: Max Fleischer and the Animation Revolution by Richard Fleischer: amzn.to/4gfn5JB
****************************************************************
When shopping on Amazon, please use Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: amzn.to/3LAgnlt
****************************************************************
Become a Member and unlock exclusive videos, early access, and much more at Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight or through TH-cam Memberships at www.youtube.com/@CerealAtMidnight/membership
****************************************************************
Movie Review Archive: CerealAtMidnight.com/p/reviews.html
Cereal At Midnight Swag: CerealAtMidnight.Threadless.com
Ebay.com/usr/cerealatmidnight
Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight
bsky.app/profile/cerealatmidnight.bsky.social
www.threads.net/@cerealmidnight
Facebook.com/CerealMidnight
Twitter: CerealMidnight
Instagram: CerealMidnight
TikTok: OfficialCerealAtMidnight
Letterboxd: CerealAtMidnite
Saturday morning with TCM showing a Popeye cartoon is appointment tv. These cartoons are so clever that I marvel at how they are created with the ideas involved.
Wow! What a cast! The Fleischer Bros.' work dazzled me as a kid, especially the multiplane camera depth in many of the cartoons. Superb, Heath.
Great interview!!! Glad to hear that these historical films are getting taken care of and scanned
I remember reading Leslie Cabarga's 'The Fleischer Story' as well as Leonard Maltin's 'Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons' back in the late 1980s and I was so inspired that I rented as many Betty Boop, Popeye, and Superman cartoons (as well as the features 'Gulliver's Travels' and 'Hoppity Goes to Town') that I could find to immerse myself in as much animation history as possible.
These days, I have plenty of Fleischer animation on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray, as well as a Betty Boop record that featured many of the songs from her classic cartoons of the 1930s. :)
These were the best! Ali Baba’s Forty Thieves is my favorite Popeye film. Would love to see it and all these others restored.
I’m so glad that Gulliver’s Travels is being restored. The public domain versions are of such poor quality.
This is the kind of stuff that warms my heart. The works of the great early pioneering animators like Max Fleischer, Ub Iwerks, Winsor McCay and the like are often overlooked and overshadowed by figures like Disney and Hanna/Barbera. To hear the passion for preserving and restoring these classic animated shorts from your guests (and the audiences that are enthusiastic for watching them) gives me great hope. Hopefully, this will lead to a rediscovery and appreciation from new audiences, and more physical media for our own preservation of these wonderful films!
Terrific show! Thanks for all the information.👍
This episode is neat. Simple as that. Good work, Fleischer fans!
Ray @ 47:35.....
"Even the average people are wondering whether this is right, if it's too bright"
You 2 days ago....
They are "nit picking"
and
"the problem, as we both well know, is when movie fans act as if they know more about the restoration process than the people who actually restore film for a living"
Well which is it?
Are the 'average people' Ray mentions wrong to challenge the work of the people doing restoration at Warner Bros?
Are they
"acting as if they know more about the process" ?
Or are they just picking up that something's 'not right' ?
and like Ray have a valid point ?
Ray appears to have more respect for what the movie fans think about what they are watching then you do
He definitely didn't dismiss their concerns as 'nit picking'
"the people who actually restore film for a living"
can stuff up too,
they're human,
and it might not even be their fault
because isn't it easily possible that they don't get the time/resource they'd like or need to get it all done right?
Would love to see more restored Fleischer on Blu-ray.
Mauricio my friend!
Fantastic interview.
The Fleischer Bros,, UB Iwerks and Winsor McCay are all in desperate need of restoration and releases at reasonable prices.
Throw George Pal's puppetoons on the pile as well.
Sadly, much of this stuff is priced in a way that negates any interest than incites it.
We need an interest market and not just some connoisseur market. This stuff was created for the masses, not the hoarder.
There's been basically NO Fleischer animation on TV in Australia. The first thing I saw was when I was 21, the old movie channel on pay TV played a documentary hosted by Leonard Maltin.... at 4 in the morning. But I stayed up and watched it because I like the Warner and Disney cartoons and then.... MIND 💥 BLOWN! That was the most fun I've had at that time of day without (ahem) other things. The thing is, there's practically nothing available here.
Interesting! You guys never got Betty Boop on tv?
@@hectormanuel8360 Not in the area I lived in at least. Other response: I know, right!
Good stuff. I saw some of those Inkwell series on a history of animation series. Very intriguing. I love the Superman series.
Author Leslie Cabarga (now 70 years old) would also have been a great guest given that he wrote 'The Fleischer Story' in 1976 which was updated in 1988 and it's a really fantastically written as well as lavishly illustrated book which I highly recommend. :)
Hopefully you got to the part of this episode where Leslie's book is mentioned and shown!
Cabarga got all his info from Ray! 😊
@@CerealAtMidnight, yes, it was great seeing Leslie's book being mentioned and shown (with the newer cover from the 1988 updated softcover reissue) and at the time of the original issue from 1976, there were relatively few books that discussed animation or particular animation studios in-depth.
I've got about 70 books on animation dating from the 70s, 80s, and 90s with some great early animation books like Kit Laybourne's 'The Animation Book', 'The World of Animation' by Kodak, as well as 'The Complete Kodak Animation Book' by Charles Solomon, 'Animation by Preston Blair', and later in the 80s, 'Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life' (known at "the animator's Bible") by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston (as well as their other books), 'Chuck Amuck', an autobiography by Chuck Jones, etc. :)
Saw some of these remasters screened at the Cinema Museum in London this year. Looked and sounded amazing and the invention will never age.
Great roundtable!
Great episode
I’m most excited about any restored Superman or Popeye but I will check out anything provided.
I'm curious if the Gumby project will include the episodes banned from the DVD collection.
I'm confused about what is being released and when. Sounds like a full restored collection of the works of the works of Max Fleisher.
So superman will be re-released without the DNR?
Ooooooo, this man was my childhood