by John Tillyard, Contributing Writer
In Your Dreams is brought to you by co-directors Erik Benson and Alexander Woo, two former employees of an animation studio you might have heard of called Pixar. As a result, there is a clear diet Pixar vibe to the whole experience. The animation style, energy of the characters, and ideas that they explore all give clear reminders of specific Pixar stories from the last few years. Still, they are not as engaging or thought-provoking. The film’s central conflict centers on Stevie’s (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) desire for her family to remain together, and for her parents (Simu Liu and Cristin Milioti) to remember how they used to be when the two of them were in a band together. Meanwhile, she is essentially living in the past, and is given the chance to live in the past, quite literally, when she dreams.
Stevie worries that her parents may be drifting apart, and is constantly deeply irritated by her younger brother Elliot (Elias Janssen), with whom she shares a bedroom. The only escape she can find is in her dreams, where she often tries to relive happier times in her life when her dad was a musician. When Elliot finds an old book that enables them to have the same dream and interact with each other while they sleep, Stevie decides to seek out the help of The Sandman (Omid Djalili) to figure out a way to keep her family together. Along the way, the two of them experience the visual spectacle of their dreams, and the terrors of their nightmares, and are aided by Elliot’s toy giraffe, Baloney Tony (Craig Robinson).
Another interesting struggle here is the dynamic between Stevie and Elliot. Rather than there being the expected sibling rivalry, Stevie puts up with him being indelibly annoying. While this does accurately portray some realistic family chemistry, it also makes the whole experience a bit harder to sit through. Elliot’s intentionally annoying personality works a bit too well, and I wanted him to shut up every second he was on screen. This isn’t helped by Stevie being somewhat insufferable for large amounts of the time she shares screen time with Elliot, and the way she deals with his antics is problematic at times. It’s clear that the writers are going for an adorable love/hate relationship between the two of them, but a lot of the time, watching Stevie and Elliot borders on unbearable. With that said, there is a clear feeling of sibling love in their relationship. As an older brother myself, I’ve always been a sucker for stories about siblings that can’t stand each other, but also know they have to stick together. It’s clear from the beginning that, despite being annoyed by him, Stevie still wants Elliot with her through whatever happens.
However, the main draw of this experience is the visuals of the dream world. The main body of the story focuses on Stevie and Elliot attempting to solve the problems with their families by entering a shared dream. At heart, it is a kids’ version of Inception. There is even a similar device that puts them to sleep instantly; in this case, a white noise machine. The dream worlds are wonderfully creative, and do a good job delving into the imagination and fears of the two main characters. I particularly enjoyed how the visuals of the dream call back to things they know from the real world, such as the story’s comedic sidekick character Baloney Tony. There are also some creepy moments where the dream abruptly transforms into nightmares. It’s clearly still the same dream, but everything in it is now horrifying. However, at the same time, a lot of it does feel like a retread of old ground. The dream world; the physical embodiment of a child’s thoughts, feelings, and ideas; a character not wanting things to change and finding escapism in a fantasy world; these are all ideas that have been done before and in more innovative ways than this. There is an odd mix of out-of-nowhere things happening because it’s a dream, with rules about how things work in the dream, which might confuse younger viewers. Similarly, there are a few odd moments of comedy where random stuff happens, and yes, it’s a dream, so it’s okay for basically anything to happen, but it being random doesn’t mean it’s funny.
Speaking of comedy, let’s talk about Baloney Tony. As a character who only exists in the dream world, he’s often used as exposition, explaining what’s happening in the dream and what needs to be done. Robinson does a decent job channelling some clear Eddie Murphy as Mushu energy, but the problem is that he doesn’t have much to say that is genuinely funny. Other side roles include the Sandman, a typical wise old man figure who introduces himself with his own rendition of Mr. Sandman, which feels more like something out of the movie Sing. However, there isn’t a whole lot I can say about him without spoiling things. The parents aren’t given much to do outside of being projection characters in the dream world, since that’s where most of the story takes place. The two of them aren’t so much characters in the story as a device to create the story’s central dilemma; in fact, they aren’t even given names in the credits.
The story contains many genuine, heartfelt moments, particularly towards the end, and as the narrative unfolds, a stronger sense of sibling love gradually develops between the two main characters. However, there is a twist towards the end that certainly isn’t telegraphed, but it is predictable, given that it’s a similar twist to that seen in many other movies like this. Yet the story’s climax is fun, satisfying, and features numerous incredible visuals, as well as a clever callback.
The performances are a little hit and miss. Hoang-Rappaport, as the main character, sounds a bit robotic in places, and it slightly ruins the more emotional moments. Milioti is underutilized as the mother, as her character has little to do before the climax. But Janssen is the standout as Elliot; he nails just the proper levels of cute but also annoying in his delivery.
All in all, In Your Dreams doesn’t try to do anything particularly new or groundbreaking with its characters, narrative, story, or visuals, but what it does do works for the most part. The characters can be a bit much to endure at times; some of their choices are very questionable and really made me dislike them, but they still feel like a family with a real bond that helps sell the emotional payoff. The visuals are decent enough, although I can’t help but think they could have done a lot more with them. The Pixar roots of the story’s creators shine through in the animation style. Above all, it’s a version of Inception that the whole family can enjoy, and that’s got to be a good thing.
Rating: High Side of It Was Just Okay
In Your Dreams is currently streaming on Netflix
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