La Petite Nemo et le Monde des rêves

This is not my first rodeo and not my first film review. So I will tell you straight up. I watched Slumberland right after I watched Disenchanted 2022, Disney's attempt to re-awaken (!) one of their most successful franchises. During Disenchanted, I was so bored I started making a list of all the ways the film had failed to meet the standards of the original, yet alone improve on them, until I finally gave up. Slumberland, on the other hand, hooked me from the getgo with a simple story, well told, and loads of cool CGI. The film worked for me. Only after watching did I read the mainstream reviews, and discovered to my surpise that the mainstream critics felt Slumberland lacked an emotional connection. When precisely did our world become so cynical and lacking in hope that a story about an 11 year old who loses her father ... becomes lacking in emotion?? Riddle me that if you can. A solid film, well done. Recommended. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Nemo (Marlow Barkley) is a young girl who lives with her father (Kyle Chandler) in a lighthouse on the sea where he regales her with stories of his high adventures with his outlaw partner Flip. When Nemo's father is lost at sea following his assistance of a vessel in distress, Nemo is placed in the care of her estranged uncle Phillip (Chris O'Dowd) who's very much a loner and is unsure how to be a parent to Nemo. In Nemo's dreams of her father's lighthouse, she comes across a burly fast talking satyr con-artists who is actually the Flip (Jason Momoa) from her father's stories. Flip tells Nemo that her father had a map of Slumberland, the land where all dreams reside, that tells the location of magical pearls within the Sea of Nightmares with the power to grant any wish. Using her father's map Nemo embarks with her living stuffed pig and Flip on a journey through the dreams of others to find the pearl and reunite with her father, but a Nightmare hunting Nemo based on her fears and Agent Green from Slumberland's Bureau of Subconcious Activities (BOSA) stand in their way.

Announced in March of 2020, Slumberland from producer Peter Chernin and director Francis Lawrence is the latest even release from Netflix. Loosely based on the early 20th century newspaper comic strip Little Nemo by Winsor McCay, the strip is no stranger to adaptation with McCay himself having produced a number of animated shorts featuring his characters, adaptations for theater and opera, an unauthorized obscure adaptation in 1984, and probably most notably the 1989 Japanese-American co-produced anime film Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland which survived a lengthy 10 year production cycle only to become a massive financial failure but did eventually get a cult following. In interviews Lawrence stated that his work on more grim works such as I Am Legend, The Hunger Games films and Red Sparrow left him wanting to try his hands at something more light-hearted and optimistic which lead to him choosing Slumberland as his next project. David Guion and Michael Handelman, best known for their work on Dinner for Schmucks and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, write the screenplay and the movie covers very familiar ground, but for me I think it does it well enough.

At the core of Slumberland, the movie is essentially a treasure hunt story with Nemo and Flip using her father's map to travel through various recurring dreams belonging to other people as the dreams of Slumberland possess hidden doors used by BOSA to keep order in the world. While some iconography from the comics and 1989 film is revisited such as the iconic "walking bed", most of the dreams are original creations with a ballroom filled with dancers made of butterflies and a city of glass some particularly well rendered set pieces. Sometimes the dreams can be a little underwhelming with some set pieces being the Canadian wilderness except with giant wild geese or one set that's just a large bathroom not particularly memorable and the BOSA being tailored after the 70s is more odd than it is whimsical. I also wasn't a fan of the design of the Nightmare as it's just a vaguely squid shaped smoke cloud.

In terms of the characters and performances I think the film does pretty well. Marlow Barkley I thought did well playing Nemo and she makes a solid audience proxy for which the dreams bounce off against. Chris O'Dowd is also very good as Nemo's uncle Philip and you feel his struggle being a parent to Nemo because he's been alone for so long. But stealing every scene he's in is Jason Momoa as Flip who gets to play into his comic side with a lot of high energy. While Flip's redesign is about as far from his original as you can get, let's be honest: after years upon years of creepy clown movies and those weird clown sightings in the Carolinas in the early 2010s (Remember those?) I don't think too many people want a clownish protagonist. Momoa is havin an absolute blast playing Flip who's sort of like a less threatening version of Beetlejuice with a air of "wannabe" dashing ladies man coupled with his brash impulsiveness that makes him fun to have an adventure with.

Slumberland is agreeable time killing family viewing that provides a fairly rousing adventure even if it doesn't go quite as full force with the concept as it could've. Overall a decent way to spend two hours.

I didn't know this movie was out. I was pleasantly surprised. I watched it with the family (two daughters, 11 and 13) and what fun this movie is. It's funny, looks amazing, decent acting, really good story. We were captivated from start to end. A must see if you have kids! This is the best family movie out there at the moment.

Jason Momoa was a surprise as well. Good to see him in a different role. He was entertaining.

Story is about a girl who lost her dad and tries to find him in her dreams. That sounds lame, but don't let that fool you. The movie is really entertaining from start to finish.

Jason Momoa was part Beetlejuice, part Jack Sparrow.

He did a terrific job and was great fun to watch. He has turned into a very versatile and likable actor.

Chandler. Barkley and O'Dowd were also very good in their parts.

I don't know what the critics were whining about, I really liked it and would have loved it as a kid.

A few laugh out loud moments, and touching ones as well. Well paced and fun action sequences. Special effects, with a couple exceptions, were outstanding for what they are.

The plot, while somewhat predictable in parts, was unique and fun.

While not perfect, I would have changed nothing. Great job in my mind, critics are too critical:)

All around I recommend this movie. I'm not a critic or anything. Slumberland is sweet yet heartbreaking while remaining hopeful. It is creative and whimsical, but has more of a heal your inner child vibe than a kids movie. Great for them in the sense of imagination but I cried the whole time, so it may be a bit of a big concept and for littles. Maybe for a little older? Depends on your kid of course. While sentimental it is a bit predictable but that's what makes this feel like a safe, comfort movie. Jason mamoa is funny. The cast is all around likable. It has as happy ending as it could have given the beginning.