The “Fleischer style” is on full display in the 1936 short subject, Somewhere in Dreamland. Cartoons from the studio behind Betty Boop and Popeye most definitely had a distinctive look, unique tone, and technical ingenuity that can be seen throughout the short.
Released ninety years ago this month, on January 17, 1936, Somewhere in Dreamland is also significant as the first Fleischer cartoon in three-strip Technicolor.
The cartoon (A “Fleischer Color Classic,” presented by Adolph Zukor) opens with two small children, a brother and sister, in ragged clothes, walking through the streets of a small town, on a wintry day, collecting firewood.
They are spotted by three shopkeepers, a baker, a tailor, and a market owner, who feel sorry for the children. The two children stop at the bakery window to look at all the sweets. The baker goes into his shop and comes back with cupcakes for the children, but they have already moved on.
The three shopkeepers get together to discuss the poor children, who eventually arrive home at their dilapidated shanty, where their mother has made them dinner of water and bread (so hard it can’t be broken). After they’re finished, the children say they are still hungry, which makes their mother cry. The children then feel bad and try to console their mother.
The two then go to bed, under tattered blankets, and before they go to sleep, they sing the title song, “Somewhere in Dreamland,” with music by Murray Mencher and lyrics by Charles Newman.
As the children drift off to sleep, they dream of Dreamland, a place filled with every child’s wish. Floating above the clouds, they enter a world where trees grow new clothes for them to change into. From here, they skip through a forest of ice cream cones and then a wonderland of other desserts and candy, and go on to visit a popcorn field, where their popping corn rains from the sky. And then, an entire realm of rolling hills filled with toys.
Their mother then wakes them from their dream the next morning. When the children enter the next room, the three shopkeepers are there, the room is decorated, filled with toys and snacks, and a feast is on the table.
The happy children immediately run to the table and begin eating ice cream, with one of them stopping to poke themselves with a fork to make sure they’re not dreaming, as they laugh and the short ends.
Somewhere in Dreamland has all of the earmarks of Fleischer’s best cartoons, including their distinct design (the entrance sign to Dreamland is made up of pillows) and fluid animation, as well as clever sight gags (when the kids get into bed, their blanket is so worn, it looks like Swiss cheese).
While a comforting fantasy, the Fleischer Studio didn’t shy away from the emotion connected to the impoverished situation that the children and their mother live in, which must have connected with the realities that audiences in 1936 were experiencing during the Depression.
Additionally, the short has familiar Fleischer elements, such as the voice of Mae Questel (who provided the voices for Betty Boop and Olive Oyl), as the children and the mother, and the studio’s creative 3D backgrounds. The artists at Fleischer Studios had invented a way to combine live-action backgrounds with animation. Detailed background models were built on large turntables, and the cels were photographed in front of them to create a distinctive sense of depth.
The result in this short is some stunning scenes in Dreamland, where the kids pass by, and through the fantastical lands in the dream sequence, particularly, in one moment, where they ride a carousel, and the spinning movement of the background, coupled with the hand-drawn animation, adds an element of stunning dimensionality.
Somewhere in Dreamland eventually entered the public domain, unfortunately, and low-quality copies could be found for several years alongside fellow public domain cartoons on Christmas compilation VHS tapes and DVDs.
In 2021, the short was restored and aired on MeTV. Much like the children in the short, this has provided a happy ending for Somewhere in Dreamland, now celebrating its 90th anniversary, as a pristine print of this classic short can be enjoyed.
