"Candy Land" is a 1935 cartoon by Walter Lantz, distributed by Universal Studios. It was an early one that used color schemes with red and green to highlight the budget. Copies these days are hard to find online, except via bootleg
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A nameless baby is not sleeping because he wants candy, right when kids all around the world are going to bed. His father says with exasperation that there is none in the house, and all the crying won't solve that. The Sandman of Dreams comes and offers to take the baby to Candy Land, in the world of dreams, along with his puppy.
Tropes for this cartoon include:
- Actually Pretty Funny: The dog finds it amusing — and tasty— when an employee sprays him with cream for licking it off the chocolates.
- All Just a Dream: Then again, the opening established, that the baby's dream involves him going to Candy Land. He just wakes up in bed like no time passed thanks to the window blind flapping loudly.
- Artistic License – Animal Care: Needless to say, dogs in real life can't have human candy, like chocolate and jellybeans. Then again, this is All Just a Dream.
- Aside Glance: The baby looks at the camera when realizing the King tried to trick him into swallowing castor oil. Then he screams and runs out of the kingdom.
- Bait the Dog: The Candy Land King treats the baby to all the candy he wants. Then he tries to give the baby castor oil, which was used as a punishment on naughty children and chases him down when the baby and his puppy run away from Candy Land.
- Balloon Belly: After bingeing on candy, the baby has this along with the dog. Deconstructed when it means he can't outrun the Candy Land King in the end.
- Book Ends: The short starts and ends with the baby's father trying to soothe him to sleep, and saying he can't give him candy because there is none in the house.
- Corrupted Character Copy: The Candy Land King is easily comparable to the Disney's version of Santa Claus in "Santa's Workshop" and "The Night Before Christmas". Both are jolly men that seem to be a Friend to All Children. One difference, however, is the Candy Land king is willing to trick a child into swallowing castor oil.
- Evil Laugh: The Candy Land King gives one while chasing down the baby to coat him in castor oil.
- Food Porn: The candy factories and works are enough to make the baby chase down the decorations in excitement. Even the audience can get into the different machinations of cream-covered chocolate and candy canes.
- Getting the Baby to Sleep: The baby's father is trying to get his son to sleep, but the child is crying due to wanting candy. He's so desperate that he asks the Sandman to find candy for his son and also have him go to bed.
- No OSHA Compliance: Justified; the Candy Land exists in the world of dreams, and this was half a decade before OSHA came into existence. Most employees wouldn't let a baby wander around and sample the candies in there. One employee then gets fused with a popcorn ball due to an idiot covering him in sticky molasses. With that said, the poor redheaded short candymaker has the sense to wash his hands for a long time.
- Only Sane Man: The dog is the only one questioning the wisdom of letting the baby go with the Sandman. Then the Sandman lets him come along in turn to enjoy the fun. In the end, he's trying to wake up the baby from the dream-turned nightmare.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: The candy foreman seems like a Mean Boss towards one poor redheaded employee. Then, in the end, he helps the guy when he's doing well on candy cane duty, to put cream on chocolate and take on triple-duty.
- Sacred Hospitality: Subverted. The Candy Land King treats the baby and his dog to all the candy they like, including the lollipops he's holding. Then he tries to force-feed the baby castor oil after attempting to trick him into swallowing it.
