by John Tillyard, Contributing Writer
I love that Dream Productions exists. It feels like the passion project some of the writers at Pixar wanted to make as a followup to Inside Out. Still, the people up top at Disney knew that a direct sequel was needed to make the big bucks (and boy, did it do that). However, Disney’s streaming service allows them to create smaller products like this.
As Riley (Kensington Tallman) enters her tween years, the likes of Joy (Amy Poehler), Anger (Lewis Black), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) are struggling to control her path in life. It’s left up to the Dream Productions team to guide Riley better, as they control what she dreams about. Paula Persimmon (Paula Pell) and her assistant Janelle (Ally Maki) are considered one of the best directing teams in the studio. However, daydream director Xeni (Richard Ayoade) has his vision for Riley’s mind, and the head of the studio, Jean Dewberry (Maya Rudolph), constantly pressures them to create compelling dreams.
Movies, or in this case, a miniseries about making movies, are nothing new. But here we have a fictional studio making movies for a single person to experience in their mind. It is also performed live as Riley sleeps, similar to how games work in Wreck-It Ralph, so it’s more like a play than a movie, except there is a reality distortion filter on the camera to make it look more like a movie to Riley. This is also set between the events of Inside Out and Inside Out 2, and was probably written without any knowledge of what happens in the sequel, which is a shame because there are moments in this where Embarrassment, Anxiet,y and Nostalgia could have added something.
The story starts like one of those making-of documentaries, with the characters talking to the camera and being interviewed. This opening does a great job of drawing us back into the world we know by reintroducing Joy and the other emotions. Still, we are taken to the studio where the dreams are made. It also effectively shows why Riley’s dreams are essential, impacting her choices the next day. There is some interesting world building here, as indicated by the community of characters working at the studio. I also love the idea that a team of writers is behind what a person dreams about, since dreams give you a complete artistic license to do anything.
Xeni’s arc is the most interesting part of this series. He starts as a director of daydreams, likely to parallel how real directors start doing short movies or smaller projects. That said, I’m not sure the idea that something in Riley’s mind is directing daydreams makes much sense, since people are more aware of daydreams being dreams and have control over what happens in them. It effectively shows Xeni’s vision for what he feels is possible if he can direct a night dream. I liked one particular part where he imagines the camera as a character. Suddenly, a massive range of new ideas opens up. Yet at the same time, you are aware he’s thinking a bit too far outside the box, and things have become too much about his artistic vision, and less about the point of the dream they are creating. The resolution to his arc feels earned, and makes for a far less predictable ending to the series.
Meanwhile, Paula’s arc reminds me a lot of the idea in Toy Story 2 of how kids growing up is challenging to deal with. Paula has a hard time accepting that Riley is no longer interested in the childish dreams she used to make for her. It helps you better connect with Paula emotionally.
Like in many Pixar stories, Dream Productions doesn’t have a clear villain, but there are characters with the wrong ideas, or people telling the leads they can’t do what needs to be done. This makes for a much more realistic portrayal of how the world works and how different thoughts or ideas might wrestle with one another inside a person’s mind. This conflict also leads to an interesting scene presenting an idea as to how a real, albeit rare, occurrence during sleep might actually be caused.
The visuals are not quite as interesting as those seen in the Inside Out movies, since the story explores far less of the physical world in Riley’s mind. But that is not to say there aren’t a lot of stunning visuals. The mesmerizing visuals showcase how the dreams are created, compared to how Riley experiences them. Several extended sequences showcase the performance of a dream. You feel the suspense and awe as things progress much the same way they might if you were having the dream yourself.
It is a little far-fetched to think that a person’s dreams could have this much of an impact on their life choices. Furthermore, those choices would be so important, but that is how it must be for the story to have an effect. Without any adventure across Riley’s mind, the tension comes entirely from a bad dream’s possible impact on Riley. Dream Productions features a lot of real, suspenseful moments which allow you to feel the importance and, therefore, make you think about getting the dream right.
The most significant negative is that there may be too many characters. While I understand why the emotions from Inside Out need to be in this, their screen time does take away from the development of the new characters that this story is about. Later, many characters with differing motivations confuse the climax, and making me question who, and what outcome, I was meant to be rooting for. Compared to Inside Out, there is also far less of an abstract and metaphorical feel to what this story is about, making it far less clever.
Dream Productions does some impressive world building by expanding Inside Out’s lore, and introducing a few new characters. It could have benefitted from not having the original movie’s main cast in it quite as much, but it also add to the plot at specific key points. I don’t want to see any more of these characters, and it’s unlikely that we will, since this was released as a miniseries. I am, however, excited to see more series like this on Disney+, where Pixar can expand the universe created by their movies. Disney has already done this for their Star Wars and Marvel franchises to significant effect; I can’t wait to see what other smaller stories might take place in the Pixar Cinematic Universe!
Rating: Liked It
Dream Productions is currently streaming on Disney+
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