llltdesq Review of A Dream Walking

A Dream Walking (1934)

A visually stunning cartoon, something Fleischer Studios managed quite well.

[10/10 · 21 December 2002]

Though nowadays people think of Warner Brothers and MGM as the top rivals to Disney (with a great deal of justification, to be sure) in the early 1930s, Fleischer Studios more than held their own against the Mouse. Technically, their work was as good or nearly so most of the time. There was also an antic lunacy to much of their work that had been part of animation since the silent days. That lunacy was and is not part of what Disney wanted, preferring to go to a more touching, somewhat realistic approach in the mid-1930s. Compare Steamboat Willie to The Old Mill and you'll understand what I mean. While Betty Boop was more inclined towards the bizarre or unusual, Popeye could throw in some lunacy as well. A Dream Walking is visually an incredible piece of work and a strange cartoon into the bargain. Throw in a great script and story and you have, if not the best, certainly one of the top three, Popeyes of all time. Too bad Fleischer Studios isn't more generally remembered for their excellent work. Well worth looking for. Most highly recommended.