Inkwell Films

Fleischer Studios, Inc. (/ˈflaɪʃər/) was an American corporation which originated as an animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York. It was founded in 1921 as Inkwell Studios (Out of the Inkwell Films, Inc.) by brothers Max Fleischer and Dave Fleischer who ran the pioneering company from its inception until Paramount Pictures, the studio's parent company and the distributor of its films, acquired ownership. In its prime, The Fleischer Studio was a premier producer of animated cartoons for theaters, with Walt Disney Productions's becoming its chief competitor in the 1930s.

Fleischer Studios is notable for Koko the Clown, Betty Boop, Bimbo, Popeye the Sailor, and Superman. Unlike other studios, whose characters were anthropomorphic animals, the Fleischers' most successful characters were humans. The cartoons of the Fleischer Studio were very different from the Disney product, both in concept and in execution. As a result, the Fleischer cartoons were rough rather than refined, commercial rather than consciously artistic. But in their unique way, their artistry was expressed through a culmination of the arts and sciences. The approach was sophisticated, focused on surrealism, dark humor, adult psychological elements, and sexuality. And the environments were grittier and urban, often set in squalid surroundings—a reflection of the Depression as well as German Expressionism.