This is yet another animated series that I was unaware of, didn't know existed, and was new to me. I discovered it on a site called Lost Media Wiki, which is devoted to some, certain, various, obscure media that eventually became unavailable over the years, or even decades, but some have been found to date and I saw pictures of VHS box covers of the show. After reading the premise, I decided to see three out of the eight episodes that are currently available on Youtube. One of the best decisions I ever made. I enjoyed all of what I had seen so far. One of the better '90s cartoons, it's since been added to my favorite animated series from that decade and overall, favorites by (or partly by) D. I. C., this is one of the shows I would've loved watching growing up and I wish this was among the series I saw in my childhood. As a 'toon I hadn't heard of previously, how and why did this seemingly hidden treasure seem to go under the radar (or, that is, at least, under my radar) somehow in the U. S.? It seems that it was underexposed, but deserved to get more exposure than it got, at least in the aforementioned country. Of all the D. I. C. Shows from 1991 (Hammerman, Pro Stars, Wish Kid, and Chip & Pepper's Cartoon Madness), this is the best one, or rather, the only, truly great one by the studio and one of the best ever made by that studio. Yet, for some ridiculous reason, it never received any airtime in the U. S. and for many years, remained the most obscure, if not just one of the most obscure, D. I. C. Toons, at least, to the American audience.
Centering on the heroic, dynamic dream duo of Captain Zed and his partner, P. J., they are patrollers based in a place called Dreambase, where they work to prevent any interruptions and disturbances brought to kids' subconsciousness while they're trying to have pleasant dreams. Those interruptions and disturbances are a pair of shape-shifting, villainous monsters known as The Nightmares, named Snort and Mutter. Captain Zed and P. J. carry out their duties under The Commander and he, and several counting sheep check for any signs of disruption of dreams on the dream monitors. Each episode features a different kid who runs into a problem in his or her dream and the dream patrollers must come to their rescue and try to solve it. At the same time, once that's done, there's always a lesson to be learned from the incident in the end.
I would consider this to be one of the smarter or more intellectual cartoons that really means or is worth something. However, simultaneously, it's not too much so that it doesn't have anything fun about it. There are many great moments, even surprises, to keep the viewers' attentive and entertained. As for the technicalities of it, the animation flows smoothly enough, the colors aren't too bright nor too dark, the backgrounds and layouts are nice as well. Unlike several, certain, other D. I. C. 'toons, the animation errors/goofs in this are kept to a minimum. The storylines are among the most creatively-written. All the characters, both good and bad guys, are great in their own ways. The music, especially the theme, is fine. Although I'm not all that familiar with most of the cast of voice actors, they all sound like they voiced their roles well. P. J. Was redesigned in the second season, possibly to make her look more feminine, as I know for sure at first glance, I mistook her for a male. But I like both designs of her equally.
Love this dream-themed program as much as I do another one, Midnight Patrol. Speaking of which, intriguingly enough, they're both U. S.-U. K. co-productions. I had the thought of what it would've been like if the protagonists and antagonists from both shows crossed over with each other and joined forces, with one side attempting to take down the other. Amongst the animated shows I find the most fascinating and, in my eyes, I consider, the best ever made. Tony Collingwood took the mind-scape thing to the next level after Rarg. Even though I haven't seen that short yet, I'm going to say anyway that this may be even better. If only we all had some dream patrols come to our aid whenever we ran into nightmares or even night terrors. Then we could take control over what we dreamed, which would've made things much easier. To conclude, I've added this to my DVD wish-and-want list. This doesn't disappoint and it's not a time-waster. I can't complain. Great show, well-made. A lesser-known show that deserved so much more. Definitely recommended.
