It's
FINALLY here.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E8dUg9DXoAY49jT?format=jpg&name=900x900)
https://www.supermanhomepage.com/sup...gital-box-set/
Quote
The remarkable Superman: The Complete Animated Series box set features nearly 21 hours of entertainment spread over six Blu-ray™ discs, including all 54 exciting episodes, an all-new series-defining featurette entitled Superman: Timeless Icon, a special video commentary episode and three specially selected episodes with audio commentaries by the showrunners.
All 54 episodes have been remastered from the original 35mm Interpositive sources, giving special attention to extensive color correction, dirt and scratch clean up, and adding a grain reduction pass to create a pristine picture, all while making sure not to affect the original lines in the artwork of the animation. The audio was retransferred from the original audio masters, and the series is presented in its original aspect ratio (4×3). . . .
Superman: The Complete Animated Series – Enhanced Content
Superman: Timeless Icon (New Featurette) – An all-new bonus feature, produced specifically for the remastered Blu-ray release of Superman: The Animated Series, reveals the complicated journey of the show and those who created the new mythology for The Man of Steel, as told by producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, director Dan Riba, writer Bob Goodman, casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano, and Tim Daly & Clancy Brown, the heralded voices of Superman and Lex Luthor, respectively.
A Little Piece of Trivia (Featurette) – So you think you know your Superman trivia? Wait until you hear about the series' connection to Telly Savalas! A brain teaser to entertain every Superman: The Animated Series fan!
Superman: Learning to Fly (Featurette) – Get into the minds of the creative team behind Superman: The Animated Series as they detail the birth of this animated version of Superman and his incredible worlds. Featured speakers include producers Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, art director/producer Glen Murakami and directors Dan Riba and James Tucker.
Building the Mythology: Superman's Supporting Cast (Featurette) – The characters around Superman get the spotlight in this in-depth look at everyone from Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White to Maggie Sawyer, Lana Lang, and Ma & Pa Kent. Producers Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, art director/producer Glen Murakami and directors Dan Riba and James Tucker give viewers the inside scoop.
Menaces of Metropolis: Behind the Villains of Superman (Featurette) – Your hero is only as good as the villains around him, and Superman: The Animated Series has a rogues' gallery of top-grade baddies, including traditional opponents Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Bizarro, Metallo, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Toyman and Parasite, as well as new villains created for the series – like Live Wire and Luminus. Producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett and Paul Dini, directors James Tucker and Dan Riba and casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano give us a tour of the villains.
The Despot Darkseid: A Villain Worthy of Superman (Featurette) – Darkseid takes center stage in this examination of one of The Man of Steel's most vicious adversaries, plus other Fourth World characters that appear in Superman: The Animated Series. The featurette includes producers Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, art director/producer Glen Murakami, writers Rich Fogel and Stan Berkowitz, director James Tucker and Charles Hatfield (Department of English, Cal State Northridge).
Audio Commentaries
Stolen Memories – producers Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, director Curt Geda and art director/producer Glen Murakami.
The Last Son of Krypton – Part 1 – producers Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, director Dan Riba and art director/producer Glen Murakami.
The Main Man – Part 2 – producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, director Dan Riba and art director/producer Glen Murakami.
Video Commentary
Mxyzpixilated – producer Bruce Timm, producer/writer Paul Dini, director Dan Riba and moderator Jason Hillhouse.
BASICS
PRODUCT: Blu-ray
SRP: $69.99 USA, $79.99 Canada
Blu-ray Languages: English, Spanish, French
Blu-ray Subtitles: English
Running Time: 1,141 minutes
Rated PG
After going over the list of special features, assuming the solicit is actually correct, this is a list of what might be missing from the upcoming Blu set that was present on the original DVD release sets:
QuoteFeatures:
"Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman" Excerpt from the new documentary.[2006]
"Superman: Behind the Cape" David Kaufman takes you behind the scenes with the show's creative team.
Audio Commentaries:
"Apokolips... Now! Part I" ("easter egg")
"Apokolips... Now! Part II"
"Brave New Metropolis"
"Legacy Part II"
"New Kids in Town"
"World's Finest Part I"
I need to rewatch this. I think I was 12 when I last watched it.
Quote from: Travesty on Fri, 20 Aug 2021, 19:09
I need to rewatch this. I think I was 12 when I last watched it.
It's great, and overall I think it's the best incarnation of Superman. It has charm and depth.
Quote from: Travesty on Fri, 20 Aug 2021, 19:09
I need to rewatch this. I think I was 12 when I last watched it.
I'm eager to rewatch this, I watched the whole series seven years ago.
I remember watching the fourth episode of the first season featuring Toyman, and you could see BTAS's influence within the creepy character design and the plot.
The show otherwise developed into having its own identity, but that Toyman episode could easily have been a BTAS episode.
(https://c.tenor.com/lzZFeBECzRQAAAAC/toyman-bombs.gif)
I believe STAS was the first DC show to pay homage to the 1990 Flash TV show, as you can hear one of the show's themes making a cameo as soon as the Scarlet Speedster shows for a charity race against Superman in the episode
Speed Demons.
Unless there's a "Superman the Animated Series" thread that I overlooked, I'm just going to throw this here.
FLASHBACK 1996: Bruce Timm/Paul Dini article discussing STAS.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FWGfjlZUsAA9Tox?format=jpg)(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FWGfkCQUIAAU3HI?format=jpg)
Bruce Timm states the entire ending sequence of Dan Turpin getting murdered by Darkseid and everybody in Metropolis pays their respects at his funeral is his favourite moment out of the entire DCAU.
Quote from: Bruce TimmThe "Ragnarok" of "sob scenes" is, of course, the climax of "Apokolips...Now!"...that baby fires on every emotional cylinder....I've had grown men tell me they bawled like little girls at that scene...the shock of seeing Turpin annihilated/Superman going berserk/Lois can't even watch/Superman's fury spent/the cemetery based on Jack Kirby's final resting place in Thousand Oaks/the Rabbi singing that gorgeous Kaddish/star-spangled avengers, super-spies, African princes, various comics professionals and even Luthor pay their last respects/sad but proud cops/Toby comforting a stoic but clearly destroyed Maggie Sawyer/the last few family members leaving the funeral as a soft wind blows/Superman's gentle good-bye to his friend/the last silhouetted shot as the day ends/the one-two sucker punch end titles, "Not the end..." and "Long Live The King"/all scored with impeccable good taste by Kris Carter....What's Not To Love???!!! I swear to God I'm choking up just thinking about it...
https://dcanimated.com/WF/sections/backstage/interview/bt/thesequel.php
I remember finding out the funeral scene had a character resembling Stan Lee appearing as one of the mourners in the original broadcast of the episode, but he would be later removed for the home video release.
(https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-faeaafd05c1f13c333641a5e68e6223c-lq)
I was having a look on Reddit and found these quotes from Alex Ross. He explained that he and Bruce Timm had a falling out over a disagreement they had about the art style for STAS.
(https://i.imgur.com/Tiv5Sue.jpg)
This picture shows the top row of the original concept design for the characters compared to the final product.
(https://i.imgur.com/CRUZsWp.jpg)
The original designs certainly had more of a Fleischer feel. Particularly Lois. I think Timm sounded a little bit unreasonable to cut Ross off just for his honest critique, but I do prefer the style he opted for. It feels a bit more modern-day, while simultaneously fitting making Metropolis feel timeless. Even BTAS had to make some characters look less old-fashioned, i.e. Robin. A bow tie-wearing Jimmy Olsen would look too dated for a Nineties cartoon.
I always got a sense that Alex Ross is always very cognizant of the original visual representation of the character's he works on (though he is more inclined to make them look more mature. I still remember his choice for Captain America back in 2009/2010 or whenever it was being Jon Hamm. And I can certainly see him in Ross' Captain America art), so it doesn't really surprise me that he would have preferred Bruce Timm's initial concepts for STAS, versus what Timm eventually decided to go with. Being that the Fleischer toons are obviously an influence on Timm's art style, and the Fleischer cartoons being the first representation of Superman in animation, in addition to introducing Superman in the first place to many, I can see how Ross would have wanted Bruce Timm to lean into that more.
Quote from: The Laughing Fish on Wed, 22 Nov 2023, 12:26(https://i.imgur.com/Tiv5Sue.jpg)
This picture shows the top row of the original concept design for the characters compared to the final product.
Curious that one can have such varied reactions over time.
Given a choice, 1996 me would've preferred the bottom row. That simply looks more comparable to BTAS. Not a perfect match, obviously, but still compatible.
But 2023 me is curious about how the show would've played out with the top row designs. They're Fleischery, Curt Swany, a bit Kirbyy and maybe something else. Also, I sort of like that the original Lex design resembles Telly Savalas. Nice touch there.
It's hard to escape the suspicion that it would've been a completely different show in every possible way if the top row designs had been selected.
Separately, I appreciate that anecdote from Alex Ross. But I don't think he has any business lecturing anyone. Aesthetic appeal is fine in its place. But whether it's television, film or print, Bruce Timm is a seasoned veteran and true professional. I simply don't have very many quibbles with Timm's body of work.
Meanwhile, Ross, with all due respect, is most famous for Marvels and Kingdom Come. Both of which lack a mastery (and occasionally even lack an understanding) of composition, layout, balancing and other storytelling tricks of the comic book trade.
I don't know if that's what underlies Timm's falling out with Ross. But it would explain quite a lot if it did.
Ever since I first saw these character designs in the Superman: The Complete History book, I marveled at how much more comparable the series could have been with the initial run of Batman: The Animated Series. I'm sure they would have gone fully with it if they were given high budgets like those episodes got. Everything was noticeably streamlined in the later seasons of Batman due to reduced budgets and Superman got no special treatment.
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Thu, 23 Nov 2023, 06:07I don't know if that's what underlies Timm's falling out with Ross. But it would explain quite a lot if it did.
Constructive criticism is one thing, but Ross using the word "despise" with regard to Timm's opinion of Ross' art, is a pretty barefaced choice of a word to use. Makes me wonder if the both of them got into some sort of (very) heated conversation about their respective art and some unkind things were said? That can easily happen during an argument, and it depends on the person just how long someone takes to get over having their feelings hurt (if at all in some cases evidently).
I found an interview of Tim Daly, and he talked about playing Superman and Bizarro in the show.
Something I know I loved about your work in the series is that you were only one of a handful of actors who got to play Superman and Bizarro. Looking back, exploring that duality, even in just a handful of episodes, must have been quite an experience?
Quote from: Tim DalyYeah, I really liked doing Bizarro. At the time, I was in the thrall of that darkness actors seem to love to delve into, me included. It's the dark side of humanity and I consider it my job to explore all the sides of humanity, good and bad, dark and light. It was fun to get away for a moment from the boy scout nature of Superman and really go into a dark place with Bizarro. I had a great deal of empathy for him because he is sort of misguided, misunderstood, and used. He wasn't innately evil I don't think. He was just manipulated in a way that made him seem so. Anyway, the short answer is, yes, I had a good time doing that.
https://web.archive.org/web/20230609121132/https://comicbookmovie.com/superman/superman-animated/superman-the-animated-series-interview-tim-daly-hopes-for-a-brighter-future-for-the-man-of-steel-exclusive-a189219
I rewatched the episode
Identity Crisis and I forgot how much Bizarro was a healthy functional clone who was convinced he was the true Superman, until his body and speech began to deteriorate. A pretty solid - if simple - story about a well-meaning but confused character who was a victim of Lex Luthor playing God. I liked how he still had traces of Superman's personality and heroism to make him a tragic character, not just for comic relief.
From a geeky point of view, I wished this episode had Bizarro having the subconsciousness of dressing up like Clark Kent at work, as he did in the fifth chapter of John Byrne's Man of Steel mini-series. He already had inherited Superman's traits, so having a scene with him breaking into a store and dressed as Clark the reporter before he and Superman fight each other would've been a nice nod to the comic, even if it were obscure.
Here is another interview, this time with Dana Delaney aka Lois Lane. These are some of my favourite answers from her:
Quote from: Dana DelanyWhen Superman: The Animated Series first aired, strong female characters weren't the norm in any genre, never mind animation, so how did you feel when you were approached with this layered version of Lois Lane?
It's funny because I grew up reading Lois Lane comic books. When I was a kid, she actually had her own comic book. I had also watched the TV series when it was on, if you can believe it, in the 1950s [Laughs]. So, my image of Lois Lane was always a strong career woman and that's how I found her. I was really happy when I saw the writing as that matched my image of her and when I auditioned for it, I was just thrilled. Lois had been an icon for me my whole childhood and my whole life and I saw that they had a period feel to it. I immediately pictured Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday. In the movies from that time and when Superman was introduced, women were really strong. They've just backslid since then.
You've been able to return as Lois since the conclusion of the series on multiple occasions; what has it meant to you to have this character follow you throughout your acting career?
I'm a fan of Superman and that world myself. Like I said, I grew up reading those comics, so that makes sense to me. Also, I feel like what Superman represents - not in a cheesy way - but the original people who drew him, Shuster and Siegel, were doing it in response to Nazis, World War II, and Anti-Semitism. It's always been a world with a political statement rather than just, 'Rah, rah, America!' I was really happy that those guys continued that in our series.
What interested and excited you most about exploring Lois' dynamic in the series both with Clark Kent and Superman?
It's funny because I watched some of the episodes in preparation and I was laughing out loud because I forget about some of the great dialogue in it. I'd forgotten that Lois was the one that names him Superman [Laughs]. What a great honour to have, you know? I think it was the triple episode where Lois was dating Batman and we had the crossover. That was so much fun to make Superman jealous and have Clark not be able to say anything. It makes me laugh when Lois finally realises Batman is Bruce Wayne and says, 'So, when were you going to tell me? The honeymoon?' [Laughs] It was such a great line to say and she really got to say some great stuff. Another thing that I noticed was, yes, Superman saved her a lot, but not until she'd kicked ass herself. They'd let Lois go as far as she could in defending herself until it was a matter of life and death and she was falling out of a building and he had to swoop in and catch her. They really let her fight her own fights that I really appreciated.
https://web.archive.org/web/20230320085503/https://comicbookmovie.com/superman/superman-animated/superman-the-animated-series-interview-dana-delany-on-lois-lanes-legacy-and-a-possible-return-exclusive-a189467#gs.7qkpau