Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Somewhere in Dreamland" is a 9-minute cartoon from 1936, so this one is already over 80 years old now and if numbers don't do it for you let me tell you that this was released the very year that Hitler hosted the Olympic Games in Berlin. If you read the names of director Dave Fleischer and voice actress Mae Questel, you should know that here we got experts at work. It is a cartoon in color, which should not be taken for granted, but it really helps in the depiction of Dreamland in here. It deefinitely is a place you want to be, even as a grown-up. I know I did. The voice acting for the small as well as grown-up characters was as goid as the music here. Very catchy. This was certainly fun to watch and listen to. Here and there it may seem a bit meager in terms of the story-telling component, even for such a short movie, but the looks of it make more than up for this. Certainly a good watch we got here and I give it a thumbs-down and recommend checking it out. Not only during the holidays and this was not even a Christmas release, even if it is seen by many (like some list creators to the right) seen as a hloliday movie. That's all folks. Watch it.

TheLittleSongbird 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

Foreverisacastironmess The titular song was old-fashioned, but so beautifully heartwarming. This Fleischer short seemed to be a bit of an oddity in that it's completely normal.. A positive and cute little tale of starvation, woe and a dream come true, with no monsters or crazy mayhem whatsoever. I liked the way the elaborately detailed animation reflected the different moods, with the visuals of the first half being very stark and freezing, capturing the desperate poverty of the children's lives. And it stays that way until they go to sleep and escape grim reality and drift away into sweet Dreamland, a sugar-coated fantasy paradise that offers all the limitless cakes, candies and toys they long for in the real world, but really know they can never have. The colouring and richness of the animation at that point becomes much more brighter and cheerful, almost festive in a way. The entire short has a definite Christmassy feel about it, and there's not so much as a Christmas tree. The revolving 3-D-like effects, while looking a bit weird and surreal, are still impressive today and give the short a touch more depth and magic. However, the animation and design of some of the characters was a bit spotty and rough in places, such as in the facial details of the perhaps sickeningly adorable little siblings who have strange plain black dots where expressive eyes should be, and the mother's spaghetti arms looked very poorly done. And sometimes the stubby characters looked almost out of place amidst such gorgeously detailed surroundings. The mother sounded and looked somewhat like an aged Olive Oyl! Not surprising since she was voiced by Mae Questel in a rare softer and more maternal voice role for a change. I found it extraordinarily moving when the boy tells his mother that he's still hungry and her face just crumbles and she cries helplessly. That scene really touched me, I love the way they know why she's upset and tell her that it's okay and that they're not that hungry to comfort her, reassuring her of their love. It even made me tear up a bit the first time I saw it. It's very sad and poignant and makes you feel something a little deeper, as the best kinds of cartoon often do. You feel a little sad, but the more distressing parts of it do set up the ending very well. There's such a warm sense of charity and kindness at the end when the urchins awaken from their idealistic happy dream of satisfied hunger to find a real feast waiting for them. The message is fairly simple but very true and endearing. Be grateful for what you have, appreciate the little things, empathise with the less fortunate... Never stop dreaming, and boy am I hungry!

superuser1400 I love this charming cartoon. It starts off sad, with the children poor and starving, wanting a better life. A bunch of shop owners decide to do something, but i will get to that later. They have their dinner, and go to sleep, But what a dream they have! A wonderland of tasty food and fun toys, with stunning animation. The merry-go-round scene has the best animation, With a pseudo-3D look that is amazing. Another wonderful scene is where they go to the popcorn field, with popcorn falling from the sky! The dream continues, but then the dream ends, with the children back poor again. But then something amazing happens, Those shop owners i was talking about hold a feast for the children, making them happy! I really love this cartoon, and I'm glad i have it on DVD, as i can watch it again and again.