The thematically linked needle drops come fast and furious in In Your Dreams. One of the main characters in Alex Woo’s feature animation directorial debut is the mythical Sandman, so naturally you hear the Chordettes’ pop hit “Mr. Sandman.” Then there’s “Sweet Dreams” (Are Made of This)” and even Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” Should this film spawn any sequels, those in charge of the licensing rights for “Dream a Little Dream of Me” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” should start preparing the paperwork now.
Fortunately, this Netflix animated film mainly shows more originality than that, continuing the streamer’s winning streak that includes the cultural juggernaut KPop DemonHunters. While this gentler effort is unlikely to be similarly impactful, its witty humor and genuine emotionalism recall the best of Pixar, where its director worked as a story artist on such films as Wall-E and Incredibles 2.
In Your Dreams
A winning blend of fantasy and emotion.
Written by Woo and co-director Erik Benson (based on a story by them and Stanley Moore), the film revolves around 12-year-old Stevie (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) and her little brother Elliott (Elias Janssen), who become increasingly worried when their musician parents (Simu Liu, Cristin Milioti) begin experiencing marital difficulties. So when the kids encounter a vintage book entitled Legend of the Sandman in a thrift shop, they become convinced that they can use it to enter a magical kingdom inhabited by the titular character, the Sandman who can make their dream that their family remain intact come true.
Their dreams provide the portal to the other world, where they encounter a litany of outlandish environments and figures, including a land inhabited by living breakfast foods. Accompanied by an incarnation of Elliott’s favorite stuffed animal, wisecracking giraffe Baloney Tony (a very funny Craig Robinson), named for the slices of processed meat Elliott frequently stuffs into a hole in his side, they are faced with numerous obstacles — including the scary Nightmara (Gia Carides), a giant teddy bear that nearly crushes them, and an oversized hot dog (Jorge Diaz) — as they search for the Sandman (Omid Djalili).
Needless to say, important life lessons are made clear during the course of their adventures, with the siblings learning to work together and — spoiler alert — the parents, who eventually join them on their dreamscape adventures, realizing that they need to overcome their differences.
Featuring enough slightly rambunctious humor to amuse younger viewers while providing a relatable, moving portrait of adolescent angst, sibling bonding and marital tension, In Your Dreams showcases consistently imaginative computer animated visuals (with one segment reverting to hand-drawn) and the sort of original storyline that’s increasingly rare in animated films. The character animation is frequently a hoot, especially in the breakfast foods segment that might inspire trips to the kitchen when viewing. While there are some moments of excessive silliness, the filmmaker mainly finds the proper balance throughout, resulting in a winning movie that should satisfy a fairly wide age group.
The voice performances are consistently excellent, with young Hoang-Rappaport and Janssen amusingly energetic and Liu and Milioti conveying understated emotion as the parents going through a rough patch. The latter pair even get to perform an original song together, with Milioti demonstrating the vocal chops that helped earn the cast album for the Broadway musical Once a Grammy Award.
