Disney Animator Brings Classic Superman to Life

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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Disney Animator Brings Classic Superman to Life


The Man of Steel must fight of a few dozen pretenders in a lovingly created - and incredibly slick - Superman fan animation.

Disney animator Robb Pratt - whose previous work includes Tarzan, Hercules and Pocahontas - has put together a short animated film called Superman Classic, inspired by the 1940s Superman movies reels, and especially the distinctive music.

The short, which is just a minute long, is a fusion of different influences. The story, in which a fleet of giant robots attacks the city of Metropolis, feels like a pulp story from the 30s or 40s, while the animation looks like Disney movies from the early 60s, such as 101 Dalmations or The Sword in the Stone. Pratt said that his design for Superman combined elements from the different actors who had played the part, and the design of Metropolis was based on the work of architect Hugh Ferriss [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Ferriss].

Pratt and his team created digital storyboards for the film, and then combined digital and traditional animation techniques for the final product. The animators first sketched the characters on paper, then scanned the sketches into the computer where they were colored and then overlaid over the digital backgrounds. Pratt was able to get John Newton - who played Superboy in the 1980's TV series - to provide the voice for the Man of Steel, and Newton's wife, Jennifer, to voice Lois Lane.

Unsurprisingly for something created by a professional animator, Superman Classic is an incredibly high quality production. With any luck, Warner - which owns DC Comics, which in turn owns Superman - will decided that this needs a web series just as much as Mortal Kombat: Rebirth [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/106978-Warner-Commands-Mortal-Kombat-Rebirth-Director-to-Finish-It] does.

Source: Heat Vision Blog [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/heat-vision/disney-animator-debuts-stunning-animated-97342]




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Vault Citizen

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May 8, 2008
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I'm a cynic so I think that Warner Bros wouldn't make a web series out of this for the same reason that Bat Embargo exists.
 

IndianaJonny

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Jan 6, 2011
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Wow, in every second you can see there's a man who loves the craft and treasures the material. Brilliant.
 

hittite

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Nov 9, 2009
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Brilliant! I loved every second of it.

Of course, I'm kind of a fan of the really old school Superman cartoons. You know, back when he didn't fly, he just jumped about 5 miles at a time.
 

Samwise137

J. Jonah Jameson
Aug 3, 2010
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Not a superman fan personally but that was very cool. I loved the elements of traditional disney-style work that were present in every frame. My only quibble is that it looked unfinished and grainy around the edges. Otherwise, great work!
 

Casual Shinji

Should've gone before we left.
Legacy
Jul 18, 2009
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Nothing beats the artistry of good old fashion hand drawn animation. With every frame of the animation you can just feel the talent that went into making it.

It's a shame that this type of cartoon making has been replaced with CGI.
 

Gigaguy64

Special Zero Unit
Apr 22, 2009
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Wow, that was just cool.

I can really see his "style", it does remind me of the Hercules and Tarzan movies from Disney.
Its things like this that make me want to be an animator even more.

I miss the classic Superman cartoons, and i completely agree, they had some great music.
 

Scarim Coral

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Oct 29, 2010
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Amazing! It clearly he had put alot of effort and passion onto that great animated short!
 

Neverhoodian

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Apr 2, 2008
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Oh man, that was awesome! I hope they decide to make more of these! Perhaps they could even give a certain man in a bat suit the same treatment?

The music really clinched it for me. Nothing like retro movie serial scores to heighten the mood.
 

dragontiers

The Temporally Displaced
Feb 26, 2009
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Great video. I loved it. Really captured the old-timey feel of the classic serials.

Logan Westbrook said:
The Man of Steel must fight of a few dozen pretenders in a lovingly created - and incredibly slick - Superman fan animation.
Huh? Maybe I missed something, the video I watched had him fighting one robot, with a cut of a bunch more at the end. What pretenders?
 

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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dragontiers said:
Great video. I loved it. Really captured the old-timey feel of the classic serials.

Logan Westbrook said:
The Man of Steel must fight of a few dozen pretenders in a lovingly created - and incredibly slick - Superman fan animation.
Huh? Maybe I missed something, the video I watched had him fighting one robot, with a cut of a bunch more at the end. What pretenders?
The large, man-shaped steel robots.

EDIT: Also, they can fly, they have eye beams, and are incredibly strong :p
 

dragontiers

The Temporally Displaced
Feb 26, 2009
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Logan Westbrook said:
dragontiers said:
Great video. I loved it. Really captured the old-timey feel of the classic serials.

Logan Westbrook said:
The Man of Steel must fight of a few dozen pretenders in a lovingly created - and incredibly slick - Superman fan animation.
Huh? Maybe I missed something, the video I watched had him fighting one robot, with a cut of a bunch more at the end. What pretenders?
The large, man-shaped steel robots.

EDIT: Also, they can fly, they have eye beams, and are incredibly strong :p
Ah, I wasn't aware that's what they were. I just thought they were generic robots, and I thought "pretenders" just meant there would be a bunch of fake Supermen. I guess I need to catch up on my DC lore (I'm more of a Marvel guy myself).
 

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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dragontiers said:
Logan Westbrook said:
dragontiers said:
Great video. I loved it. Really captured the old-timey feel of the classic serials.

Logan Westbrook said:
The Man of Steel must fight of a few dozen pretenders in a lovingly created - and incredibly slick - Superman fan animation.
Huh? Maybe I missed something, the video I watched had him fighting one robot, with a cut of a bunch more at the end. What pretenders?
The large, man-shaped steel robots.

EDIT: Also, they can fly, they have eye beams, and are incredibly strong :p
Ah, I wasn't aware that's what they were. I just thought they were generic robots, and I thought "pretenders" just meant there would be a bunch of fake Supermen. I guess I need to catch up on my DC lore (I'm more of a Marvel guy myself).
Oh, that's not an official name for them, it was just a play on words on my part. Sorry if I've caused you any confusion.
 

Nerf Ninja

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Dec 20, 2008
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Now that I'd watch! would love to see a cartoon, series or film set back in the golden age like that especially with that music.
 

dragontiers

The Temporally Displaced
Feb 26, 2009
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Logan Westbrook said:
dragontiers said:
Logan Westbrook said:
dragontiers said:
Great video. I loved it. Really captured the old-timey feel of the classic serials.

Logan Westbrook said:
The Man of Steel must fight of a few dozen pretenders in a lovingly created - and incredibly slick - Superman fan animation.
Huh? Maybe I missed something, the video I watched had him fighting one robot, with a cut of a bunch more at the end. What pretenders?
The large, man-shaped steel robots.

EDIT: Also, they can fly, they have eye beams, and are incredibly strong :p
Ah, I wasn't aware that's what they were. I just thought they were generic robots, and I thought "pretenders" just meant there would be a bunch of fake Supermen. I guess I need to catch up on my DC lore (I'm more of a Marvel guy myself).
Oh, that's not an official name for them, it was just a play on words on my part. Sorry if I've caused you any confusion.
Oh, I see now. I feel so dumb. I think I need to get more sleep at night. ;p Thanks!

[small]I'm usually so good with puns too :([/small]