Cartoon Crazys: Comic Book Heroes

Amazon.com

As the title suggests, many of the characters in this offbeat collection began in comic books, but not all: Felix the Cat and Betty Boop debuted in animated films, and Popeye, Little Nemo, and the Toonerville folk appeared in newspaper strips long before comic books existed. The most striking films are the two Superman shorts. In "The Underground World" (1943), a race of hawk-men threaten to dip Lois and a scientist into a vat of boiling wax. "Electronic Earthquake" (1942) features an Native American villain who insists that Manhattan Island still belongs to his people. The oddest entries in the collection are an example of "Do Do, the Kid from Outer Space," a '60s British series told in doggerel rhyme, and a chunk of "Tobor the 8th Man," an extremely limited Japanese superhero adventure, also from the '60s. Most of the rest of the cartoons represent the work of animation's B studios. According to the liner notes, Winstar spent "thousands of hours remastering and remixing the entire soundtrack and added new sound effects, ambiances, and Foley work." It's not clear that a threadbare tearjerker like "Suddenly It's Spring" (1944, featuring Raggedy Ann, who began as a storybook character) warranted all that effort. Unrated: suitable for ages 8 and older for cartoon violence, occasional scary imagery, and racial stereotypes. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews:

The 8th Man episode is incomplete.......2007-01-10

I have fond memories of "Tobor the 8th Man" from the mid-60s and I wanted my 4-year-old son to experience the character. Since the quality of everything on this DVD is cr*p, that was all I was hoping to gain. It's hard to say whether I accomplished my goal or not. My son has learned the theme song, but still hasn't seen a complete episode.

Is anyone aware of a DVD of the original series being available?

My best friend has a theory why we no longer see this character on American TV: Ever notice the "funny cigarettes" he smokes when he needs to power up? HA!

Little Nemo and Popeye Make it Worthwhile.......2003-02-06

For the most part, this collection is made up of sub-par characters like Raggedy Ann, Little Audrey, Do-Do, and Tobor the 8th Man.
The value comes from Popeye, Superman, and Little Nemo.
Popeye is one of my favorite cartoon characters, and his adventures in this package ("Out to Punch," "I Don't Scare") are funny as always. Superman was never one of my favorite characters, but "Underground World" and "Electornic Earthquake" are some of his best. "Little Nemo" is the first colour cartoon ever made, and it's fascinating and funny.
Cartoons, especially those of Superman, Toonerville Trolley, and Betty Boop, look good. In fact, they look much better than the public domain videos and DVDs you're used to getting. The usual Cartoon Crazys extras (Production Notes, Reading Lists, Restoration Demo) are all here, as well as a few novelties. (Comic book gallery, wallpaper.)

Not a bad DVD, certainally interesting!.......2001-12-30

This is another installment of the excellent range of Cartoon Crazys DVDs. This is not one of the strongest, but it is worth buying for its curiousity value.
Among the usual Betty Boop, Popeye and Superman cartons, these includes three rare cartoons: One called Do-do, an Australian/British cartoon about an alien boy with a robotic bird, and both of them speak in rhyme!
Another one is Tobor the 8th Man, a B/W Japanese rip-off of Superman with a puzzling title (8th Man???). This cartoon is boring and pointless with no ending, but has a great line (making these signs oriental does not help to find your way!).
The last one is Little Nero, and although is only two minutes long, it was made in colour during the early days of silent animation! A true gem for any animation fan!
Winstar's commitment of restoration of these public domain cartoons does show on most of them, and is certainally the best I have ever seen. The "Feel The Sound" process is not as off-putting as I have feared, and it certainally enhanced the Superman cartoons to great effect.
This DVD is most suited for animation fans and Cartoon Crazys colectors. Not one of the best, but a good addition to my ever-growing animation DVD library!

Awful picture quality = awful DVD.......2001-11-28

Cartoon Crazys spared no expense in restoring the sound of these great cartoons, but the picture quality is near nonexsistant. I have some of these same cartoons on video, and even after years of repeated viewing, they do not look as bad this dvd offering. The colors are so faded & muted, that I know I'll never ever buy another volume of Cartoon Crazys. They actually look like they were adapted straight off of a dollar store copy of the videos!

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