The original Godzilla film from 1954 is widely viewed as the first movie to feature a gigantic dinosaur-like creature rampaging through a modern city. Therefore, you might be surprised to learn that a similar situation was depicted in the 1942 animated Superman short film, The Arctic Giant. The short was the fourth entry in a series of theatrical animated short films about Superman which were released by Paramount Pictures in the 1940s. Each of the shorts was directed by Dave Fleischer, and they were all produced by his production company, Fleischer Studios. Writers Bill Turner and Tedd Pierce both provided the screenplay for The Arctic Giant, with the pair managing to pen a spectacular adventure for Superman fans to enjoy. And fans of the Godzilla franchise will no doubt find many elements of The Arctic Giant to seem highly familiar, with the film’s titular monster even bearing a very close resemblance to Godzilla.
Although the dinosaur in The Arctic Giant was not given an actual name, it still proved to be a worthy opponent which almost defeated Superman in battle. And while it initially seemed unlikely for a prehistoric creature to encounter Superman in Metropolis to begin with, the beast was delivered to the city after it was found to be frozen in ice during an archaeological expedition. We learn that it was initially intended to serve as an attraction in the Museum of Natural Science, with visitors no doubt being thrilled by the magnificent display. These details were conveyed to the viewer by a narrator at the start of the film. And you will no doubt be aware that narration is often viewed as a lazy method of delivering story details to the viewer. But the fact that The Arctic Giant runs for just nine minutes means that the filmmakers probably did not have many other options when it came to setting up the story. And with the runtime being so short, most viewers will probably not be too bothered by the use of narration to establish details in a way which would otherwise have been too time-consuming.
As soon as the narrator finishes with his introduction, we are introduced to Lois Lane, who visits the museum to write a feature about the monster for the Daily Planet. But the employee who shows her around leaves an oil can near the generator which keeps the beast frozen, with the machine’s vibrations causing the can to fall and damage the internal mechanisms, resulting in the creature awakening. It should be noted that the way in which the vibrations from the generator caused the oil can to shake uncontrollably would have been difficult to animate convincingly in the 1940s. But the animation department did a perfect job of convincingly making the can seem like it was being moved by an external force without resorting to Looney Tunes-style cartoon physics.
When the dinosaur awakened, we were shown a close-up shot of its face, which gradually zoomed into its eyes, as they each slowly blinked several times before opening fully. In this shot, the beast’s eyes were clearly intended to look as menacing as possible, so that viewers will understand the rage it feels throughout the film. And while it may have seemed a little silly to give a dinosaur an almost human-like expression, the sight of its rage-filled eyes will be burned into your memory for many years to come. We also saw a prolonged shot of its fingers slowly twitching as it regained movement in its hand after the ice started to melt, which seemed like something straight out of a Frankenstein movie. The way in which the dinosaur regains consciousness after being unthawed was both memorable and deeply unsettling. As soon as it breaks free from the ice, the dinosaur then rampages through Metropolis. It was specified in the short that the dinosaur in question was a Tyrannosaurus, but it was much bigger than any real dinosaur, as it was shown to be as tall as a skyscraper. Therefore, no people or structures within the city were safe after its escape from the museum.
The animators clearly had a lot of fun showcasing the destruction caused by the beast, with copious amounts of rubble and debris being left in its wake. Much of the city was laid to waste, as the monster was shown crushing cars and destroying a railway bridge as it stomped through Metropolis. Clearly, the filmmakers wanted the dinosaur to cause as much mayhem and devastation as possible. There was even a shot of two cars frantically crashing into each other as the drivers desperately tried to flee from the creature. And we also saw people desperately jumping out of their vehicles to avoid being crushed by the dinosaur’s gigantic feet. The animators clearly wanted to showcase how people would realistically respond in such a scenario. Despite being a cartoon featuring an alien superhero fighting a dinosaur, The Arctic Giant still believably highlighted the likely human reactions which would occur if a giant monster really did march through a city. And this helped to make the film seem almost plausible, regardless of the fantastical situation it depicted.
Since the animation was clearly supposed to look realistic at the time, seeing a city being destroyed in such a way would have seemed both alarming and thrilling to audiences back then. All the characters and environments were drawn and animated in a believable way, and the destruction of the city was also intended to seem as realistic as possible, with structures authentically breaking and falling. It should also be noted that, except for the original King Kong movie, there were almost no other films about giant monsters rampaging through modern cities at the time. And this meant that the makers of The Arctic Giant had very few materials to draw inspiration from. As a result, the dinosaur’s rampage would have been completely fresh and original when the short was initially released, so viewers really would have never seen anything like it before. And it is not clear if the makers of Godzilla watched The Arctic Giant beforehand, but the scenes in the animated short showcasing the monster’s rampage certainly seem reminiscent of the Godzilla franchise. The Tyrannosaurus from The Arctic Giant also closely resembles Godzilla, making the similarities with the Godzilla franchise all the more uncanny. Although we will probably never know for sure if the makers of Godzilla were indeed influenced by The Arctic Giant, it certainly seems like a strong possibility.
And despite the urgency of the scenario, there was still plenty of humor to be found within The Arctic Giant. A police officer frantically declares that he is not crazy while he phones for backup, with his delivery almost sounding like he barely trusts his own sanity after seeing the dinosaur with his own eyes. And Lois apparently forgot that Superman possesses superhuman hearing, as she proudly proclaims to herself that she will not obey his order to flee from the dinosaur as soon as she believes that he is out of earshot. As usual, she believes reporting on the story is more important than her safety. And the amusing exchanges of dialogue between Lois and Clark Kent when Superman was in his civilian guise remind us that they really are in love with one another, despite their endless teasing. There was also a whimsical visual gag depicting an elderly man dropping his newspaper as Superman leaps by, since the people of Metropolis will clearly never get used to seeing the Man of Steel in action.
The grand orchestral score also helped to make The Arctic Giant into a worthy cinematic experience, and the talented voice actors all did tremendous jobs of bringing their characters to life. As was common at the time, none of the voice actors were credited onscreen, which seems unfortunate, given the dedication they gave to their roles. Bud Collyer had been voicing Superman for so long by this point that he could probably have delivered a convincing performance as the Man of Steel in his sleep. And Joan Alexander perfectly captures Lois Lane’s witty and enthusiastic personality in a way which few other actors could. However, the titular dinosaur surprisingly remains silent throughout The Arctic Giant, so we unfortunately never got to hear what its roar would have sounded like.
It was quickly established that the Tyrannosaurus is bulletproof, as we saw police officers firing dozens of bullets at it, which quickly bounced off its skin instead of penetrating its thick hide. Since human weapons are clearly incapable of defeating the monster, we automatically know that this is a job for Superman. When Kent does finally change into his hero suit, we are treated to some spectacular imagery of his incredible powers. Since Superman had not yet been given the ability to fly, there was a beautifully animated sequence in which he is shown leaping across various Metropolis skyscraper rooftops as he races towards the monster. This sequence would no doubt have been challenging to animate at the time. And it would also have awed audiences back then, in the same way that viewers today are stunned by visual effects spectacles in major blockbuster films. We also see Superman throwing a portion of a gigantic rock formation into a hole in a dam caused by the dinosaur in order to prevent a gigantic flood. And the copious amounts of water bursting from the hole before it was sealed really highlighted the urgency of the situation, as it was clear that major flooding would have occurred if Superman had not sealed the hole.
And the actual fight between Superman and the dinosaur was spectacular to behold. The Man of Steel initially uses a collapsed beam from a bridge to incapacitate the beast by binding its legs, before he literally jumps inside its mouth to stop it from eating Lois Lane. And the sight of Superman standing inside the creature’s mouth as he used his incredible strength to prevent the dinosaur from closing its jaws could easily have looked silly. But the animators managed to make it seem realistic and intense, with the strained movements of Superman and the monster giving viewers a real sense of the strength of both characters as they struggle to overpower one another. Superman then body dives into the beast’s neck, before using a lamppost to restrain it on the ground. Despite being much smaller than the creature, Superman still utilizes his strength and speed to his advantage throughout the fight. And the filmmakers clearly spend a great deal of time planning the strategic moves which the superhero would use to take down the beast. Superman and the dinosaur also seemed to have deliberately been evenly matched in terms of strength, as Superman ultimately used his superior intellect to defeat his opponent instead of simply overpowering it. This ultimately made the conclusion seem more satisfying, especially since most viewers would probably not have thought of wrapping a lamppost around the monster’s neck in order to restrain it.
The Arctic Giant then ends on a positive note, as the monster is taken to a zoo, so that it can never go on another rampage. Lois jokes about the situation with Clark, who tells her that he would have fainted if he had laid eyes on the beast. This was clearly a humorous and light-hearted way to end the picture, with Clark’s quip then being followed by a fourth wall-breaking wink, which further ensured that audience members would laugh before they left the cinema. Although the film is now over eighty years old, modern viewers will still be enthralled by The Arctic Giant, just as viewers would have been when it was originally released. Clearly, it is evident that The Arctic Giant is a truly unforgettable animated short which deserves to be praised and cherished by fans of superheroes and monster movies for many decades to come.
