Slumberland (2022)
Every Adventure Begins with a Dream
I told you there was one that dealt with a book that I wanted to do, and here it is. I actually don’t know a ton about the book - indeed, funnily enough I know more about it’s existence because of an old game than I do the book itself. Still, I got the general idea of it from the premise - enough so to recognize it when I see it all modern-day and with Momoa slapped into it. Either way, I like me the idea of dreams and the crazy neat visuals that can come from it, and the family-grade rating tells me it shouldn’t be so excruciatingly heavy that I feel miserable after watching it, so let’s give our souls a break and see what’s happening over in Slumberland.
The movie isn’t shy about wearing it’s influence, with our main character even being named Nemo. It’s a little girl instead of a boy this time around, but I assure you it’s hardly relevant to the plot what they are in so much as they are kid who loves their single parent. And then stuff takes the Disney twist and we kill off that parent, leaving a crushed little kid living with her tries-but-sorta inept Uncle. After a bit of an experience while sleeping, little Nemo is about to embark on a quest in the dream world in search of some magical pearls so she can do what any kid that’s lost someone wants to do - bring back her dad. Hijinks and visuals ensue, as her dad’s friend from his stories is there too - and he’s pursued by the dream cop whom him and her pa stole a map from in their quest for the pearls.
It’s not an elaborate plot at its core, but it’s one that works oh so well. There’s time’s it’s going to pull on the old heart strings - probably more so than I really anticipated going in a visually jovial jaunt of a movie. Perhaps it’s more a state-of-mind thing, but there’s is some pretty heavy dynamics with dealing with loss and being alone, getting in touch with emotions and the likes in here. Yes, it’s painted as a lovely adventure in a world that rules don’t function quite the same, but there’s more people struggling with who they are than just our main character in this one. I’ll forgo getting much more into it than that on account of my tendency to try and be rather spoiler free on this, but it’s a good ride and by the end the common person should be rather satisfied - although expect to be at least a little sad at least once during said ride.
Part of why it works is the actors doing a good job of selling it. Yes, they all have a little bit of awkward to them at times, and things definitely come out as super hammy at times, but they all do a good job of being charming and relatable enough that it’s enjoyable. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s the best performances I’ve ever seen, but if it can get in there to mess with your emotions even the slightest bit they are obviously doing something right here - and that’ll swing in both directions. They’ll give you the sniffles just as much as they’ll make you laugh, although probably you’ll laugh more than sniffle.
A pair of backaroos
The writing is pretty dang good too, which probably amounts to why it can get those emotional queues in there so well, even if you don’t feel super impressed by any given actor in the long run. Part of it might boil down to they just do a great job with the characters, but the characters themselves don’t have the largest breadth to them. This isn’t to say that they don’t grow - no, pretty much all of the main cast has their chance to complete an arc emotionally or intellectually at some point - but rather, to say that not every character is filled with layers like an onion. There’s some twists in there with the side cast, but our lead is strictly on a journey of getting over grief and appreciating what else is there in the process, and her character reflects that the entire way through.
The visuals here are great. Get yourself a big old 4k capable screen and player and you’ll be loving every moment in the dream worlds - be it butterfly dancing or glass city shattering, this thing has plenty of imaginative things to look at when it’s in the dream sequences. It might not get as intense as something like folding cities in Inception, but it’s a bit more fun for the family I would say. Some of the visuals also tie in to the gags, like never-ending staircases and hidden doors in toilet tanks. It’s neat, and quite an entertaining use of visual effects - even if sometimes you can see exactly what’s going on (like the fact that actors are emerging from behind the toilet not actually out of the tank). There wasn’t really any points where the effects really took me out of it in either real or dream worlds, and some of the back and forth comparisons are nicely shown towards the end.
Audio is audio, and as I usually have to admit nothing here really stood out to me after the movie. It all does a wonderful job in the movie adding tensions and emotional cords, but it’s just the nature of my limited memory space that I can’t keep it all in there after the movie is done. I will give them credit for not going the super-lazy route and putting “Mr. Sandman” in the soundtrack that I noticed anyways, even if I do like that song. Line deliveries are well enough, and the balance makes it plenty easy enough to hear everything you are supposed to hear.
A pair of outlaws
It’s a fun movie with a slightly sad story. Visuals are wonderful and imaginative, actors do a good job of their characters, and you’ll find a bunch to laugh and sniffle about. It might not be the freshest idea, but just because it’s not doesn’t mean that it can’t be good and this one’s a good movie. Check it out if it looks like your cup of tea, keep in mind it might get a little sad or dark, and try not to pull any muscles while your “aww”ing so hard over the adorable pig.