Fleischer Studios Cartoons—Restored!

Jane Henson Amphitheater

From the 1920s through the early 1940s, the Fleischer Studios’ cartoon shorts were immensely successful, their popularity and cultural ubiquity rivaling those of Walt Disney. The sons of Jewish immigrants, Max and Dave Fleischer made animated films for grown-up audiences during the Great Depression that were as bright, witty, and entertaining as they were reflective of social transformation. In some instances, the films provided critiques of contemporary issues and envisioned positive alternatives; in others, they reflected the unexamined prejudices of their time.  

While developing their first animated character, Ko-Ko the Clown, in 1915 Max Fleischer invented the rotoscope, a revolutionary device that enabled the use live-action footage as a basis for the fluid movement of animated characters. 

In 2022, a restoration effort began for the Fleischer Studio cartoons. Of the nearly 700 films made by the studio, 100 have been restored. This program of four restored shorts features some of the Fleischers’ most unforgettable and culturally persistent characters: Betty Boop (whose Judge for a Day appears in its restoration premiere), Popeye, Superman, and Ko-Ko the Clown, the Fleischers’ breakthrough star of their “Out of the Inkwell” series. 

Features (on a loop):

Out of the Inkwell: Jumping Beans (1922) 
Directed by Dave Fleischer 
8:30 mins. 

Popeye the Sailor Man: The Paneless Window Washer (1937) 
Directed by Dave Fleischer 
6 mins

Superman: The Mechanical Monsters (1941)  
Directed by Dave Fleischer 
10 mins.

Betty Boop: Judge for a Day (1935) 
Directed by Dave Fleischer 
8 mins. 

Special thanks to Mauricio Alvarado, Jane Fleischer Reid, and Skyler Reid. @fleischertoons