This 1941 animated introduction to Superman had a different "take" on it in that they explain that when the baby from Krypton crash-landed on earth, the infant was taken to an orphanage and raised. What happened to the Kent family? Well, that's not in this version. However, the rest of the story is familiar Superman adventure stuff with, of course, Lois having to be rescued. It's good, too - not dated in the least.

The introduction of Superman/Clark Kent as an adult "Superman" is almost word-for-word the same one they used a decade later in the famous television series (i.e. "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive," etc.)

After that two-minute introduction, we get into the crime story which is an interesting one and way ahead of its time. Remember how popular the "transformers" were in the '80s? Well, here we are in 1941 with the same thing, a robot which turns into an airplane and back to a robot, all the while stealing money. The "mechanical monster," as labeled by the press, is one a number of them created by its criminal inventor. After robbing a bank, robot number five's next task is a big one: take the $50,000,000 worth of jewels on display at the "House Of Jewels." In an obvious goof, "5" turns into "13" after he robs the jewels.

This production must have really looked cool to kids and adults 67 years ago because it still looks good today in 2008. It features some great artwork. Then again, a classy animated production is no surprise when you know and have seen the work of either of the Fleischer brothers, Max or Dave, who first became noticed with some extremely clever animated work way back in the silent film era ("Koko The Clown" and "Felix The Cat," as two prime examples). Max and Dave Fleischer went on to make numerous famous Betty Boop and Popeye cartoons, and then Dave got into directing the early Superman animated shorts.

This one has been restored and looks great, too. I saw it as part of the Popeye The Sailor Volume 2 (1938-1940) DVD.

The voices of Clark Kent and Lois Lane were odd because they sounded so much different from all the Kents and Lanes I've heard through the decades. This Kent voice was noteworthy because it had the recognizable voice of Bud Collyer, who became quite famous in the 1950s by hosting two extremely popular TV shows: "Beat The Clock" and "To Tell The Truth."

Another mad scientist has constructed a bunch of giant robots to rob banks and jewelry for him. They also can transform themselves into planes and fly to their targets (!!!). Lois Lane hitches a ride on one of the robots. The scientist discovers her and is ready to boil her alive in lava. Superman has to rescue her but he's attacked by the scientists' multiple robots...

Another great animated short. I was surprised by the violence (you see a large bunch of policeman shooting at the giant and Superman takes quite a beating from the robots) but it's still perfect for kids. Also they show Superman using his X-Ray vision--that sequence alone was just unbelievable!

Fast, fun, full of action. Just great! A 10.

The Mechanical Monsters see's the return of our favourite superhero as this time he takes on a villian with a small army of giant robots he uses in his jewellery heists.

Alike the others this is quaint and highly nostalgic, with action happening in time with the music, cheesy one liners and Lois Lane there simply to be saved.

At 10 minutes in length there isn't much to see but it makes up for it being a nice slice of old school wartime entertainment.

The Good:

Highly nostalgic

Charming

The Bad:

Very short

Somewhat cheesy

Things I Learnt From This Short:

Every good villian needs a moustache

A villians lair isn't complete without a lava pool

I'm suddenly genuinely curious whether the police actually had tommy guns