Max Fleischer

LUBDHA   KAMAT    
                                                                                                     
Professor   Charles   Da   Costa

ANIM   223-02

27th October 2009

Max Fleischer : the journey of a film giant

Early Life
Max   Fleischer’s   name   is   perhaps   most   often   cited   as   the   Pioneer   in   the   birth   and early   development   of   cartoon   animations   or   even   as   the   co-founder   of   the   famous   Fleischer   Studios, but   the   name   holds   more   than   meets   the   eye. Max   Fleischer   was   born   into   a   family   of   inventors   in   Vienna, Austria. Even   after   his   family   immigrated   to   New   York   City   at   an   early   age, it   was   only   at   the   age   of   fourteen   that   Max   realized   his   true   passion   for   drawing. He   did   not   finish   high   school, but   attended   numerous   trade   schools   and   art   programs   studying   at   the   Cooper   Union   Institute   of   Art   and   the   Art   Students   League. He   earned   a   day   job   at   the   Brooklyn   Daily   Eagle   in order   to   save   money   to   further   his   plans   of   becoming   an   artist. Here,   he   worked   as   a   commercial   artist,   cartoonist,   photographer   and   photo-engraver   before   becoming   art   director   for   the   magazine   Popular   Science,   but   it   was   his   deep   interest   and   fascination   in   mechanics   that   led   him   to   animation. Fleischer’s   animation   career   began   at   Joseph   Randolph   Bray’s   studio,   where   he   made   instructional   films   during   a short   World   War   I   commission.
Fleischer   was   one   of   the   most   influential   figures   in   the   early   years   of   animation.   He   invented   several   key   cinema   technologies   such   as   the   rotoscope   and   bouncing   ball,   created   some   of   the   most   memorable   cartoon   characters   –   including   Betty   Boop,   Popeye   and   Superman,   among   others   –   and   was   the   only   true   rival   to   Walt   Disney   during   the   industry’s   formative   years. And   yet,   just   as   cartoons   were   reaching   their...