The Great Animation Studios - Fleischer Studios

The people have WinStar have done it again. Have they NO shame? Once more, they've dubbed in LOUD, obtrusive sound effects that RUIN the experience of watching great cartoons. And you can't turn 'em off; you are stuck with the sound of a mallet hitting a board every time Popeye takes a step. This collection is a disgrace and should be pulled from the market until somebody with RESPECT for the original animated treasures releases them. I will NEVER purchase another WinStar DVD release.

I have quite a few of these Winstar cartoon collections, so I pretty much know what to expect when I buy one. The cartoons are the real showcase, and I am just happy to have them available. This DVD, however, really took me by suprise. First, the disk offers three sound options to listen to, so you don't HAVE to listen to the "Feel the Sound" version. (I personally like that version, but I know many people do not.) The animated menus are nice, and there is a short little essay on Fleischer Studios history that I found interesting. There is a nice cross-section of Fleischer cartoons, with no duplicates from other collections. It starts out with two "Out of the Inkwell" silent cartoons, "Tantalizing Fly" and "Bubbles," featuring their first character Koko the Clown. These are excellent early examples of rotoscoping and cartoon/live action hybridization. Betty Boop rears her oddly shaped head, first as the girlfriend of Koko in "Ker-Choo" and "More Pep," then stealing the show and bringing in Grampy for "Grampy's Indoor Outing." Popeye's evolution is shown first in a black and white classic, "Little Swee' Pea," and then in the fantastic color cartoon "Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp." (my favorite of the disk.) The Fleisher animals fly arond in "Song of the Birds," "Ants in the Plants," and "Small Fry," and Gabby shows up in "It's a Hap Hap Happy Day." A grand total of 90 minutes of cartoons. Superman is noticably absent, which I thought was fine as he is already well represented on other DVDs. I really hope this DVD represents the future of the Winstar classic cartoon series.

If you love the old cartoons, this is for you.

Customers, BEWARE! The ugly packaging should be a warning sign of the quality of this DVD. First the transfers are inconsistant, and do not look like first rate orignals. Second, why did the packagers find it necessary to tamper with the original soundtracks? Their amateurish attempts to "enhance" the sound only muffles it, and is mostly out of sync! Although a noble idea to give tribute to this great animation pioneer, the selection of films was not done with much thought or careful research....

A great DVD from Winstar/Audio Galaxy that shows the work of the big titan, Fleischer Studios. There are some fabulous gems on this disc, from the early Ko-Ko the Clown shorts of the silent era, to the later Gabby shorts of the 1940's, this is a great treasure trove of classic cartoons from one of the world's top animation houses of the Golden Age. The picture quality is great for these once neglected shorts and the audio is even better, the history provided on the disc was astounding and blew my mind, and gave me better respect for the Brothers Fleischer. Do yourself a favor and track down a copy of this wonderful collection. Tell 'em Uncle Max sent ya.

This looks horrible! If you want to see Max Fleischer cartoons I re-direct you to the following sources: Koko & Inkwell cartoons: "Out of the Inkwell" DVD from Inkwell Images. Betty Boop cartoons: "The Betty Boop Collection" (out of print) VHS & Laserdisc from Republic Home Video. Popeye cartoons: to be restored & released by Warner Home Video on DVD in 2007. Color Classic's cartoons: "Dancing On The Moon" DVD from VCI Home Video.

these are basically reworked with cheezy new soundtracks etc so that they don't fall into the public domain, as they should. get the originals in a decent format instead!

Once again, the folks at Winstar have desecrated the classic works of Max and Dave Fleischer by providing obtrusive "stereophonic" sound effects and variable print quality. Avoid this video and buy Republic's "Cartoon Madness."