Somewhere In Dreamland ( KPF Archive )

I baught this 2 disk dvd set because I really like the older technicolor cartoons. I am really pleased with the purchase. It sometimes astounds me the graphics considering most of these were made in the early 1900's. Their is a good collection of older cartoons on the two disks. The only downside to the disks is it seems like there is a little bit of the resolution faded. Im not sure why but when I watch a video on youtube it seems to be more resolution. Idk. Maybe its just me, but to own a peice of history the price is decent. I do recommend it!

This collection represents a quest to track down every one of the 36 Fleischer Studios `Color Classics' cartoon series. There are 35 of them on these two disks. One of the `Color Classics', "Time For Love" has only survived in a single black and white print found in Europe (this was seven years ago and a color version has since turned up). The only `Color Classics' cartoon not included is "Tears Of An Onion" which is explained as not being here because "it is under copyright and therefore not in `public domain'" This explains a lot because obviously Jerry Beck and company are on a budget. Despite the poor condition of some of the prints included here, there are two processes that I know of that are used to transfer film to video and/or digital; one is a frame-by-frame reader that takes the image directly off of the film for maximum clarity and color but it is a tedious process and is costly. Look at the excellent Disney collection of `Silly Symphonies' if you want to see how it should be done. The second process which seems to be used by all other DVD/VHS collections of cartoons I've seen, including this one, is projecting the film onto a reader screen that will inevitably shave a little off the top, bottom and sides of the image and loses some image and color integrity. The result is one we cartoon affectionados are becoming used to in VHS and DVD collections, kinda dark and kinda fuzzy and it makes you wish you could have been there at the theater at the time. But for now this is all we're going to get. I've watched this one several times now anyway though.DISK ONE1. Poor Cinderella (starring Betty Boop) **2. Little Dutch Mill **3. An Elephant Never Forgets **4. Song of the Birds5. Dancing On the Moon 1935 **6. Somewhere in Dreamland **7. The Little Stranger8. The Cobweb Hotel9. Greedy Humpty Dumpty10. Hawaiian Birds11. Play Safe12. Christmas Comes But Once a Year **13. Bunny Mooning14. Chicken A La King15. A Car-Tune Portrait16. Peeping PenguinsDISK TWO1. Educated Fish" (1937)2. Little Lamby3. Hold It! **4. Hunky and Spunky (1938)5. All's Fair At the Fair **6. Playful Polar Bears7. Always Kickin' (starring Hunky and Spunky)8. Small Fry9. Barnyard Brat (starring Hunky and Spunky)10. The Fresh Vegetable Mystery **11. Little Lambkins12. Ants In the Plants **13. A Kick In Time (starring Hunky and Spunky)14. Snubbed By A Snob (starring Hunky and Spunky)15. You Can't Shoe A Horsefly (starring Hunky and Spunky)**optional audio commentary by Jerry Beck**THE LOST EPISODESA documentary about the making of this collection of the complete `Color Classics' cartoons. It includes four uncut ultra-rare cartoons:1*The Kids In the Shoe2*Time For Love (the only known copy in existence is this black & white version)3*Musical Memories4*Vitamin Hay (starring Hunky and Spunky)ART GALLERYWorking sketches of various characters from the `Color Classics' and other cartoons plus photographs of production activities inside the Fleischer studios in the 1930's.

When I was a kid, my sister and I had a bunch of cheapie public domain tapes with old cartoons on them; we used to watch them constantly. When we were older and felt that we outgrew cartoons, we gave the tapes away, but I always regretted doing so. I finally found many of our favorite shorts gathered together on this 2 disk set.The Fleischer studios Color Classics are excellent short animated films. The simple stories are memorable and the animation is unique. The characters are made to be rather cute and the rotoscope backgrounds are an unusual touch. These films do not get the credit they deserve, but here they are to be rediscovered.Somewhere in Dreamland is an obvious standout. Two desperately poor children walk home to find a meager dinner of bread and coffee. They go to bed and dream of a world of undulating sweets and happiness. When they wake, they find that the neighborhood has gathered a collection of goodies for them to enjoy.Play Safe is a sweet little story about a curious little boy and the dog that protects him. When the boy wanders away from the yard, it is up to the dog to save him.Christmas Comes But Once a Year features a group of orphans in the poorhouse who have very little for Christmas. A local man dresses us as Santa Claus and makes all sorts of creative toys from odds and ends for the children.In Little Lamby, a wolf comes to town and sets his sights on a tasty young lamb. He lures it to him by holding a "cutest baby" contest among all of the animals. Little do they know that the winner will become his dinner.The Fresh Vegetable Mystery is very well done; the baby carrots turn up missing and some mischievious creatures do all they can to prevent them from being found.Several rare cartoons are found in the Lost Episodes feature, a short documentary about the Fleischer cartoons and the making of this DVD set. The Kids in the Shoe is included here, a great short about the woman who lived in the shoe. She puts the children to bed and goes off to take her nap, and the kids wake up to play some great jazz.Overall, this is a great set. The picture quality isn't always amazing, but all of the cartoons are watchable and appropriate for all ages.

I used to watched these cartoons growing up on VHS in the 80’s. Buying this brought me back to my childhood and I couldn’t believe how many cartoons I had remembered. Definitely interesting to see the technology they had back in the 30’s to make these cartoons.

I got this dvd set mainly for the short, Christmas Comes But Once A Year, which I grew up seeing on the Pee Wee Christmas special. So far, I've only watched that short and one other. CCBOAY is far from being in pristine condition, but it IS the best public domain print I've seen. The only better print I've seen is a scan of the original 35mm film print which was is amazing shape.The commentries are a bit boring, but fun...especially the Christmas Comes But Once A Year commentary. Betty Boop even does a commentary.

Very very lovely animations from my childhood

I would have loved to see this - but my copy from Supermarket U.S. was unplayable. My DVD can play region 1. My Mac can play all sorts of DVDs. This was described as 'Region 0' on the cover. This should have played but didn't. Don't waste your time.

Le color classics nascono per contrastare le Silly Symphony della Disney.I corti sono molto vari tra loro. Le trovate dietro a queste perle sono ancora eccezionali. Animazione tradizionale e rotoscopio convivono in queste storie coloratissime, con musiche spassose e orecchiabili!Cercavo le edizioni italiane, ma le uniche sono salite troppo di prezzo e non vi era il doppiaggio inglese dunque ho optato per questa raccolta.Non ci sono tutte le color classics, ma di sicuro ci sono le più rappresentative.Consiglio l’acquisto ad appassionati di animazioni, non certo per bimbi.In allegato un paio di acquerelli ispirati da queste piccole perle.Ps l’impressione che anche questa edizione salirà di prezzo in maniera particolare nei prossimi anni.

Pretty decent collection of early Fleischer cartoons at a pretty decent price. The quality varies from cartoon to cartoon, but all of it is watchable. I would imagine these are all public domain titles, but these folks have done a good job of cleaning them up. Money well spent.

Fleischer is the best. But dont expect these to look too much better then any of those old VHS tapes you find at thrift stores.