Somewhere in Dreamland (1936)

One of Fleischer Studios' best and most imaginative. The high point is the animation, which still looks amazing. The colours are vibrant and atmospheric and the backgrounds are smooth and fluid with great attention to detail whether in the dreamland or showing the children's poverty. What makes the animation so good though is the use of the rotograph technique used in the dreamland(never in animation has there been a more magical dreamland, one which any poor child would want to stay in forever) which is put to stunning use, it is in Somewhere in Dreamland with the merry-go-around cake that signals one of the studio's most remarkable animation moments. The music has the right amount of whimsy and energy as well as being orchestrated so beautifully, and the title song is one of the catchiest of any Fleisher Studios cartoon. The story is one of the most imaginative of their cartoons too, and is difficult to resist. Yes it's sentimental and it's cutesy but they don't mar the cartoon at all, rather it is a lot of fun as well as adorable and touching. The children are cute and engaging without being too sickly sweet, carrying the cartoon nicely, and the mother while with a small role is a good character as well. Mae Questel's voice acting is lovingly maternal and sympathetic in some of her more subtle voice work. In conclusion, a magical cartoon from Fleischer Studios and among their best. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Somewhere in Dreamland (1936) *** (out of 4)Animated short from Dave Fleischer has two poor children crossing in front of a bakery where they see all sorts of great food. They then have to walk home where their mother (voice of Mae Questel) has just hard bread for them to eat. That night they go to bed hungry but dream about a place where there's all sorts of food. I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this film as at first I wasn't sure much was going to happen. I thought the storytelling was extremely good and I liked all the little points that Fleischer is able to get across without being preachy or having it in your face. I also thought the title song was quite catchy and done in a very good way. As you'd expect, the animated is quite good from start to finish and I really liked the Dreamland sequence because, well, it really did seem like a real dream. I won't reveal the twist at the end but it's quite charming and makes it easy to see why this short has turned up on many Holiday collections.

I grew up in Northern NJ. Each Thanksgiving, after the Macy's parade was finished, WPIX (channel 11) showed "March of the Wooden Soldiers" with Laurel & Hardy. As long as I could remember, my sister and I watched this until I was 16, and they stopped the tradition.Invariably, after the movie, there was filler time. They showed "Somewhere in Dreamland" as well as another classic Christmas cartoon that showed Santa's workshop (I REALLY wish I could remember the name of this cartoon.) These cartoons initiated the Christmas season for my sister and I as much as the parade or "Soldiers" did.Recently, at my holiday party, someone won "Santa Conquers the Martians" as a gift. The DVD included Fleischer's "Somewhere in Dreamland." As we watched the cartoon, I felt as if I was 7 years old. What a great cartoon!

i feel like this cartoon is a good way to introduce "the way things were " you don't find a lot of cartoons with the quality of a good deed these days it was my favorite growing up i saved the movie and now is my son's fav.... the best 3 dollars my father ever spent, and my son and i sing the song somewhere in dreamland every night,it fills my heart with warmth every time i see the ending when they wake up to see all the food,also is a good way to show how we take things for granted. it makes me happy to know my family can still watch the same shows i grew up on also my parents and grandparents,............overall i think this is one of the best older cartoons,in my opinion it is up there with the wizard of oz