BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM HONEST. Somewhere in Dreamland is a 1936 animated short. This film was part of Max Fleischer's Color Classics series. The film was produced by Max Fleischer, directed by Dave Fleischer, and was animated by Fleischer veterans Seymour Kneitel and Roland Crandall. A young brother and sister carry a wagon through town, gathering wood for their home stove. They pass by several merchants' shops and stop for a moment, to admire the confectioneries in a bakery. As he sees the children, a friendly baker goes inside, and comes back with ice cream for them, but the children have already left. The merchants gather to make a plan, because they want to help the poor children. The children reach home and sit down for supper: hard bread and flat water. The children eat quickly, with the boy saying he's still hungry. Unable to provide enough food for her children, Mother begins to cry. The boy tries to make her feel better by assuring "I was only fooling'." and their mother kisses them goodnight. They get in their pajamas, and they each sing a part of the song, as they fall asleep beneath their tattered sheets.Made during the depression this film still strikes a nerve and your heart goes out to these children. They are niche children that are poor and hungry. They have a mother that is doing the best that she can.This is available on DVD. You can stream it. It is in Public Domain.
... View MoreSomewhere 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.
... View MoreI 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!
... View MoreI grew up watching this cartoon every Christmas; it's a family tradition that I treasure. It's about two orphans who struggle to survive everyday with their single mom. They have barely enough food to eat and yet they are grateful for even the smallest gesture of kindness. This cartoon isn't like the simple shallow Christmas stories that we all see today on TV. It has a deep message and represents an unforgettable era in our history. Even though I did not live during the Great Depression, I totally get the message in the cartoon. It's a timeless classic that will stay with you always and I recommend it to anyone with a child. This touching film will help a child learn to appreciate their comfortable surroundings. Now that I'm a mom I am happy to have purchased this film so my daughter can watch it, just like my mother and grandmother did when they were young.
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