Lou Scheimer: Creating The Filmation Generation [Paperback]

Andy Mangels (Author), Lou Scheimer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 22, 2012

Hailed as one of the fathers of Saturday morning television, Lou Scheimer was the co-founder of Filmation Studios, which for over 25 years provided animated excitement for TV and film. Always at the forefront, Scheimer's company created the first DC cartoons with Superman, Batman, and Aquaman, ruled the song charts with The Archies, kept Trekkie hope alive with the Emmy-winning Star Trek: The Animated Series, taught morals with Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, and swung into high adventure with Tarzan, The Lone Ranger, and Zorro. Forays into live-action included Shazam! and The Secrets of Isis, plus groundbreaking special effects work on Jason of Star Command and others. And in the 1980s, Filmation single-handedly caused the syndication explosion with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and its successors. Now, Lou Scheimer tells the entire story to best-selling author Andy Mangels, including how his father decked Adolf Hitler, memories of the comics of the Golden Age, schooling with Andy Warhol, and what it meant to lead the last all-American animation company through nearly thirty years of innovation and fun! Profusely illustrated with photos, model sheets, storyboards, presentation art, looks at rare and unproduced series, and more plus stories from top animation insiders about Scheimer and Filmation's past this book will show the Filmation Generation the story behind the stories!

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: TwoMorrows Publishing (February 22, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893905969
• ISBN-13: 978-1893905962
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,070,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True Genius! Thank you Lou Scheimer and Filmation!, June 20, 2008

By 

thedeadlyhandsofkungfu "shogunassassin" (City of Lost Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lou Scheimer: Creating The Filmation Generation (Paperback)

Anyone who grew up watching cartoons of Aquaman, Batman, Superman, the Justice League of America, with the booming voice of Ted Knight will remember how vivid these colors were and what a strong impression they made on so many children. An entire generation of kids were riveted by these superheroes and their fantastic adventures.

The name Lou Scheimer is legendary among animators and the television community. But, is probably not as well recognized or appreciated by the general public. Let me state that Lou Scheimer should be placed in the same pantheon of creative geniuses as Walt Disney and Hanna and Barbara. What he and his team of artists created was nothing short of American pop culture history.

The story of Filmation is the story of a trailblazer. They somehow wrangled the rights to do a Batman animated series in 1967 for CBS. At the same time, ABC was producing the live action Batman TV show starring Adam West and Burt Ward.

Some of these classic cartoons have been released on DVD. The original Aquaman cartoons, for example, are available and so is a new collection coming out of guest stars from the 1967 Superman-Aquaman Hour. If you haven't seen these cartoons, you ought to take a look. Because what they did at Filmation was capture the essence, the humanity, the energy and the elusive mystery of these heroes.

For some strange reason, these characters had a soul. Watching them became addictive. These cartoons were not to be missed. They were not derivative of the comic books. They were not preachy though they each ended in an important lesson. They were simply little movies that tugged at the heart and soul.

As an avid and long-time collector of Filmation animation, I want to thank the author and Mr. Scheimer for telling their story. I heard recently that Mr. Scheimer's health might be waning. I'd like to wish him a speedy recovery. You've inspired a lot of young creative minds to follow their dreams. I hope you know how much your body of work is appreciated.