A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again.
Marlow Barkley
Nemo
Jason Momoa
Flip the Creature
Chris O'Dowd
Phillip
Kyle Chandler
Peter
Weruche Opia
Agent Green
India de Beaufort
Ms. Arya
Humberly González
Graciela
Cameron Nicoll
Young Philip
Antonio Raine Pastore
Young Peter
Chris D'Silva
Jamal
Yanna McIntosh
Carla
Jacob So
Emmett
Izaak Smith
Canadian Guy
Michael Blake
Accountant
Irene Barriault
Coastguardsman #1
Jana Lorbetski
Coastguardsman #2
Leslie Adlam
Agent Brown
Owais Sheikh
Frank
Sergio Osuna
Manager
Ken Hall
Baby (Motion Capture)
Kassian Pascal
Baby
Leo Lorenzo Jones
Baby
Yosvani Castañeda
Bandleader
Ava Cheung
Ho-sook
Jamillah Ross
Agent Orange
Tonya Cornelisse
Agent Red
Luxton Handspiker
Matt
Neville Edwards
Pastor
Andre Sills
Pilot
Director
Francis Lawrence
Characters
Winsor McCay
Screenplay
David Guion
Screenplay
Michael Handelman
November 17, 2022
6
"Nemo" (Marlow Barkley) has one of those lifestyles I would love! She lives in a lighthouse. When a storm visits one night, a tragedy ensues and she must relocate into the city to live with her estranged uncle "Philip" (Chris O'Dowd). He is a shy man who designs door handles - successfully - for a living. Struggling to come to terms with her new environment, she finds her dreams become more and more bizarre as she encounters "Flip" (Jason Momoa). Now this is a character that her father had regaled her with exciting adventures stories about, and now it seems he is looking for a map that will track down some pearls that might enable him (and her) to get what they most desire. This is no ordinary map, though. It is one of dreams, and the pair now have some lively escapades at they gate-crash the nocturnal visions of others. Of course, these transgressions aren't allowed and they are both pursued by the relentless and cunning "Agent Green" (Weruche Opia) from the Bureau charged with preventing such activities, as well as by the nightmares of the young girl which threaten to consume all in their path. To be fair, Momoa does enter into the spirit of the story, but his characterisation is just too hammy and over-cooked. I kept wondering if Antonio Banderas might have been better, or Geoffrey Rush? Barkley is enthusiastic and quite engaging, though, and the visual effects are creative, imaginative and vividly expressed as we progress. The nature of the narrative is a bit repetitive, which doesn't always help, and the story is the simplest of fairy tales-style efforts that does have a certain charm to it - especially her stuffed pig - but is really rather too thin to pad out an overlong two hours of screen time. It's clearly Netflix' attempt to enter the Christmas family market, but somehow I can't imagine many kids sitting through it all, particularly the long, drawn out, denouement.