Somewhere in Dreamland (Fleischer animated
set)
Picture: C Sound: C Extras: B Animated shorts: A
When people look back over
the course of history and see what part of that culture is reflective of the
products of that culture few think about cartoons. Yet, the cartoon reflects a culture or era
more so than anyone could imagine once you begin to digest the material
further.
Looking back on the
animation that took place during the first half of the 20th century
the world was marveled by Walt Disney, the Fleischer Brothers, and Looney Tunes/Merrie
Melodies among the more well-known of many series, but only two of those noted are
still active today. In fact, very few
are familiar with what the Fleischer’s contributions were, outside of the animated
Superman or Popeye. Somewhere in Dreamland brings forth for the first time ever all the
full-color uncut cartoons (35 total) from the Fleischer studio and is a MUST
for series fans of cartoons and/or animation.
This set excludes the Superman and Popeye series.
Released through VCI, this
is a cornerstone in their catalog bringing to life some of the most important
uncut cartoons and making them available in the DVD format. The shorts are presented as follows with the
corresponding year next to it, with bold titles offering audio commentary:
DISC ONE:
POOR CINDERELLA (8/3/34)
LITTLE DUTCH MILL (10/26/34)
AN ELEPHANT NEVER FORGETS
(12/28/34)
SONG OF THE BIRDS (3/1/35)
DANCING ON THE MOON (7/12/35)
SOMEWHERE IN DREAMLAND (1/17/36)
THE LITTLE STRANGER (3/13/36)
THE COBWEB HOTEL (5/15/36)
GREEDY HUMPTY DUMPTY (7/10/35)
HAWAIIAN BIRDS (8/28/36)
PLAY SAFE (10/16/36)
CHRISTMAS COMES BUT ONCE
A YEAR (12/4/36)
BUNNY MOONING (2/12/37)
CHICKEN A LA KING (4/16/36)
A CAR-TUNE PORTRAIT (6/26/36)
PEEPING PENGUINS (8/26/37)
DISC TWO:
EDUCATED FISH (10/29/37)
LITTLE LAMBY (12/31/37)
HOLD IT! (4/29/38)
HUNKY AND SPUNKY (6/24/38)
ALL'S FAIR AT THE FAIR (8/26/38)
PLAYFUL POLAR BEARS (10/28/38)
ALWAYS KICKIN' (1/26/39)
SMALL FRY (4/21/39)
BARNYARD BRAT (6/30/39)
THE FRESH VEGETABLE MYSTERY (9/29/39)
LITTLE LAMBKINS (2/2/40)
ANTS IN THE PLANTS (3/15/40)
A KICK IN THE TIME (5/17/40)
SNUBBED BY A SNOB (7/19/40)
YOU CAN'T SHOE A HORSE FLY (8/23/40)
KIDS IN A SHOE (presented in
documentary)
TIME FOR LOVE (presented in documentary
MUSICAL MEMORIES (presented in
documentary)
VITAMIN HAY (presented in documentary)
What most people fail to realize is just how detailed
these cartoons were versus what Disney was pumping out during the same
time. Because of this the cartoons were
not done at the same rapid speed, but thinking back at the time and energy
spent into making these is just astounding.
Poor Cinderella is the premier
short featuring Betty Boop (notice her hair color), which was done in CineColor
(a competitor to Technicolor) and looks spectacular with detail seen
throughout. The Fleischer’s took their
cartoons one step beyond by providing rich detail in backgrounds, foregrounds,
and of course the characters themselves.
Some of the highlight shorts would be Poor Cinderella since it’s the debut, most elaborate, and the use
of Betty Boop. Another highlight would
be Hold It!, a very comical sketch
with a distinctive and intelligent look as the famous kids game similar to
musical chairs is represented only without the chairs. This is one of the most hilarious of all the
shorts. Ants in the Plants is nearly referenced in Sullivan’s Travels (1941), which talks about a filmmaker doing a
film entitled ‘Ants in Your Plants’. This is a very nice stylized short, but not
quite up to standards. A Car-toon Portrait is actually a
musical toon, and represents how music is soothing the soul, which Fantasia would also emulate a few years
later.
The picture quality ranges
throughout as some are better preserved and restored than others. All of the shorts are in full-color with
exception of Time For Love because
only a black and white clip could be found.
However, much work is still needed to give these shorts the real
treatment they deserve. If that was done
it could be a real shock to the world and make those that are all about Disney
and its innovations think twice. These
shorts can be fun, zany, and crazy, but they remain smart and fixated, where
its competitors were more into being just silly.
The sound also needs some
cleanup as well as some control as everything is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0
Mono, but the consistency is all over the place. Some sound better than others, while some are
far too harsh. A filter is needed to
channel some of the hiss and other distorted sounds out as well.
Considering that with this
set you get a complete catalog of all the available uncut Fleischer cartoons
minus Superman and Popeye, that should be enough, but VCI also presents us with
some commentaries that are outstanding!
Ten of these shorts contain some useful and insightful commentaries that
really put a perspective on things.
Jerry Beck (www.cartoonresearch.com)
is the figure doing the analysis and his comments are respectable and
intelligent. There is also a documentary
that runs about 30-minutes, which fills in some of the gaps that the commentary
does not hit on.
If there were any words
that could express the importance of the set they should be used at this
time. DVD collectors should be proud to
have this within their collection because it is hard to say when something like
this might ever surface again and with the way Copyright laws go, this set
might eventually go out-of-print. One
can only hope that the preservation of these shorts will be launched before it
is too late. For now, VCI has done us
the favor of putting together a set that is to be cherished.
- Nate Goss
