The Film 100
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Like many animators, Max Fleischer began as a cartoonist on a =
daily newspaper in Brooklyn, New York. In a prophetic move, he left for =
Popular Science Monthly magazine before joining the ranks of artists who =
flooded the animation scene in 1915. During a brief WWI commission, he =
made instructional films for J.R. Bray before joining his brother Dave =
to form Fleischer Studios.=20
Together they created a popular series of animated shorts =
featuring Koko, a clown born of the inkwell. Brother Dave would soon =
take over the stories, developing the unique personalities of famous =
characters like Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailor. Max, however, stepped =
away from the drawing table to concentrate on the mechanics of the =
cartoon craft.=20
Frustrated by the limitations of cel animation, Max was =
driven by a=20
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dream of a more life-like product. After extensive =
experiments with live-action films, he struck upon the idea of =
projecting images onto paper and tracing them. The process, known as =
rotoscoping, created smooth, realistic action that pre-dated the best =
efforts of Walt Disney by 15 years.=20
Rotoscoping involves filming live actors in motion, which =
allow artists to duplicate subtle human behaviors. First displayed in =
OUT OF THE INKWELL (1915), Bray called it 'super-animation', Fleischer =
dubbed it 'the greatest achievement in pen-and-ink production', and the =
process is still used today in animated films like BEAUTY AND THE=20
BEAST (1991) and POCOHANTAS (1995) and video game production. =
Next Max dreamed up the Rotograph. A system by which live =
action film is projected to the underside of the artist's table one =
frame at a time, allowing animators to draw Koko among real New York =
skylines. The real world and the India ink clown were then brought =
together in a single exposure. This ingenious method was a precursor to =
MARY POPPINS (1964) and WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988).=20
A tireless tinkerer, Max presented a steady stream of =
optical tricks, color and sound curiosities, and three dimensional =
processes that baffled and delighted his peers in films like POPEYE THE =
SAILOR MEETS ALI BABA'S 40 THIEVES (1937) and GULLIVER'S TRAVELS (1939). =
The quality of his films suffered dismally; no two films ever retained a =
consistent look. But he=20
kept audiences entertained and competitors fearful.=20
He was more ingenious than Disney, but lacked the =
showmanship, the discipline, and most importantly, the vision. Both men =
forged clear paths towards realism, but while Disney built upon each =
success, Max left behind yesterday's innovations for tomorrow's =
possibilities.=20
BORN: July 17, 1883
in Vienna, Austria
DIED: 1972
in Woodland Hills, CA
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