REVIEW: ‘In Your Dreams’ Gets Messy But Has A Great Message

Netflix Animation has released a lot of feature films this year, and In Your Dreams is the latest. The kids’ animated film is co-directed and written by Erik Benson and Alexander Woo and stars Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Elias Janssen, Craig Robinson, Simu Liu, Cristin Milioti, and Gia Carides. 

In Your Dreams is a comedic adventure that ultimately leads to a much more sentimental and emotional conclusion than it begins. The film is told from Stevie’s (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) point of view. An older sister who was perfectly fine being an only child. With her mom (Cristin Milioti) and dad (Simu Liu)now fighting or ignoring each other more than talking and dancing in the kitchen, Stevie blames her little brother, Elliot (Elias Janssen).

When it looks like their parents are on the verge of separating, the two siblings journey into the absurd landscape of their own dreams and hoping to make it to the Sandman (Omid Djalili) in the hopes that he will make their dreams come true and keep their parents together, if the siblings can withstand a snarky stuffed giraffe, Baloney Tony (Craig Robinson), zombie breakfast foods, and Nightmara (Gia Carides), the queen of nightmares, in the process, their family will be “perfect” again. 

In Your Dreams is a messy animated feature, but its message is important.

In Your Dreams suffers from the same issue that other Netflix animated features faced this year: a lack of cohesion. This is a film that aims to tackle numerous issues while also establishing a dynamic lore for the world its audience is watching. However, all of the twists, turns, and attempts at emotional stakes make the film’s third act get in its own way.

The messiness can be attributed to the design of dream worlds, which aim to embody what kids dream about. However, by the time we reach the final 30 minutes of the film, the narrative is carrying too much weight to move forward and gets stuck in quicksand as a result. Thankfully, though, the scattered nature of the narrative doesn’t detract entirely from the feature’s important message. 

In Your Dreams taps into a conversation that I see too many people having. Escapism can only take you so far, and closing your life to difficulties doesn’t make it better. Stevie’s inability to handle change means that she blames her baby brother for everything that has happened in their family. A child, Stevie doesn’t have an understanding of the nuances of a marriage. To her, her parents are just that, her people, a unit that will always exist.

However, the reality is that they are just two people who love each other and their children, but have larger conversations about life that they need to confront to be their best selves for their kids. In Your Dreams does a good job at showcasing the differences in how children see their parents and how parents see themselves. The only thing missing in this larger story is how Elliot is feeling this entire time as well.

As much as Stevie is attempting to have her dreams come true and her family back to the perfection she remembers, that involves removing Elliot from the picture. And by the end of the film, Elliot knows that.

While he doesn’t take it personally and is key to saving her from the Sandman in the end, we don’t know how he felt being literally cast out of Stevie’s dream. Chalk it up to childlike innocence or not, In Your Dreams shows the very big emotions that children experience even when we don’t pick up on it, but just not for Elliot. 

Netflix’s In Your Dreams’ finale leaves something to be desired but is still worth a watch. 

To do that, the finale, for all of its erratic nature, highlights the importance of parents to meet their children where they are and take their concerns seriously. Stevie and Elliot’s parents don’t entirely sugarcoat their fights or the uncertainty in their lives, but they do reassure both of their children that they will always be their parents, whether they’re under one roof or two. 

In Your Dreams implores children to have a challenging conversation with their parents, to share their worries and fears, rather than holding them in and ignoring what’s happening. At the same time, as mentioned above, parents also need to be open. If anything stands out about In Your Dreams, it’s the animated film’s attention to highlighting that children know and understand far more than we give them credit for. 

While In Your Dreams isn’t a home run, it does offer a message that is well worth watching with your kids. With an interesting visual language and approach to difficult conversations, this is one animated film that offers more than it loses in its third-act slump.

In Your Dreams is streaming now, exclusively on Netflix.