Superman

Superman (1941) is the landmark Fleischer Studios animated short you can watch online on iFILM. It runs barely ten minutes, yet this is where the Man of Steel first moved on screen. The Daily Planet receives a letter from a mad scientist threatening to level the city with an Electrothanasia Ray.

Reporter Lois Lane chases the scoop straight into the villain's lair, and only Clark Kent, shedding his mild-mannered disguise, can pull her back out. Dave Fleischer directs, with Bud Collyer voicing both Superman and Clark and Joan Alexander as Lois. Nominated for an Academy Award, the short set the visual grammar of superhero animation for decades to come: deep shadows, comic-book angles and big spectacle with almost no dialogue. Worth a look whether you came for the classic or just want to see where it all started. Stream Superman online on iFILM.