En algún lugar del País de los Sueños

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!

Somewhere in Dreamland is very typical of the style of Dave Fleischer--two angelic kewpie-like children live in terrible poverty but dream of a world of limitless candy and toys. In spite of the overly cute premise and the fact that these children are interchangeable with the children in every other Fleischer cartoon, Somewhere in Dreamland is an adorable film, which excellent animation, especially in the dream sequence. For such an early cartoon, the level of detail is quite impressive--when the kids go to bed, both their pajamas and their blankets are shabby and ridden with holes. It's a shame that cartoons like this are no longer very popular--it's hard for kids today to relate to a cartoon where every body behaves incredibly saintly, and the only villain they have to face is the ever-looming Depression. But Somewhere in Dreamland is a lovely gem that remains a tribute to the inspiring optimism of the 1930's.

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

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.

A lovely Dave Fleischer short animation, seductive for drawings, details, the spoon of nostalgia and the social message, for a dream easy to be assumed by poor people and about generosity.

Sure, an idylic story , its dosis of unrealism being the basic sin, at first sight. But significant, in this case , is the social context, the memories about Great Depression, in its many senses being not so far.

Off course, the children are exactly the same from many films by Mr. Fleischer, reminding, too much, the Renaiscence little angels.

But the care for details defining the trip in Dreamland, the imaginative solutions and the morning after are just beautiful and their are the most significant aspects in this case.

In short, just lovely..