The Top 10 Forgotten Cartoons

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- 1930s and '40s animation
The POPEYE and some of the SUPERMAN shorts in this triple feature were creations of Fleischer Studios. The SUPERMAN franchise was taken over in 1942 by Fleischer's successor, Famous Studios.

Produced in the mid-1930s, MGM's "It's Spring" offers the highest level of artisanship here. It's a breathtakingly hued and elegantly detailed short directed by William Hanna and animated by Rudolf Ising/Hugh Harman.

Some complaints have been made regarding GTV's use of overdubbed sound effects. These may be of concern to anyone who prefers their animation free of extraneous "enhancements." (The aural additions weren't plentiful enough to bother me.)

The contents of this 3½ hour disc are also available on individual DVDs. For a similar GOOD TIME VIDEO animation triple-feature, check out BETTY BOOP AND THE GIRLS OF MISCHIEF/THE BEST OF BETTY BOOP/GABBY AND HIS GULLIBLE FRIENDS.

PROGRAM for "Superman/Popeye/Top Ten":

Superman vs. the Monsters and Villains--

THE ARCTIC GIANT (1942) - A huge, frozen prehistoric lizard thaws out at a museum and reanimates. It then rampages through Metropolis.
THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS (1941) - "Mad" inventor uses robots to rob a jewelry store. Lois is captured trying to stop the heist.
ELECTRIC EARTHQUAKE (1942) - American Indian scientist tries to force the return of Metropolis to his tribe. Lois follows him to his undersea lab, where he electrically sets off seismic activity.
SUPERMAN (1941) - Series premiere covers Superman's arrival on Earth as a baby, his orphanage boyhood and employment at the Daily Planet. The Man of Steel's first villain nemesis threatens Metropolis with a ray gun.
THE UNDERGROUND WORLD (1943) - Lois and a professor are captured by underground birdmen who want to toss them both into a lava pit.
THE BULLETEERS (1942) - Terrorists destroy several Metropolis edifices and threaten to wreck more. They abduct Lois at the last place attacked.
BILLION DOLLAR LIMITED (1942) - A trainload of gold destined for Fort Knox is hijacked, along with Lois Lane.
THE MUMMY STRIKES (1943) - The mysterious death of an archaeologist takes Lois and Clark to Egypt. Clark accidentally awakens giant mummies that guard a tomb.
THE MAGNETIC TELESCOPE (1942) - Plummeting meteorite fragments brought to Metropolis by a giant iron-attracting telescope badly damage the city. After refusing to halt his experiments, the device's inventor next targets the city with an immense, potentially deadly comet.

When Popeye Ruled the Seven Seas--

ALADDIN AND HIS WONDERFUL LAMP (1939) - Olive dreams that Popeye is Aladdin. His magic lamps transforms the sailor into a prince.
POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS ALI BABA'S FORTY THIEVES (1937) - After their plane crashes, Popeye, Olive amd Wimpy end up in a desert town that's ransacked by Abu Hassan (Bluto) and his men.
POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS SINDBAD THE SAILOR (1936) - Popeye rescues Olive from Sindbad. (This first ever in-color Popeye short runs 16 minutes.)
LITTLE SWEE'PEA (1936) - A trip to the zoo keeps Popeye busy rescuing a mischievous baby from the animals.
CUSTOMERS WANTED (1939) - Popeye and Bluto each own penny arcades that show scenes of earlier shorts. Their competition for customers leads to a huge fistfight.

Top Ten Cartoons that Time Forgot--
Studios represented: FAMOUS [fa], FLEISCHER [fl], MGM, P.A. POWERS [po], VAN BEUREN [vb].

DOGGONE TIRED (1949) [mgm] - Rabbit spends all night keeping a hound awake so he'll be too sleepy to go hunting at dawn.
TROLLEY AHOY (1936) [vb] - The Captain bets a passenger $10 that his troilley will meet the train on time.
DANCING ON THE MOON (1935) [fl] - Kitty bride accidentally misses her lunar honeymoon rocket trip. The groom is alone and miserable among all the animal couples.
A WAIF'S WELCOME (1936) [vb] - An adopted orphan's welcome is sabotaged by his jealous, conniving new younger brother.
ALL's FAIR AT THE FAIR (1938) [fl] - An animated look at the 1939 New York World's Fair.
IT'S A GREEK LIFE (1936) [vb] - A centaur blacksmith repairs Mercury's winged shoes, takes then on a test flight and ruins them.
TO SPRING (1936) [mgm] - Gnomes prepare to paint the white Earth at winter's end. Tour-de-force of animation skills dazzles with its color swirls and infinite detail.
A SELF-MADE MONGREL (1945) [fa] - Dog Face is adopted by a rich man. During their game of "burglar and watchdog," a real thief shows up.
CUPID GETS HIS MAN (1936) [vb] - WC Fields and Edna Mae Oliver resist Dan Cupid's attempts to make them a couple.
HAPPY DAYS (1936) [po] - Boys buy a jalopy that lifts off when they fill its tires with helium.

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