Fleischer Studios

Fleischer Studios, Inc. is an American corporation which originated as an animation studio located at 1600 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 being fired by parent company Paramount Pictures in January 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, Popeye the Sailor, and Superman.

Public Domain

The rights to the Fleischer/Famous Studios cartoon library are complicated. With the exception of the Superman and Popeye cartoons, Paramount's cartoon library was originally sold to a company called U M & M Corp. (which later became National Telefilm Associates 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. True animation historians and fans should be aware that this was not the way these classic cartoons were originally intended to be seen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The 1950-1958 cartoons were sold to Harvey Comics in 1958, which also bought the 1958-1962 cartoons as well (today they are owned by Classic Media). The copyright for the Fleischers' cartoons was not renewed by Famous or Paramount, and as a result the majority of the Fleischers' cartoons entered the public domain. This included the Color Classics series, the Superman series, and the two full-length feature films. 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 (which became part of United Artists), including the three 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).

Related Topics:
Classic Media - Public domain - Associated Artists Productions - United Artists - Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor - Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves - Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Most of the Flesichers' color films 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 Flesicher 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.

Related Topics:
1980s - UCLA Film and Television Archive - DVD

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 cartoons in general do not appeal to young children. Some of these cartoons have also appeared in restored versions (mostly with their original credits).

Related Topics:
Black and white - Silent

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In any case, DC Comics (via Warner Bros.) now owns the original film elements to the Superman series, while Turner Entertainment (also via Warner Bros.) 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), while Lions Gate Home Entertainment (via an output deal with Republic) owns the video rights. Although there were official releases in the late 1980s of Betty Boop compilation VHS and 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), sadly it would take longer for any official DVD releases of the Fleischer cartoons. Recently however, there have been at least two separate versions of the series released on DVD, both of which feature all 17 original episodes; The Complete Superman Cartoons - Diamond Aniversary Edition (released in 2000 by Image Entertainment) and Superman Adventures (released in 2004 by Platinum Disc Corporation).

Related Topics:
DC Comics - Warner Bros. - Turner Entertainment - Lions Gate Home Entertainment - LaserDisc - Live Entertainment

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~