History Creator / MaxAndDaveFleischer

* AnAesop: In particular, the Betty Boop and Popeye shorts often have the characters sing the Aesop. A common one is kindness to animals, which turns up in the Betty Boop short "Be Human", the Popeye shorts "Be Kind To Animals" and "Bulldozing The Bulls", the Color Classic "Song Of The Birds", and the Animated Antics short "Bring Himself Back Alive". [[AesopAmnesia Not that this stops Grampy or Popeye from hurting animals in some other shorts]].

* SceneryPorn: Well utilized with Fleischer's "setback camera", featuring a minature set on a turntable, which was incrementally moved behind the vertically suspended animation cels, allowing for cartoons to have animated 3D backgrounds. This was notably seen in the first two of the double-reel ''Popeye'' cartoons, as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBIahkWEaI4&t=761 here.]]

Although the rift with his brother Dave was never resolved, Max eventually formed a friendship with his old rival Walt Disney, who welcomed Max to a reunion with former Fleischer animators who were by then employed by Disney. Marx's own son, Richard Fleischer, was also working there. Richard directed one of the studio's most beloved live action movies, ''Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea''. Max died of congestive heart failure on September 11, 1972, sadly never completing what was to be his greatest invention -- a ''Perpetual Motion Clock''. Dave Fleischer would go on to work as a special effects expert at Universal after his work at Columbia Pictures ended with the shutdown of its animation department. Dave retired from the film industry in the late 1960s, and died of a stroke on June 25, 1979.

Max Fleischer was an avid fan of E.C. Segar's popular comic strip; however Creator/KingFeaturesSyndicate was [[ItWillNeverCatchOn skeptical about the Sailor's commercial potential]]. Max convinced them that Popeye's grotesque features would make him a successful box-office draw, because these featured helped maintain Popeye's comedic appeal. The contract signed in 1932 had listed that the Fleischer Studios should have all their negatives and traces of the series burned or disposed of within a ten-year period, because of King Features' constant skepticism concerning the series' merits. The contract's expiration coincided with Paramount's acquisition of Fleischer in 1942, and this played a role in why Paramount bought out the studio when they were in debt with them.

%%* PantyShot: The pre-code Betty Boop shorts often used this for gags and sex appeal.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1948 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]'': 1948 short about that reindeer with the funny nose that predates [[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer the Rankin-Bass special]] by 16 years. Notably this cartoon marked [[Literature/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer Rudolph's animation debut]] and was by the Jam Handy Organization ([[https://imgur.com/a/XwPuFDu who later created a Christmas card featuring Rudolph after the short's release]]).

* ''[[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1948 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]'': 1948 short about that reindeer with the funny nose that predates [[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer the Rankin-Bass special]] by 16 years.

%%* FollowTheBouncingBall: TropeNamer and TropeMaker.

''Out of the Inkwell'' became the second most lucrative series in animation during the twenties, only trailing behind Pat Sullivan's ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat''. ''Inkwell'' was initially distributed by M.J. Winkler, who also handled Felix and newcomer Walt Disney's ''WesternAnimation/AliceComedies''. Max eventually decided to associate himself with another distribution company, buying shares in the company Red Seal films. Red Seal was a company that was not exclusively tied to animation, but distributed almost every genre of film. ''Essie of The Chorus'', a live action short-subject series had Ruth Fleischer as co-star, and Ray Bolger (eventual ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' cast member) made his motion picture debut in this series. ''Inklings'' was Dave trying to strike out on his own, sick of living in Max's shadow. Dave's frustration planted the seeds for the eventual adversarial relationship between the two brothers. Unfortunately, only one of the Inklings (No.12) survives. But it was a promising beginning, and demonstrated how inventive Dave Fleischer could be. The most crucial role Red Seal played in its brief history, was to bring Max into contact with inventor Lee De Forrest. De Forrest was experimenting with a synchronized sound system, and he agreed to test it on a number of Fleischer-produced short films. Consequently, ''Song Cartunes'' featured some of the earliest synchronized sound cartoons. The series begun in 1926, having a two-year advantage over Paul Terry's ''Dinnertime'' and Walt Disney's ''WesternAnimation/SteamboatWillie''.

Majer "Max" (July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972) and David Fleischer (July 14, 1894 – June 25, 1979) are two of the most prolific and influential ([[MainstreamObscurity sadly, mostly unknown to today's audiences]]) men to ever work in the HistoryOfAnimation. Getting their start off in UsefulNotes/{{The Silent Age|OfAnimation}}, they pioneered one of the earliest attempts at blending [[RogerRabbitEffect live action and animation]] with their hit ''WesternAnimation/OutOfTheInkwell'' series, starring Koko The Clown. They were also a top of the line animation studio in the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1930s and early 40s]], producing such landmark hits like ''WesternAnimation/BettyBoop'', the ''{{ComicStrip/Popeye}} the Sailor'' cartoons, and eventually the ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons''.

''Out of the Inkwell'' became the second most lucrative series in animation during the twenties, only trailing behind Pat Sullivan's ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat''. ''Inkwell'' was initially distributed by M.J. Winkler, who also handled Felix and newcomer Walt Disney's ''WesternAnimation/AliceComedies''. Max eventually decided to associate himself with another distribution company, buying shares in the company Red Seal films. Red Seal was a company that was not exclusively tied to animation, but distributed almost every genre of film. ''Essie of The Chorus'', a live action short-subject series had Ruth Flesicher as co-star, and Ray Bolger (eventual ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' castmember) made his motion picture debut in this series. ''Inklings'' was Dave trying to strike out on his own, sick of living in Max's shadow. Dave's frustration planted the seeds for the eventual adversarial relationship between the two brothers. Unfortunately, only one of the Inklings (No.12) survives. But it was a promising beginning, and demonstrated how inventive Dave Fleischer could be. The most crucial role Red Seal played in its brief history, was to bring Max into contact with inventor Lee De Forrest. De Forrest was experimenting with a synchronized sound system, and he agreed to test it on a number of Fleischer-produced short films. Consequently, ''Song Cartunes'' featured some of the earliest synchronized sound cartoons. The series begun in 1926, having a two-year advantage over Paul Terry's ''Dinnertime'' and Walt Disney's ''WesternAnimation/SteamboatWillie''.

Also despite Betty's popularity, Helen Kane felt that her career had gone downhill. She sued Max for $250,000 in May 1932, arguing that she was misrepresented in the Betty Boop cartoons. The trial went on for two years, Kane lamenting about how she owned the rights to the line "Boop Boop a Doop". The judge ruled against her, holding as primary evidence that Baby Esther, a somewhat obscure singer, had been using that line prior to Helen Kane. This precedent made Kane's claims seem irrelevant. Regardless, the Betty Boop series would soon find itself outclassed by the Fleischers' newcomer star, [[ComicStrip/{{Popeye}} Popeye the Sailor]].

Popeye was tested by appearing in a Betty Boop short ([[PoorlyDisguisedPilot although Betty herself only makes a brief appearance]]) before starring in his own series, because (as noted above) King Features' faith in Popeye was minimal. They wanted to pair up Popeye with someone who was already a commercial success. Within a couple of years, Popeye not only exceeded Betty in popularity. He dethroned Mickey Mouse and made the Mouse seem irrelevant for the rest of the decade. Popeye was the top box-office draw in animation during the Thirties.

The mid-1930s proved to be commercially prosperous for the Fleischer Studios, but also artistically stagnant. As stated earlier, their picture commitments and short production periods gave them little time to improve the quality of their work. Despite this, they pioneered the precursor to the Multi-Plane camera. This precursor was the Stereoptical Process, aka the Three-Dimensional Setback. This complex device, which used large model sets built out of papier-mache and lighting tools, was patented in 1933 but not used until 1934 for Betty Boop's ''Poor Cinderella''. This short was also Max's first foray into color production, in a series called ''WesternAnimation/ColorClassics'' which would exclusively be dedicated to color production. Max used Cinecolor instead of Three-Strip Technicolor, which was exclusively controlled by Walt Disney until 1936. The Stereoptical Camera was technically impressive, and successful in creating a convincing illusion of depth. But it was very difficult to control and maintain. All of the sets were quickly disposed once the film was completed. Max as usual undermined his company's accomplishments, and failed to see the intense admiration these sets would receive from cartoon afficionados and historians.

While the Fleischer brothers and their star characters have long since passed, their influence in the medium of entertainment must not be underestimated. Besides the aforementioned example of the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse, the Fleischers (along with Disney) were a heavy influence on manga legend Creator/OsamuTezuka, whom would take many of the Fleischer's techniques (and their LimitedAnimation) and integrate it into his own style in his manga and anime like ''Anime/AstroBoy'' and ''Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion'' -- stuff which would go on to make the anime industry into what it is today. Animation legend Creator/BobClampett of WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes fame also seemed to take a lot of inspiration from the Fleischers, taking many a cue from them by making his cartoons as wacky and surreal as possible, as well as intergrating music in a very similar way Fleischer did into his cartoons. ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' creator Creator/JohnKricfalusi also cites the Fleischer brothers as a major influence in his works.

Majer "Max" (July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972) and David Fleischer (July 14, 1894 – June 25, 1979) are two of the most prolific and influential ([[MainstreamObscurity sadly, mostly unknown to today's audiences]]) men to ever work in the HistoryOfAnimation. Getting their start off in UsefulNotes/{{The Silent Age|OfAnimation}}, they pioneered one of the earliest attempts at blending [[RogerRabbitEffect live action and animation]] with their hit ''WesternAnimation/OutOfTheInkwell'' series, starring Koko The Clown. They were also a top of the line animation studio in the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1930s and early 40s]], producing such landmark hits like ''WesternAnimation/BettyBoop'', the ''{{ComicStrip/Popeye}} The Sailor'' cartoons, and eventually the ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons''.

** The Betty Boop short ''Snow White'' is a surrealistic, jazzy burlesque of the classic [[Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Snow White fairy tale]]. A few other Betty Boop shorts are inspired by classic stories, such as the shorts ''Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk'', ''[[Literature/LittleRedRidingHood Dizzy Red Riding Hood]]'', ''[[NurseryRhyme Mother Goose Land]]'', and ''[[Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland Betty in Blunderland]]''. ''Henry, the Funniest Living American'' doubles as a crossover and a cartoon adaptation of Carl Anderson's "Henry" comic strip. ''Betty Boop and The Little King'' is likewise a crossover and cartoon adaptaton of Otto Soglow's ''The Little King'' comic strip.

** The Popeye series also spawned three acclaimed two-reeler films in full color: ''WesternAnimation/PopeyeTheSailorMeetsSindbadTheSailor'' (1936), ''WesternAnimation/PopeyeTheSailorMeetsAliBabasFortyThieves'' (1937), and ''Popeye the Sailor in: WesternAnimation/AladdinAndHisWonderfulLamp'' (1939). ''Popeye Meets William Tell'' and ''Popeye Meets Rip Van Winkle'' are loose adaptations of the legend of ''Myth/WilliamTell'' and Washington Irving's ''Literature/RipVanWinkle''.

Majer "Max" (July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972) and David Fleischer (July 14, 1894 – June 25, 1979) are two of the most prolific and influential ([[MainstreamObscurity sadly, mostly unknown to today's audiences]]) men to ever work in the HistoryOfAnimation. Getting their start off in the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilentAgeOfAnimation Silent Era]], they pioneered one of the earliest attempts at blending [[RogerRabbitEffect live action and animation]] with their hit ''WesternAnimation/OutOfTheInkwell'' series, starring Koko The Clown. They were also a top of the line animation studio in the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1930s and early 40s]], producing such landmark hits like ''WesternAnimation/BettyBoop'', the ''{{ComicStrip/Popeye}} The Sailor'' cartoons, and eventually the ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons''.

However, as UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode came to provide strict guidelines about what was and was not prohibited throughout UsefulNotes/{{Hollywood}}, Betty was reinvented. This was not just motivated by the code itself; the option to clean up her public image was considered by Creator/{{Paramount}}'s management. The management was under the leadership of Barney Balaban. They decided that it was time to reinvent themselves and their image. Paramount went through several bankruptcies and financial reorganizations between 1931-36, and consequently became more budget conscious. They began to play it economically safe, by emulating companies that had a guaranteed audience (such as Creator/{{Disney}} and Creator/{{MGM}} ). But did so with only a fraction of the budget of the other companies. These attitudes were applied to the direction Fleischer found themselves going from 1934 onward. Deadlines were increasingly inflexible to meet, and the studio was committed to producing a film every week. It was difficult for the animators to dedicate time to improving their product. The quality of their output began to stagnate in 1934, a tendency that would last until the end of the decade. The animation studios of the West Coast were making advancements at the time, which Fleischer Studios could not follow. Because their commitments to Paramount made it difficult to dedicate time to improving their product.

However, as UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode came to provide strict guidelines about what was and was not prohibited throughout UsefulNotes/{{Hollywood}}, Betty was reinvented. This was not just motivated by the code itself; the option to clean up her public image was considered by Creator/{{Paramount}}'s management. The management was under the leadership of Barney Balbian. They decided that it was time to reinvent themselves and their image. Paramount went through several bankruptcies and financial reorganizations between 1931-36, and consequently became more budget conscious. They began to play it economically safe, by emulating companies that had a guaranteed audience (such as Creator/{{Disney}} and Creator/{{MGM}} ). But did so with only a fraction of the budget of the other companies. These attitudes were applied to the direction Fleischer found themselves going from 1934 onward. Deadlines were increasingly inflexible to meet, and the studio was committed to producing a film every week. It was difficult for the animators to dedicate time to improving their product. The quality of their output began to stagnate in 1934, a tendency that would last until the end of the decade. The animation studios of the West Coast were making advancements at the time, which Fleischer Studios could not follow. Because their commitments to Paramount made it difficult to dedicate time to improving their product.

Paramount's re-organizations coincided with Max's interest in converting his films to the Three Strip Technicolor process. Paramount was still going through financial re-organization and bankruptcies, and rejected anything that was perceived as commercially risky. Max made proposals for an animated feature film as early as 1934. Because of Paramount's skepticism of it being commercially practical, Max found himself waiting until Walt Disney proved its commercial practicality with ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' in late 1937.

* FollowTheBouncingBall: TropeNamer and TropeMaker.
* InkblotCartoonStyle

* MickeyMousing

* PantyShot: The pre-code Betty Boop shorts often used this for gags and sex appeal.

** WesternAnimation/SnowWhite

Although the rift with his brother Dave was never resolved, Max eventually formed a friendship with his old rival Walt Disney, who welcomed Max to a reunion with former Fleischer animators who were by then employed by Disney. Marx's own son, Richard Fleischer, was also working there and would direct one of the studio's most beloved live action movies, ''Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea''. Max died of congestive heart failure on September 11, 1972, sadly never completing what was to be his greatest invention -- a ''Perpetual Motion Clock''. Dave Fleischer would go on to work as a special effects expert at Universal after his work at Columbia Pictures ended with the shutdown of its animation department, retired in the late 1960s, and died of a stroke on June 25, 1979.

Max than briefly re-associated himself with John Randolph Bray in 1953; the two hadn't professionally worked with one another since Max departed his studio in 1921. The creative partnership lasted three years, but nothing seemed to have come out of it. Max decided to sue Paramount in 1956 after he discovered that Paramount not only broke their promise for Max to receive royalties for his cartoons' television airings, but also replaced his name in the credits with Paramount head Adolph Zukor. Stan Handman represented Max, and not too long after, Dave Fleischer commenced a lawsuit against Paramount trying to argue how Max conspired with Paramount to get Dave out of the picture.

Max continued to actively produce documentaries, and educational films, and also resurfaced in Hal Segar's 1959 adaptation of ''Out of the Inkwell'', for which he was appalled by the low budgets and visibly poor quality that couldn't hold a candle to what was produced 30 years earlier. After spending years of trying to resurface in the public eye, Max retired at The Motion Picture Country House in 1967.

After Max tried to unsuccessful raise the money to have a new studio at his estate in Miami, trying to recruit his other brothers who were less hostile than Dave, Max was visited by Jam Handy who wanted to know the status of the situation. Jam benevolently offered him employment at his Detroit facilities and Max Fleischer was recruited by this former Bray associate to act as a supervisor for many of the studio's productions. This included the original animated adaptation of ''Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer'' in 1948. He also continued to patent countless inventions, following Paramount acquiring the rights to his previous patents -- which, although not directly associated with Fleischer Studios, [[LoopholeAbuse were still taken because of loopholes in the contracts he signed with them]]. Max also made a semi-autobiography entitled ''Noah's Shoes'' in 1944, which made reference to his association with Paramount and Dave and how they played a role in ousting him from the company he spent years building. Max used several different tropes to discuss his contempt for Paramount's management and Dave using Noah's Ark metaphors. Max than briefly re-associated himself with John Randolph Bray in 1953; the two hadn't professionally worked with one another since Max departed his studio in 1921. The creative partnership lasted three years, but nothing seemed to have come out of it. Max decided to sue Paramount in 1956 after he discovered that Paramount not only broke their promise for Max to receive royalties for his cartoons' television airings, but also replaced his name in the credits with Paramount head Adolph Zukor. Stan Handman represented Max, and not too long after, Dave Fleischer commenced a lawsuit against Paramount trying to argue how Max conspired with Paramount to get Dave out of the picture.

Paramount was actually willing to return Max's shares for the studio, however Dave's moonlighting made Paramount convinced that the studio should be a subsidiary without Max's involvement, and the studio was re-organized as Creator/FamousStudios in the summer of 1942. Creator/DanGordon and Isadore Sparber survived the massive layoffs Paramount had after they began to clean house following Max and Dave resigning from the studio. Seymour Kneitel was creatively put in charge to intimidate Max not to sue Paramount after being ousted from his own studio.

After Dave Flesicher's tenure at Screen Gems, he gravitated over to Creator/{{Universal}}, where Creator/WalterLantz was largely responsible for his employment. Dave directed commercials and helped solve technical errors throughout many of the studios features. His life long ambition was to produce a third feature entitled ''Pandora's Odyssey'' which failed to come to fruition; however, the concept did appear in Variety Magazine.

Max, trying to exert any kind of creative control, sent a memo to Dave (who was directing ''Mr. Bug'') on what parts of the narrative could be improved. Dave replied by denying that there were any problems with the film. Dave once again proposed his involvement with composing the film, and as usual was rejected and replaced by a professional songwriting team. Dave's total alienation with his brothers along with his apathy for the work he produced compelled him to leave Fleischer Studios following ''Mr. Bug''[='=]s completion to replace Frank Tashlin as head of ''Creator/{{Columbia|Pictures}}''[='=]s cartoon division, Screen Gems, in 1942. ''Mr. Bug'' opened [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the week of the attack on Pearl Harbor]] on December of 1941; regardless of the event, however, ''Mr. Bug'' was doomed [[InvisibleAdvertising because of Paramount's reluctance to promote the film and give it the publicity it needed]].

''WesternAnimation/{{Superman|TheatricalCartoons}}'' was also being brought into production around the time of Paramount's takeover. Paramount had successfully bid for the rights of the character and convinced the Fleischers to make it. Reluctant and skeptical because they had little experience in the science fiction genre, Dave tried to talk Paramount out of it by demanding $100,000 per cartoon budget. Paramount responded by offering half the amount, and at $50,000 it was still considerably higher than the average Fleischer short subject. The series relied heavily on the rotoscope, but had effective narratives, proficient use of effects, and more sophisticated designs in comparison to previous series. The series was one of the most pervasive in [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation the renaissance of animation fifty years later]], especially providing influence for Creator/BruceTimm and all the animated science fiction adventure programs that subsequently followed.

As Paramount began to exert more control, they dove into production for ''WesternAnimation/MrBugGoesToTown'', which was the first American animated feature not to be based on a previously written book or literature. ''Mr. Bug'' is a profound improvement over ''Gulliver''; much of this is not only because they recruited more proficient artists, but also because many of the hard lessons learned in ''Gulliver'' prepared them to produce something very dexterously animated. The film's budget was also considerably lower than ''Gulliver''[='=]s, and deadlines were shorter and were less flexible.