Dave Fleischer

A Date to Skate is a 1938 Popeye cartoon from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. Popeye takes Olive Oyl on an ice-skating date, showing off his skating prowess until Bluto appears to cause trouble. The short features the distinctive Fleischer Studios animation style and the surreal, elastic transformations that characterized the Popeye series. The film is in the public domain.

Animation · Comedy

Olive Oyl writes a screenplay in which Popeye plays Aladdin, who uses a magic lamp and his spinach-fueled strength to win the princess from a wicked vizier. The third and last of the Fleischer Studios' two-reel Popeye color specials. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Family · Fantasy

Superman races to protect a train carrying a billion dollars in defense bonds from a gang of saboteurs who bomb the tracks, wreck a bridge, and commandeer the locomotive. The third of the Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Sci-Fi

On Christmas morning an orphanage full of glum children finds their cheap toys breaking one by one, until a kindly inventor wanders in and conjures wonderful new playthings from his bag of tricks. A Fleischer Color Classics holiday short. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Family

The blustery town mayor Gabby tries to extinguish a cheese-fueled fire that spirals out of control in this Fleischer Studios Gabby cartoon. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy

Gabby Goes Fishing is a 1941 animated short from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. The seventh of nine cartoons starring Gabby, the blustering town crier introduced in the Fleischers' feature Gulliver's Travels (1939), it sends the know-it-all to a fishing hole where he sets out to teach a young boy how to land the really big ones — and ends up on the hook himself. Pinto Colvig, the original voice of Goofy, supplies Gabby's voice. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Family

Fleischer Studios' second animated feature, an adaptation of Jonathan Swift's tale of a shipwrecked sailor who washes ashore in Lilliput, a kingdom of tiny people at war with their neighbors. Made to compete with Disney's Snow White, it was only the second American animated feature ever released. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Adventure · Family

Betty Boop and Koko the Clown are overcome by contagious laughter when a mysterious laughing gas fills their apartment, sending everything in the room into hysterics. A Dave Fleischer-directed Fleischer Studios short. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Music

La Paloma is a 1930 Screen Song cartoon from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. The Screen Songs series featured animated segments leading up to a "follow the bouncing ball" sing-along sequence where theater audiences were invited to join in. This entry features the popular Spanish song "La Paloma" by Sebastián Iradier. As a 1930 work, the film entered the U.S. public domain on January 1, 2026.

Animation · Musical

Making Stars is a 1935 Betty Boop cartoon from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. Betty Boop introduces a troupe of child performers who take the stage in a series of musical and comedy numbers. The short features the distinctive Fleischer animation style and Betty's trademark charm. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal of copyright.

Animation · Comedy · Musical

Neptune Nonsense is a 1936 Popeye cartoon from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. Popeye's pet goldfish appears lonely, prompting Popeye to venture underwater to find a companion, where he encounters Neptune and various sea creatures. The short features the distinctive Fleischer Studios animation style and surreal underwater transformations. The film is in the public domain.

Animation · Comedy

Poor Cinderella is a 1934 animated short from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was the first color cartoon in the Betty Boop series, produced in two-strip Cinecolor. Betty Boop stars as Cinderella in this retelling of the classic fairy tale, with the Fleischers' signature surreal animation style and musical numbers. The short was a departure from Betty's usual urban, adult-oriented comedies. The film is in the public domain.

Animation · Fantasy · Musical

Popeye the Sailor Meets Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp is a 1939 two-reel Popeye cartoon from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. The longest of the Fleischer Popeye specials at approximately 21 minutes, the short features Olive Oyl as a storyteller recounting the tale of Aladdin, with Popeye as the hero and Bluto as the villain. The cartoon was produced in Technicolor and features elaborate set pieces and musical numbers. The film is in the public domain.

Animation · Fantasy · Adventure

Popeye and Olive Oyl, traveling through the desert, are captured by the bandit Abu Hassan and his forty thieves, and Popeye must break loose and clean out the thieves' cave. The second of the Fleischer Studios' two-reel Popeye color specials. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Family

Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Wimpy land on an island ruled by the boastful Sindbad and his menagerie of giant beasts, and Popeye must square off against Sindbad and his two-headed giant. The first of the Fleischer Studios' two-reel Popeye color specials, made in Stereoptical 3D. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Family

Electric Earthquake is a 1942 Superman animated short from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. A Native American villain uses an electric ray device to threaten Manhattan with earthquakes, demanding the return of the island to his people. Superman must stop the destruction and save the city. The Fleischer Superman cartoons were noted for their art deco style, cinematic animation, and mature storytelling. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Sci-Fi

Terror on the Midway is a 1942 Superman animated short from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. When a circus gorilla breaks loose, panic erupts at the carnival. Lois Lane is trapped in the chaos, and Superman must subdue the rampaging beast. This was the last Superman cartoon produced by Fleischer Studios before the studio was reorganized as Famous Studios. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Adventure

The Arctic Giant is a 1942 Superman animated short from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. An expedition to the Arctic uncovers a frozen Tyrannosaurus Rex, which thaws and rampages through Metropolis. Superman must stop the prehistoric creature before it destroys the city. The cartoon is notable for its dinosaur sequence, which predates similar scenes in later films by decades. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Sci-Fi

The Magnetic Telescope is a 1942 Superman animated short from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. A scientist invents a magnetic telescope that can attract meteors from space, but the device goes out of control and threatens Metropolis with a catastrophic comet impact. Superman must destroy the deadly projectile before it hits the city. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Sci-Fi

The Mechanical Monsters is the second of the Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons, released by Paramount in November 1941. A mad inventor sends an army of flying robots to loot Metropolis — banks, jewel houses, anything they can carry — and captures Lois Lane when she stows away inside one of the machines. Superman battles the mechanical army and flies to the inventor's lair to save her from a vat of molten metal. The robot designs influenced decades of animation, from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow to a famous homage in The Iron Giant. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Adventure

Volcano is a 1942 Superman animated short from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. When a dormant volcano on a populated island begins erupting, Superman must save the inhabitants from the lava and ash. The cartoon features spectacular destruction sequences and showcases the Fleischers' talent for cinematic action animation. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Adventure

Gabby, the pompous town crier spun off from Gulliver's Travels (1939), takes charge of spring cleaning at King Little's castle and turns the job into chaos — brooms, ladders, and buckets flying as he bosses around the Lilliputian castle staff to the tune of a swing band. The seventh of Fleischer Studios' eight Gabby cartoons for Paramount, with Pinto Colvig (the original voice of Goofy) as Gabby and Jack Mercer voicing King Little. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Short