If Netflix's In Your Dreams feels reminiscent of Pixar's fantastical worlds and heartfelt life lessons, that's no accident.
The film is the feature debut from director Alex Woo, who served as a story artist on Ratatouille, WALL-E, and more before departing Pixar and founding Kuku Studios. In Your Dreams is Kuku's first film, and if it's anything to go by, there's a promising new animation studio in town.
What's In Your Dreams about?
In Your Dreams begins with a scene so sweet it'll make your teeth ache. A young girl named Stevie (voiced by Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) makes French toast in the kitchen with her parents (voiced by Simu Liu and Cristin Milioti). They dance, crack inside jokes, and are all together too cloyingly cute to be true. That's because they aren't. All of this is a dream sequence, and it's about to become a nightmare.
The nightmare manifests in the form of Stevie's younger brother Elliot (voiced by Elias Janssen). His in-dream sobbing prompts pacifiers to rain down from the sky, triggering an argument between their parents.
Like most dreams, Stevie's nightmare reflects her current anxieties. She, a consummate perfectionist, shares a room with the human tornado (and amateur magician) that is Elliot. But his messiness is only one part of her stress. She's also picking up on tension between her parents, and all she wants is for their family dynamic to go back to the idyllic, French toast-making days of the past.
She gets a surprising opportunity to make that dream come true when she and Elliot stumble on an enchanted book named The Legend of the Sandman. The book transports her and Elliot into their dream worlds. There, they hope to find the Sandman (voiced by Omid Djalili) so he can grant their wish for a happy family.
In Your Dreams delivers cute dreams and spooky nightmares.
In Your Dreams' dreamscapes are sweet childhood fantasies. At one point, Stevie and Elliot venture down a river that can only be described as Disney's It's A Small World ride crossed with Chuck E. Cheese. At another, they arrive in the mouth-watering world of Breakfast Town, a feudal kingdom populated by sentient muffins and bacon. It's there that they cross paths with Elliot's treasured stuffed giraffe Baloney Tony (voiced by Craig Robinson), who becomes a delightful wisecracking (and laser-farting) guide to the siblings as they undertake their quest.
These worlds come to vivid, colorful life, a nice contrast from In Your Dreams' more muted take on Stevie and Elliot's waking world. But what truly makes them pop is how In Your Dreams turns them from dream to nightmare. Every time Stevie and Elliot panic on their journey, a storm of nightmare energy blows in and taints their dreams. Breakfast Town, for instance, slowly molds over in a neat visual trick, turning its citizens from cute treats to nasty food zombies.
It's clear that Woo and the In Your Dreams team had a fun time crafting the film's nightmares, showcased in a madcap montage that explores both classic nightmare scenarios, like being naked in public, and some wilder ones, like being eaten by a giant hot dog. The dream-centric conceit allows the film's animators to go wild, with shipwrecks and riffs on The Shining and Sailor Moon thrown in the mix. The result is a blast of an animated adventure, but it also carries a deep weight when it comes to exploring Stevie and Elliot's worries about their family life.
In Your Dreams doesn't shy away from parental conflict.
None of In Your Dreams' dreamland chaos would mean anything if it wasn't rooted in Stevie and Elliot's anxieties about their parents' marriage, which the film portrays with unflinching honesty. There are no overwrought screaming matches, no demonizing of either the kids' mother or father. Instead, there are quiet conversations about whether the two need to spend some time apart, and how they've changed since the beginning of their marriage. It's a thoughtful, mature portrayal of how parents can grow distant yet still love each other.
In Your Dreams also acknowledges that kids are more than capable of noticing marital tensions, and that that can cause them stress. Take Stevie's tries to play peacemaker — not just in the dream world, but in real life, too. They're hopeful attempts to recreate the good old days, but they're also proof that she's putting undue pressure on herself over something she can't control. In Your Dreams meets young people going through something similar at their level, telling them it will be okay. In a film full of magic and imaginary creatures, it's this thoughtful messaging that keeps In Your Dreams feeling closer to a dream come true.
In Your Dreams is now in select theaters. It premieres Nov. 14 on Netflix.
