In my humble opinion, these Fleischer cartoons represent not only the best of the Fleischers' extensive body of work, but for me, they're the only true Superman. When I hear that wonderful theme, trumpets blaring and blazing, I sink back into being a little kid, gazing up with wonder at Superman's next big adventure, fighting this, that, or the other baddie, and saving Lois Lane, while Clark Kent always conveniently disappeared! It's a wonder he never got fired from the Daily Planet, the way he always disappeared while Lois and Jimmy were getting the big scoop and getting saved by Superman! Anyhow, the dinosaur is actually really cool in this by any standard, and it's a gem for any fan of Superman or classic cartoons!
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meg2319 March 2009
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Prismark1026 February 2021Foreshadowing Godzilla and certainly inspired by King Kong.
Superman comes to the rescue of Lois Lane and Metropolis as a T Rex entombed in ice is thawed out due to a malfunction.
While the T Rex destroys a dam, a bridge and many buildings. Superman is right behind repairing the damage.
Somehow Lois Lane gets from A to B quicker than Superman. -
utgard1413 December 2013I love the Fleischer Superman cartoons. The animation is smooth and fluid with vivid colors. The distinct art-deco style, vintage science fiction imagery, and use of noirish shadows gave them a look unlike any other cartoons. The music and voicework is superb. They're fun, accessible, enduring animation classics.
The fourth in the Superman series begins with a Godzilla-like dinosaur being found frozen in Siberia and transported to a museum in Metropolis, where it is kept in a special refrigeration unit. Lois Lane is sent to do a story on the monster. While she's there, an incompetent guide causes an accident with the equipment. As the workers frantically try to fix the problem, the ice begins to thaw and the arctic giant begins to awaken. Of course the monster breaks free and wreaks havoc on the city. Which means our boy Superman has to stop the monster while also dealing with the damage it creates, such as when it destroys a dam or breaks a suspension bridge.
Another fantastic Superman cartoon from the Fleischer studio. Fun from beginning to end. A wild concept vividly realized with some great action and memorable eye candy. The equipment used to keep the dinosaur frozen is especially cool. I also love how Superman saved the collapsing bridge. It's a great short and one of the favorites in the series for many. -
"The Arctic Giant," a 1942 Superman cartoon by the Fleischer brothers, is significant in its portrayal of a giant dinosaur on the rampage in a major city (New York--we see the "Museum of Natural Science," a dead ringer for the Museum of Natural History, and a baseball stadium that sure looks like Yankee Stadium). As such it looks forward to both THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953) and GODZILLA (1954). BEAST featured Ray Harryhausen's debut as a special effects director, as he animated a stop-motion dinosaur on the loose in Manhattan. Ishiro Honda's GODZILLA featured a giant dinosaur (created by an actor in a rubber dinosaur suit) looking very much like the one in this cartoon on the loose in Tokyo. As in the other Paramount Superman cartoons, the animation is absolutely breathtaking.
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A frozen tyrannosaurus is found frozen in the ice in the Arctic. It's brought back for display in Metropolis--it's kept frozen solid. But, one day, the machinery malfunctions, the ice starts to melt and the dinosaur comes to life! And guess what? Lois Lane just happens to be covering the story when it revives. Superman must save Metropolis (and Lois) from this.
One of the lesser Superman cartoons. It takes too long for the story to start up and the dinosaur looked REAL silly! The animation was still great but I found myself smirking whenever we got a good look at the dinosaur's face. Just OK. -
It was nice to revisit the 1942 animated short "Superman" story titled "The Arctic Giant" here in 2023. I have watched it before, back in my childhood somewhere in the early to mid 1980s.
The storyline, whilst running at only 9 minutes, was actually good. I am amazed how writers Bill Turner and Tedd Pierce could managed to concoct such a wholesome story in just 9 minutes to tell the tale. It worked and it definitely felt like a "Superman" story.
Now, it is said that it was a Tyrannosaurus that was unearthed and thawed, but truth be told it looked more like an ofspring from Godzilla than it did look like a Tyrannosaurus.
The art and animation style in "The Arctic Giant" was good.
If you enjoy "Superman" cartoons, then director Dave Fleischer's 1942 short animated movie "The Arctic Giant" is definitely well-worth sitting down to watch.
My rating of "The Arctic Giant" lands on a six out of ten stars. -
Ron Oliver7 April 2000A SUPERMAN Cartoon
A tremendous tyrannosaurus rex, discovered in Siberian snows, is put on display in Metropolis encased in a huge block of ice. A freak accident causes a thaw and the monster reawakens - with intrepid reporter Lois Lane nearby. Escaping, the dinosaur cuts a huge swath of destruction across town. With its unbelievable prehistoric strength, is even SUPERMAN any match for THE ARCTIC GIANT?
This was another in the series of excellent cartoons Max Fleischer produced for Paramount Studio. They feature great animation and taut, fast-moving plots. Meant to be shown in movie theaters, they are miles ahead of their Saturday Morning counterparts. -
t-westerhof3 December 2007Though this cartoon has often been mentioned together with Godzilla, the similarities with this animated movie:
Als Je Begrijpt Wat Ik Bedoel
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0188404/
are that clear that some influence could be suspected. Of course the main plot: Giant Monster Brought Into City, Hero To Rescue is identical. Nevertheless the two animated features tell widely different stories, one using human characters, the other anthropomorphic, one ending with captivity, the other with a goodbye. That said, the animation of the giant dinosaur/dragon shows similarities, which in combination with the time between the production of the two features makes some influence from the older on the younger one very well possible. -
Popeye-812 April 2005When an earlier poster commented that this cartoon exceeded Saturday morning cartoons, I had an immediate flashback of the old GODZILLA cartoon from NBC's Hanna Barbera connection...and in many ways, the tyrannosaurus found in this cartoon can be considered an ancestor to that cartoon--their composition color and total LACK of one standard size of the beast (I cringe when the beast changes size with EVERY scene!).
While the Fleischer SUPERMAN series is one of the most adventurous, ambitious and advanced statements in animation, this one ain't one of them. From its simplistic plot to Lois pausing to change her flashbulb while mere FEET from the tyrannosaur' jaws, it lacks the believability that was a vital part of the series. It's watchable, but not memorable.
Plus, my nine-year-old daughter (who is a SERIOUS dinosaur buff) is furious with the lack of realism with the dinosaur's design! -
captainamazo2 May 2006This cartoon, as learned from the titled of this comment, is the best Superman cartoon ever ("Mechanical Monsters" being a close second). It is very refreshing to see my favorite superhero in a situation where his powers are actually useful -- without inventing any ridiculous, previously unmentioned powers (see "Superman: The Movie" and any episode of the "Superfriends" shows). Basically, a frozen tyrannosaurus rex is accidentally thawed (and obviously misidentified. Whoever labeled this either does not know what a t-rex is, or thinks a t-rex looks a lot like Godzilla), creating panic in Metropolis until Superman shows up and punches it in the neck.
Bottom line: A giant dinosaur getting beaten up by Superman + great animation = BEST SUPERMAN CARTOON EVER. -
The Superman series from the Fleischer Brothers was a well animated but rather unsatisfying series for me. The stories seemed very, very brief and allowed little in the way of character development and most of the plots were just too simple...and "The Arctic Giant" is certainly no exception to this rule. In addition, it might just mark the stupidest version of Lois Lane that I've ever seen!
The story begins with a giant tyrannosaur (about five times normal size) being discovered frozen in the Arctic. The animal is brought to Metropolis and placed on display in a special refrigerated container. However, a worker is a total idiot and ends up breaking the refrigeration system. Within 30 seconds, the ice completely melts--freeing a live dinosaur. Well, Lois being Lois, she doesn't run but stays behind to get the story...and nearly gets herself killed. Of course, Superman arrives and saves her--and within minutes she deliberately puts herself in harms way again! I sure thought the Man of Steel should have just let the dumb lady die, but you know that isn't the way he rolls.
Overall, the story is very simple, rushed and Lois is just too dumb for words...as is the notion of a dinosaur returning to life. Rather silly and inconsequential. -
Michael_Elliott17 May 2009Arctic Giant, The (1942)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Fourth film in the original Paramount series borrows from THE LOST WORLD and KING KONG to create a mildly entertaining short. A Tyrannosaurus is found in the Arctic, brought back the New York City where it accidentally thaws out and goes on a rampage. Lois gets caught in the middle of the action but thankfully Superman is there to save the day. I somewhat enjoyed this short just because of how campy various items are. It goes without saying but plot points isn't a high mark for this series, at least not yet, but I found myself laughing and having a good time here. The dinosaur somehow thaws out in the matter of seconds and no reason is given for him still being alive but that just adds to the entertainment. I thought Superman destroyed him too easily but it was fun seeing the large monster tear through a dam and bridge. -
Shades of King Kong and The Lost World permeate this Superman cartoon from the Fleischer Brothers. The T-Rex is brought from a mysterious island to The Museum of Natural Science in Metropolis. Lois gets assigned to cover the event. As a worker watching the machine that keeps the dinosaur frozen leaves with Lois to guide her through the rest of the museum, he leaves the oil can on the banister near the engine which causes the oil can to shake and disrupt the engine (he must be a newbie!). This causes the ice to melt freeing the dinosaur to cause havoc on the city. Chief calls out Clark Kent who changes into Superman just as Lois finds herself in the dino's way. Superman says to stay put but of course Lois doesn't listen. With bullets unable to stop him, the prehistoric monster manges to destroy dams and bridges which Superman manages to fix. Lois gets close enough to take a picture and manages to get in the Rex's mouth! Once again, Superman saves her and gets the large animal back to the museum. Later, Lois asks where Clark was during all of this. "I was fainting somewhere," comes the reply. Fast paced and action packed was this cartoon with all the energy you'd expect from '40s-style animation especially from the Fleischer Studio. Great sequences of the dino destroying various property and Superman's quick attempts at repairs. Well worth seeing for any fan of Supes, '40s animation, and any comic book fan of the golden age of comics. Not the most realistic design of a dinosaur but still effective.
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ultramatt2000-113 June 2018From the team responsible for bring characters like Betty Boop and Popeye to life, were the first to bring Superman to the screen. The story is about a report of a giant prehistoric monster that was found frozen in ice, when it got defrosted, the monster is loose and it is up to the Man of Steel to stop him. This film, must of sparked the imagination of various film-makers and writers such as Ray Harryhausen, Ray Bradbury, Inshiro Honda, Eiji Tsuburaya, and Gianfranco Parolini (Frank Kramer) (creator of (read my review) YETI: GIANT OF THE 20TH CENTURY). The animation is great, the story is awesome and the visuals are thrillingly wonderful. The dinosaur looks like a precursor to Godzilla. This cartoon is worth the watch and would be a great short to play in a screening party as an appetizer to your main course, which is a Godzilla-type monster movie. Highly recommended, so give it a watch. Not rated so a G-rating will work. By the way, I think this is in the public domain.
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Horst_In_Translation5 May 2016To me, "The Arctic Giant" sounds like some ice creature that wants to fight Superman, but it is actually something geological. A gigantic dinosaur thaws out of the ice and starts wreaking havoc. The man in the blue suit takes care of him fairly easily. Well, this was at least a more challenging task for Superman and it is funny how he managed it easier than these bank robbers in the previous film. The rest is the usual: It runs for 9 minutes and was directed by Dave Fleischer. He did a solid job overall I guess, but I personally was never on the edge of my seat and I would prefer Superman going against super villains here. I do not recommend "The Arctic Giant". Thumbs down.
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betina-1895418 February 2018Superman vs Godzilla.
The story begins as the narrator tells about a Tyrannosaurus Rex found frozen in perfect condition in Siberia. The monster was shipped to a museum, where it is kept frozen using special refrigeration equipment. Next we people looking at the monster, which looks alot like Godzilla, in the museum. Lois is sent to do a story on the monster, because it is possible that, if the ice were to thaw, the monster might still be alive. The guide shows Lois around the refrigeration plant that is responsible for keeping the monster frozen. He then shows her the generator, and then proceeds to show her the control room downstairs. The guide being a total idiot, places an oil can on a shelf right next to the generator. As the guide shows Lois the control room, he explains that any rise in temperature could be dangerous. But then the oil can falls into the turbine, jamming it. The workers nearby turn off the equipment, so they can quickly repair the damage. But they are not quick enough. We see the temperature rise from freezing, to melting, to DANGER level. The ice around the monster begins to melt. Everyone flees the museum, except Lois, of course. As Lois attempts to call the Daily Planet from the museum, The monster destroys the entire building, leaving Lois in the rubble. The police and military tries to stop the monster, and shoot at it, but to no avail, as the monster goes on a rampage through the city. Clark Kent of course hears about this, remembers Lois is in the museum, changes into Superman, and flies off to the museum. Superman shouts Lois' name, and it turns out she is alive and well, under the destroyed museum. He then tells her to get back to her office where she'll be safe. But Lois, wanting the story of course, doesn't listen to Superman and follows the monster. And it's now up to Superman to save the day.
As a big fan of Godzilla, i absolutely love this cartoon, but i will admit that it does have a few flaws. Like the scene where the monster breaks through this very rubbery suspension bridge. And then Superman just lifts the bridge up again, and then ties the bridge back together. Wait, didn't the monster just break half the bridge, how can he put it back together, how does it make sense?? The rubbery way the bridge moves looks silly and unrealistic. I know it's a cartoon, but this series is suppose to be a more realistic and action-packed cartoon series. And it also kinda bugs me that this doesn't have as good action scenes as the previous four. However those things are just nitpicks, and what really makes this cartoon, is the Arctic Giant itself. Many people on IMDB complained that the design of the T-Rex is unrealistic, and scientifically incorrect. However, the reason i think this design is so awesome is that it looks so much like Godzilla, and just for the record, this came out first. And i don't think i've seen any film made before this, short or full-length, with a monster that looks so much like Godzilla as this. So it doesn't matter if the design is scientifically incorrect, just the thought that this cartoon could have inspired Toho is pretty damn awesome. And even though the action scenes aren't as good in this as the others, they are still pretty good. The highlight is when the monster destroys a dam. Superman comes and fixes it by pushing tons of rocks in to fill the gap in the dam.
Overall a great cartoon with a few flaws. But as a fan of Godzilla, i can say that this one is pretty damn awesome. 9/10. -
azathothpwiggins12 April 2022THE ARCTIC GIANT has Superman tangling with a gargantuan dinosaur in downtown Metropolis.
Fans of the GODZILLA or BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS films will love seeing their predecessor stomp through the cityscape. Superman certainly has his hands full!
A true wham-bam, monster-on-the-loose brawl for all kids and kids at heart... -
Hitchcoc27 December 2016This is the first animated Superman episode I ever saw. Until I was much older, I never knew anything about the sequence of them. As a child, I was crazy about dinosaurs. One Saturday, this just showed up on TV. I was stunned. A Tyrannosaurus Rex on the screen. He was awfully large but that was fine. He was found in the ice, frozen, and brought to Metropolis to be displayed in his big ice cube. Of course, there was one plug that had to be pulled and the whole thing goes south. Lois does her usual thing of getting into situations where her life is in danger. But the rampaging beast is the highlight. It precedes several other big lizard movies, particularly "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms," where New York is the object of his affection. A wonderful story.
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s-8690531 August 2023The reason why I say they could've done something different is because they could've tamed the creature immediately before it's rampage, Superman should've remained calm, and should've calmed down the giant monster, and hopefully the Arctic Giant can become friendly right after, it might even show some affection towards everybody. And the situation can be solved peacefully, but overall, the animation is terrific, the acting is awesome, and this version of Superman is my favorite. And the music is cool, I have a YouTube Channel named Ezekiel Montoya, and I post entertainment videos like this, and I am going to make a remake of this, and I will add a new character to it.