Dreams Come True: A Mule Mom's Story (spelled "Dream Come True" in the YouTube upload) is a short animated film about equines on a farm, made to advertise a program
that uses mules to breed Gypsy Vanner horses via artificial insemination.
The film starts off introducing the farm. Soon, a coyote starts prowling the farm but neither the farm dog Cowboy or farm owner Jim can scare it off. To keep the coyote out of his stables, the farmer buys a donkey stallion. Jack repeatedly fights off the coyote until he stops coming to the farm. Due to his efforts, Jack receives acclaim on the farm. A horse mare named Elizabeth falls in love with him and the two end up having a foal named Flo. Flo grows up into a pretty but lonely mare. Most of the other horses don't accept her for being a mule. The farmer, believing Flo needs companionship, decides to artificially inseminate her with a foal. Happy to see the Gypsy King's blood is living on through Flo, she and her foal are finally accepted on the farm.
The full short can officially be seen here, and the book adaptation can be read here. Bobsheaux's review of it can be found here.
Dream Come True provides examples of:
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: One of the hens wears a headset, and the other wears a pair of night vision goggles. Why they do so is never explained.
- All of the Other Reindeer: The other horses mock and avoid Flo because she is different from them.
- Animals Lack Attributes: One character is described as a gelding, yet no character has genitalia.
- Animation Bump: The scene of Flo's foal learning to walk is probably the most fluidly-animated scene in the short.
- Embarrassing First Name: Fluffy the barncat loathes being called that and wishes others would call him "Tuffy" instead.
- Expy: Tuffy/Fluffy McDuffy's orange fur and lazy and sarcastic attitude makes him resemble Garfield. His voice even sounds similar to Lorenzo Music's take on the character in the animated adaptations.
- Fantastic Racism: Flo gets made fun of by the horses for being a mule. Her ears are especially a point of mockery.
- Hero Insurance: Jack is treated as a hero for beating up the coyote, never mind that he broke most of Farmer Jim's windows in the stable while doing so.
- Informed Species: A golden pheasant character looks little like a golden pheasant and more like a cross between a chicken, an owl, and a parrot.
- Interspecies Romance: Between Jack (a donkey) and Elizabeth (a horse).
- Meaningful Name: Prince Deerfields appears to be named after Deer Fields Stables, a Canadian b&b/stable that specializes in Gypsy Vanners.
- Miles Gloriosus: The pheasant boasts about fighting off the coyote, despite cowardly running away when the coyote previously appeared.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: The pheasant's voice sounds a lot like Slim Pickens.
- Partially Civilized Animal: The animals all live like normal (talking) farm animals. Yet, the horses mention the "Gypsy King" (who seems to just roam freely wherever he likes) and imply some sort of international society involving Gypsy Vanners. The farm animals act like they live in a kingdom, but none of this is ever clarified.
- Random Events Plot: The events of the story have little to do with each other.
- Secondary Character Title: The titular "mule mom" is not born until halfway through the short's running time.
- Shout-Out:
- At the end, Tuffy/Fluffy is seen waving his paw in a similar manner to the famous Japanese "beckoning cat" figure.
- At one point while narrating, Tuffy/Fluffy calls the coyote that attacks the farm a "wily coyote".
- At the end, Tuffy/Fluffy is seen waving his paw in a similar manner to the famous Japanese "beckoning cat
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Spiritual Successor: The film takes clear influence from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Some scenes even seem to be traced from the film. - Stealth Pun: The donkey's name is Jack. As in, a jackass.
- Tempting Fate: One of the horses says that they have nothing to worry about in the stable. It then fades to night, where the coyote is stalking the farm.
- The Voiceless: Farmer Jim never once speaks onscreen. Tuffy/Fluffy the cat speaks for him.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Flo's donkey and horse parents are never seen again after she grows up.
- A Wizard Did It: Dr. Pablo's Hand Wave to the audience on how a mule can give birth. Seriously.By combining two thimblefuls of baby dust, sixteen bits of smoke and mirrors, a dash of mundoscience, and seven grams of gobbledygook, we were able to magically give this beautiful mule her own baby!
- Xenofiction: The story is from the POV of farm animals.
