Now FASTing: SUPERMAN Casts a Long Shadow

Look up! It's actually a real cartoon.

Superman
Now streaming on Pluto TV.

(Top image: By Fleischer Studios - https://archive.org/details/superman_1941, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10646743)

Out of the original 17 produced cartoons, which are evidently all in the public domain, seven are available on Pluto TV. All seven are 10 minutes or less, which provides a quick and free option if you're want to quench your thirst for superheroes, but don't want to sit through James Gunn's Superman -- or can't afford the price of admission.

Having seen the new version, I was quite surprised to see a similar maneuver in both that movie and the first animated episode, produced by Fleischer Studios in 1941, featuring Superman holding up a tall skyscraper and nearly getting squeezed to death. (To be fair, that's probably a common image in the innumerable Superman comic books.)

Another similarity is the "mad" scientist depicted as Superman's first foe -- complete with a bald head -- and the presence of Lois Lane, originally portrayed as a willful woman who doesn't listen to either Clark Kent or to the nameless Daily Planet newspaper editor. (And as an editor, I can certainly sympathize.)

The cartoons all start with the famous "faster than a speeding bullet" intro, before a villain comes on the scene with their nefarious new invention to destroy mankind, requiring the services of Superman, which prompts Clark Kent to duck behind a door to change into his costume. (Does he wear that under his clothes all the time? Let's hope Doomsday doesn't occur when Superman is doing his laundry.)

For now, I'm glad to have the opportunity to watch these cartoons to remind me how far the character has come, even if it did take me about 90 minutes to watch them all. (Frankly, I'm amazed that cartoons that only run 7-10 minutes all had at least two ad breaks!)

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In 2023, Warner Bros. released a Blu-ray set containing all 17 cartoons, and I trust that looks far better than what's available on Pluto TV, where the cartoons look scratchy and tired and much like a decades-old newspaper would when pulled out from the bottom of a pet's cage.

Still. I watched all seven, enough to remind me of the comic strip character's origins and to add the Blu-ray to my personal "to buy" list ... someday.

Now FASTing celebrates independent and international genre films and television shows that are newly available on legal FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming Television) services.