Superman: The Mechanical Monsters (1941) can be termed as an all time classical era of the superhero. Like always, Superman is out there to protect Metropolis from the many arch-rivals always trying to destroy the peace of the world.
The opening scene is the typical Superman signature style, with people shouting “Up in the sky”, “Look, its a bird”, “Its a plane”, “Its Superman”! Accompanying this opening scene are drum-roll and trumpets taking you to the old school of cartoon making techniques. What would really catches the viewers’ attention is the way Superman is shown in the cartoon. Quite hilarious, at-least when you watch it 60 years later!
The cartoon has the usual “hero-worship” view of the Superman; coming from planet Krypton and in possession of awesome superpowers enabling him to save the world day-after-day. And when he is not wearing his cape and body-hugging costumes, he trots in a geeky look with a suit working as a journalist, under the name of Clark Kent. We all know the story! This 1941 classic is bound to bring all cartoon lovers down the memory lane. It definitely makes me appreciate how far we’ve come with digital animation nowadays and how much the real story and dialog mattered then and still matters now.
This series of the cartoon follows the escapades of a mad scientist who unleashes robots for the very sole (read: Evil) purpose of stealing banks and looting precious gems and jewelry by the dozens, and suddenly out-of-the-blue the entire Damsel-in-distress scene enters with Superman’s love interest Lois Lane being captured by one of the evil robots.
Is Superman able to save his true love? And the valuables? And the money? Will he be successful in defeating the mad scientist and his army of crazy giant robots? Ummm, to find out watch the episode and enjoy a classic.
Related Links:
Superman: The Mechanical Monsters on tradebit.com