Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Fleischer Classics Featuring Gulliver's Travels Blu-ray Movie Review

A giant in the annals of animation.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 7, 2014

When Walt Disney offered Richard Fleischer the job of directing Disney’s first live action special effects spectacular 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, some wags in Hollywood saw the gesture as a sort of olive branch proffered to a family that had once been Disney’s major (and in fact only) competition back in the nascent early days of the Mouse House. It’s almost hard to realize that there was a time when Disney (either the man or his eponymous studio) wasn’t Disney, so to speak, but just another dreamer without much of a factory. There were several other impressive animators working at around the same time Disney was starting up what would become one of the giants of the entertainment industry, let alone the niche of animation, and chief among those were the Fleischer Brothers, Max (Richard's father) and Dave. The Fleischers’ first work actually predates Disney’s, and Max held the patent for one of early animation’s most notable achievements, the Rotoscope. The Fleischers, like Disney himself, concentrated exclusively on shorts for the early part of their career, but things changed dramatically in 1937 when Disney brought out what was considered one of the all time risks the then still relatively young film industry had witnessed, a full length animated feature by the name of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The rest, as they say, is history, and with the overwhelming success of that film, other studios wanted to jump on the animated bandwagon. The Fleischers had actually been eager to make a feature length cartoon for several years, but their distributor Paramount wasn’t keen on the idea—until they saw the box office receipts from the Disney outing. Then Paramount wasn’t just interested, they were actually a bit frantic and urged the Fleischers to get a full length film into theaters for the holiday season of 1939, a relatively short timeline for such an ambitious project. And thus was Gulliver’s Travels born.

There’s little doubt that the shadow of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs looms rather large over much of this Gulliver’s Travels, and not just because there’s a giant human looming over diminutive elf like creatures. There’s really only one travel in the film, Gulliver’s adventures in the magical land of Lilliput, where he’s discovered by town crier Gabby (who would go on to an extracurricular life of his own in several Fleischer shorts, some of which are also included on this Blu-ray). Gulliver awakens the next day to find himself in the middle of an incipient war between King Little of Lilliput and King Bombo of neighboring Blefuscu, who have come to blows over the appropriate music to play at the impending marriage of their children.

The film is filled with sprightly characters who probably owe more than a mere debt of gratitude to Disney, and the love affair between the kings’ kids is obviously modeled on Snow and her Prince. But in other ways, Gulliver’s Travels is definitely an artistic triumph on its own merits. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the gorgeously rotoscoped animation of Gulliver himself, who is manifestly more “real” looking than the intentionally cartoonish Lilliputians. The fluidity of the animation is certainly at least the equal of anything Disney achieved in this general era, and the song score (while again obviously influenced by the success of Snow White’s music) is quite appealing as well.

While the bulk of the interest in this release will probably surround Gulliver's Travels, it's notable that Thunderbean has also offered high definition presentations of several other outstanding Fleischer shorts, bridging two decades from 1921 to 1941. While some of these are more endearing than others, their inclusion is a commendable effort to preserve the legacy of an often strangely underappreciated force in early American animation.

Fleischer Classics Featuring Gulliver's Travels Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Fleischer Classics featuring Gulliver's Travels is presented on Blu-ray by Thunderbean Animation with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1 (the release is hard matted with rounded corners, reproducing its original theatrical exhibition). Thunderbean is the brainchild of Steve Stanchfield, who did a Kickstarter-esque campaign to fund this restoration, which he painstakingly undertook without a huge staff (the credits list three total people handling digital cleanup, restoration and editing, with one more person listed as the telecine operator). This transfer was srouced from a variety of 35mm elements, though Stanchfield mentions in his interesting liner notes that the bulk of the release stems from a 1957 print, though this print evidently had replacement footage from another print to replace damaged sections. Four other prints were utilized for various segments as well. The results here are quite beautiful, though there are some minor though noticeable color space variations as well as density issues that occasionally crop up. However, Stanchfield is to be roundly applauded for having attempted to clean up his source elements without digitally tweaking things to the point that they no longer resemble film (we have another Max Fleischer's Gulliver's Travels release if we want to go that lamentable route). While some may wish for a brighter overall ambience, the organic look of this transfer is probably its strongest asset, aided by a largely accurate accounting of lush Technicolor hues (the blues are especially impressive). The image retains the painterly depth that was the Fleischers' hallmark. There are still manifold scratches and minor imperfections that can be seen, but this is truly a remarkable achievement by a "sole proprietor" that should put any number of niche labels on notice as to what someone who really cares about what they're doing can offer to classic film aficionados. While a transfer from an interpositive or negative would have probably culled more pleasing results, the fact that this looks as wonderful as it does sourced from a "mere" print (or set of prints) is an astounding accomplishment.

Fleischer Classics Featuring Gulliver's Travels Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unfortunately, things are a bit disappointing on the audio end of things. The soundtrack is rendered in lossy Dolby Digital Mono (via two channels), and it definitely shows its age, with a tinny, narrow sound, especially in the midrange, where a lot of the music sounds like it's emanating from a tin can. There are some noticeable differences in overall ambience that I assume can be attributed to the different source elements utilized for the transfer. There are occasional issues with hiss becoming more apparent in quieter sections, but overall this track, while not optimal, is at least listenable and doesn't present any "deal killer" problems.

Fleischer Classics Featuring Gulliver's Travels Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bonus Cartoons (1080p; 54:27) include:

  Modeling (1921)

  In My Merry Oldsmobile (1931)

  Is My Palm Red? (1933)

  The Little Dutch Mill (1934)

  The Paneless Window Washer (1937)

  Ding Dong Doggie (1937)

  Two for the Zoo (1941)

  Swing Cleaning (1941)

• Production Artwork (1080p)


• Decca Album features the original soundtrack album (this was authored without a timecode).


• Guy Lombardo features the famous bandleader performing "Bluebirds in the Moonlight" and "It's a Hap Hap Happy Day" (neither authored with a timecode).


• Trailer (1080p; 2:20)


• Books and Publications (1080p) features a compilation of tie-in products.


• Radio Broadcast offers audio of a December 21, 1939 broadcast (authored without a timecode).


• Publicity Materials (1080p)


• Popeye and Gulliver Pencil Test (1080p; 00:26) is a brief but fascinating glance at what the film would have been like had Popeye "played" Gulliver.


• Toys and Other Merchandise (1080p)

Note: I was unable to figure out where the advertised Digital Copy code was included. I thought perhaps it would be on the DVD, but it wasn't.

Fleischer Classics Featuring Gulliver's Travels Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gulliver has had quite a journey since its 1939 release. While the film was a rather marked success for Paramount in both its American and foreign releases, and went on to a regular broadcast life on television, it rightly or wrongly was never held in quite the same esteem as the early Disney canon. Its home video releases up to now have been similarly lackluster (even annoyingly offensive in some instances). This new release offers one of the titans of early Technicolor feature length animation looking wonderfully refreshed. While the audio is occasionally problematic, the supplemental features are outstanding, and Stanchfield and his Thunderbean team (small though it may be) deserve the heartfelt thanks of fans for this overall excellent release. Highly recommended.