Brush up on Superman's Golden Era in Animation
How Superman inspired everything from Studio Ghibli to the creation of Godzilla.
Before you sit down in the cinema to watch Superman duke it out against the Bat of Gotham, it would be worth it to take seven minutes to watch this short film on the origins of our favorite Man of Steel. Here, video essayist Kristian Williams looks past the thick layers of CGI that the Superman franchise has been caked under in past years, instead delving back into what he deems the superhero’s ”Golden Age” of animation under the mastery of the Fleischer brothers. In closely examining their pioneering techniques, Williams uncovers how they created a rich and lush animation aesthetic years ahead of their time, as well as how they effectively fleshed out the fledgling modern superhero, in the process inspiring the ability to fly in superheroes as well as the advent of Godzilla.