Review of Somewhere in Dreamland

The bulk of Fleischer's one shot filmography is largely forgotten today. In attempt to compete with Disney's Silly Symphonies, they came up with Color Classics, which don't live up to their name for the most part. They come nowhere near the aesthetics and heart of a Disney cartoons of that era (and the artists knew it). There are however some bright spots.

One thing that the Fleischer's did that the other animation studios didn't do, is directly address social issues and injustices at the time. Some of these attempts gave the Fleischer's a gritty and uneasy aesthetic. This title addresses the harsh realities of the depression that many families faced. All the more harsher when children came home without any food on the table.

While the dream sequence is done similar to fantasies of other studios, the Fleischer's live action setback system done via the stereoptic system doesn't jibe with the two dimensional animation. It often creates an uncanny valley effect that can look unappealing to the viewer.

The best part of this short is not the dream sequence, but the ending where the community (a baker, butcher, and tailor) come together to provide for the family in their time of need. That message of charity was never really done by the other studios.

This plot of this entire cartoon would be great for an episode of a modern show.