Inventing the cartoon

✨ Watch on YouTube or listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Hand-drawn animation changed cinema forever. Long before CGI and artificial intelligence transformed the screen, pioneers like Max Fleischer proved that imagination, craftsmanship and technical invention could create entire worlds from pencil and paper.

In this special edition of Visionary's Future Vision series, Jane Fleischer Reid, granddaughter of the legendary animator, reflects on the extraordinary legacy of the Fleischer Studios – the creative force behind Betty Boop, Popeye, Superman and some of the most inventive cartoons ever made. She tells the story of Max Fleischer's restless curiosity, the invention of the rotoscope, the studio's surreal artistic style, and the painstaking restoration of more than 100 classic films from original archive materials.

As digital tools make image creation easier than ever, Fleischer's work feels even more relevant. In an era of AI-generated content, audiences are rediscovering the value of artistry you can feel in every frame. The imperfections, ingenuity and unmistakably human touch of handcrafted animation are becoming a premium once again – reminding us that the future of entertainment may depend as much on preserving creative craft as inventing new technology.

Watch the episode on YouTube below, or listen via your preferred podcast app.