SOMEWHERE IN DREAMLAND (SHORT)

                   Here's another short Christmas cartoon about giving.

                          SOMEWHERE IN DREAMLAND

If you thought the opening for "Christmas Comes, But Once A Year" was sad, here's a cartoon even sadder, but just as happy as the first one I reviewed this month. The cartoon opens with two children who are very poor and down on their luck. Throughout the first few minutes we see them grabbing firewood from the street; living in a poor house; wearing ripped up clothes; eating hard bread; and sleeping with a blanket with so many holes that you might not even call it a blanket. I think the scene that always grabs me is when their licking the window of a Bakery pretending that their tasting the dozens of cakes on the other side of the window. It not only shows how poor they are, but also shows how hungry they are, in fact, even the scene when the little boy asks for more food from his mother is even sadder. The only light that this first few minutes is that they love each other and will survive anything as long as they're together. As the kids go to bed, they sing the cartoons theme song that's sung throughout the whole cartoon. Everything in the song is beautiful, the music, the chorus and the two kids singing it, it's just beautifully tear jerking. In fact, the scene when the two kids are singing before they fall asleep is another sad moment that will make you feel sad. Just like in "An American Tail", the kids sing out of key, but that's what makes the sadness work because it's not trying to sound professional, it's trying to sound simple, cute, and real, and as a result we feel the sadness for these children. Once they go to "Dreamland" you feel happy for them; they get new clothes; there's lots of food and sweets; there's rides; and lots of toys. The animation for "Dreamland" is magnificent, the idea for it is creative and it has a great atmosphere. While feeling happy for them, you begin to realize that this is not real, it's only a dream and the kids will soon wake up to reality.

The cartoon is cute, sad, and happy; and it's message of helping the less unfortunate ones really stands out. Just like "Christmas Comes, But Once A Year", don't just watch it for entertainment, watch it with your heart and figure out a way to help the less unfortunate ones.

RATING 5/5