If you’ve ever dug through bargain dvd bins you’ve likely seen a generic compilation titled “Classic Cartoons vol 3.” Those discs were usually full of Fleischer Studios productions along with some work from Ub Iwerks. If you loved the design of Cuphead and don’t know what I’m talking about then you need to learn about Max & Dave Fleischer. They revolutionized the animation game for everyone.

Rotoscoping & 3D

Max Fleischer invented rotoscoping! It’s basically tracing over each frame of live action footage which results in a lifelike animation. Here’s a recent example: Lanky Kong listens to DK Rap for the first time.

You’ve probably seen this old Betty Boop / Koko The Clown cartoon which uses extensive rotoscoping from none other than Cab Calloway.

Fleischer also created the “Stereoptical” process which resulted in 3D and parallax effects that were unseen before. Here you can see Popeye walk down a street and turn in the physical set which must’ve blown everyone’s minds at the time.

Restoration

Thankfully the past few years have resulted in a renewed interest in these films and restorations have already been produced. I’ve worked with some people that restore films and it’s painstaking work. It’s not like there are originals or early backups available. Most films from back then are considered lost forever.

To restore something like this you usually need to get a hold of as many early copies as possible and make a composite from every decent source. A surviving original negative is extremely rare these days. Sometimes these films come from forgotten warehouses in Brazil, a private collector, or even in the dark recesses of an old movie theatre. It’s a big deal when a piece of film history is restored and it should be celebrated.

Here’s an example of a restoration of Somewhere in Dreamland (one of my favorite Christmas cartoons)

If you want to support film preservation or think that Koko The Clown is awesome go buy some merch.