All-New Super Friends Hour: The Tiny World of Terror (1977)

 

This is the third segment of the thirteenth episode of The All-New Super Friends Hour, unlike most other Super Friends formats, this one had hour long episodes that were made up of various shorter cartoons. The first segment would be an adventure staring two members (or three in some cases as Batman and Robin would often team with another Super Friend) of the Super Friends. The second would be a morality play staring the Wonder Twins. The third would be a typical half hour Super Friends adventure. The fourth and last segment would feature one of the main Super Friends (or two in the case of Batman and Robin) teaming up with a special DC Comics guest. 

In this cartoon, a group of scientists create a shrinking way. All but one of these scientists seek to use the shrinking ray to help better the world. The other scientist seeks to use it for personal gain. This evil scientist uses the ray to shrink his collogues, so that he can use it the way he pleases. The super friends stop him. 

This is a very fun episode. I have always had a fondness for these episodes with a typical person as the villain rather than some great supervillain. I especially love when these villains can actually feel like a threat to our super powered heroes. This is done very well here. There is especially a bit of suspense in the climax. The cartoon really gets good when the Super Friends must shrink themselves to save the other scientists. Seeing them deal with seemingly giant versions of smaller animals and insects is simply the type of corny superhero fun that I love. The design work on these creatures is wonderful and helps make the sci-fi feel even more fun. This episode also once again benefits from some strong background art that enhances the sci-fi feel.