Max Fleischer in the context of "Popeye"

Fleischer Studios (/ˈflaɪʃər/) was an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures in 1942, the parent company and the distributor of its films. In its prime, Fleischer Studios was a premier producer of animated cartoons for theaters, with Walt Disney Productions being its chief competitor in the 1930s.

Fleischer Studios included Out of the Inkwell and Talkartoons characters like, 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 (with the exception of Bimbo, a black-and-white cartoon dog, and Betty Boop, who started off as an anthropomorphized dog, but evolved into a human). The cartoons of the Fleischer Studio were very different from those of Disney, both in concept and in execution. As a result, they were rough rather than refined and consciously artistic rather than commercial, but in their unique way, their artistry was expressed through a culmination of the arts and sciences. This approach focused on surrealism, dark humor, adult psychological elements, and sexuality. Furthermore, the environments were grittier and urban, often set in squalid surroundings, reflecting the Great Depression as well as German Expressionism.

Ko-Ko Song Car-Tunes, Song Car-Tunes, or (as some sources erroneously say) Sound Car-Tunes, is a series of short three-minute animated films produced by Max Fleischer and Dave Fleischer between May 1924 and September 1927, pioneering the use of the "Follow the Bouncing Ball" device used to lead audiences in theater sing-alongs. The Song Car-Tunes also pioneered the application of sound film to animation.

My Old Kentucky Home is a short animation film originally released in June 1926, by Max and Dave Fleischer of Fleischer Studios as one of the Song Car-Tunes series. The series, between May 1924 and September 1926, eventually totaled 36 films, of which 19 were made with sound. This cartoon features the original lyrics of "My Old Kentucky Home" (1853) by Stephen Foster, and was recorded in the Lee de Forest Phonofilm sound-on-film system.

My Old Kentucky Home appears to be the first attempt at animated dialogue in cartoon history, as a dog, named Pinkie the Pup, in the film mouths the words "Follow the ball, and join in, everybody" in remarkable synchronization though the animation was somewhat limited, making sure that lip-synch was synchronized perfectly. The Fleischers had previously started the follow the bouncing ball gimmick in their Song Car-Tune My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean (released on September 15, 1925).