In the last several years, Disney has taken some of its properties and created limited series to broadcast on their streaming channel, Disney+. These series took characters from Marvel and Star Wars feature films and expanded on them, to varying degrees of success. Hawkeye, Loki, and Ahsoka are some of their most popular...to date. Hoping to continue the momentum started this past summer with the release of Inside Out 2, Disney has created four 20-plus-minute episodes of Dream Productions.
Through two feature films, we have met all of Riley's (Kensington Tallman; Home Sweet Rome!) emotions - Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Disgust, Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy, and Ennui. However, what happens when Riley goes to sleep? From what we have seen when Riley closes her eyes, so do her emotions, but how can that be since everyone dreams when they sleep and those dreams have emotions attached to them? Well, we will now have the answer when, on December 11, 2024, Disney+ will introduce Dream Productions, a 4-episode limited series that will expand upon the universe we witnessed in Inside Out and Inside Out 2.
Dream Productions is made up of directors, writers, and crew members just like any big Hollywood production studio would employ, and every night they work as a team to create Riley's dreams. Usually, these dreams mimic things happening in Riley's real life and help her work through complicated emotions. When she was younger, this could be anything from giving up her pacifier to dreaming she could fly. However, as she enters her teenage years, Riley's dreams must evolve to resolve more intense situations like going to the school dance.
One of the best Dream Productions directors is Paula Persimmon (Paula Pell; Saturday Night Live) who created the Pacifier Dream and has used sparkles, glitter, and Rainbow Unicorn repeatedly in her productions. However, she doesn't seem to realize that Riley is growing up and those things don't provoke the same happy emotions that they used to. Thus her dreams seem to be falling flat much of the time, and she fears being fired. Trying to outdo all the other directors, her dreams hit and miss daily, and she alienates those around her, including budding director, Xeni (Richard Ayoade; The IT Crowd). In retaliation, Xeni writes a script to sabotage Paula, but when Xeni realizes the dream would hurt Riley, he, Paula, and the other directors try to stop the production from happening.
With a great vocal cast, Dream Productions offers the same feel-good emotions that the two feature films had. The episodes will also appeal to children of varying ages, with the younger ones loving the bright colors and cute characters and the older ones identifying with Riley's ever-changing emotions. Some of the said emotions also make cameo appearances, which helps tie the show to the films.
The animation is what we have come to expect from the world of Inside Out, with bold, bright colors and sharp details. The glitter sparkles, the streamers are light and flowing, and every detail has clean lines. The scripts are smart thanks to brilliant writing, but the jokes sometimes fall flat.
Whoever thought of the idea to make a four, twenty-minute-episode series deserves a raise. This show is a smart idea coming out at the perfect time of year when all the kids will be off from school for holiday break and looking for things to watch on television. It also keeps the Inside Out story in our minds just as Moana 2 is breaking records at the box office.
This is one limited series worth checking out.
Grade: B
