Pequeña Nemo: Aventuras en Slumberland

My sister and I used to go to this daycare where we watched a movie a day. We watched a lot of movies more than once and this was one of them, because everyone loved it so much. About a month ago, I remembered so little about the movie that I thought I had dreamed about it (kinda ironic, don't you think?). Then I looked it up on IMDb and realized it was a real movie. I got it for my sister for Christmas and having just watched it, I'm glad I did.

Nemo is a fun-loving boy who dreams that he goes to Slumberland, a magical kingdom that contains everything any kid would ever love. This place becomes a sort of reality for Nemo and he is entrusted as King Morpheus's heir and given a key to every door in the kingdom- however, he is asked to not open the door that has the key's symbol on it. Of course, he ends up opening it (with a little encouragement from a troublemaker named Flip) and the Nightmare King ends up kidnapping the king.

The movie is not an intricate masterpiece storywise, but the plot and characters are so much fun it really doesn't matter! The real joy here is the animated backgrounds and effects- this movie is a visual stunner.

Ever since Walt Disney created the first animated cartoon, some have been great, OK, and truly bad. Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, in my opinion, is one of those great animated movies. The plot, a young boy named Nemo having adventures in a magical place called Slumberland, will surely enchant its viewers and you will always remember the fun, whimsical music. Not to mention the animation is as magical as Slumberland itself (the work of millions of dollars). I'm surprised it did very poorly in the American box office. I heard that the reason for the huge flop was because it was "un-Disneylike". So what? Have you seen the crap Disney has been making lately? (with the exception of Pirates of the Caribbean). Little Nemo is one of the greatest kid movies ever made and if you have toddlers, I thoroughly recommend this movie.

It was very unexpected to stumble upon my childhood's cartoon at my 32. Now, when I was watching it, it was just interesting, but suddenly, I remembered how much it impressed me in past... and scared me. Along with "FernGully" and "Once Upon a Forest" it was one of the most exciting cartoon for a child with its dense dark atmosphere time to time.

"Little Nemo" is not easy to watch, but then again neither are the original comics by Winsor McKay easy to read. He had a wild and unconstrained (sometimes nightmarish) imagination, and the movie mirrors that general feeling. However, the imagery of this film is a striking tribute to a master of imagery. I wonder if Miyazaki of "Spirited Away" and "Castle in the Sky" was influenced by McKay. His flying machines, architecture, lighting and characters remind me of those seen in the "Little Nemo" comics and his casual cross-disolves from fantasy to reality and back are highly reminiscent of McKay's work. The film's major failing is its attempt to maintain a coherent, disney-like story arch in the midst of the rampant near-madness of MkKay's imagined world. Also, the squirrel was a mistake. Over all though, if you're familiar with McKay's work, I recommend you see this film to get a feel for what a McKay movie might have been like if he had persisted beyond his fledgeling attempts at animation. To see his actual attempts, I recommend the DVD "Animation Legend: Winsor McCay".

In reference to my review's my tag line, this is by no means a movie for "kids only". Looking back at Little Nemo as an adult, I'm surprised at how well it still holds up in my eyes. The writer's did a good job in making Little Nemo suitable for younger viewers, but without dumbing down the plot, dialogue, or artistic creativity of the film. There's no reason why a kids film can't be smart and original, and it really irks me when writers use a young target audience as an excuse to give us a second rate script.

Little Nemo is certainly unique if nothing else. The story follows a young, imaginative boy named Nemo as he travels through the mystical Slumberland. Nemo meets and befriends numerous people throughout Slumberland eventually earning the high esteem of the land's royal family. Unfortunately things go horribly wrong after Nemo's curiosity inadvertently leads him to unleash a virtual Pandora's Box, which threatens to destroy the kingdom. Can Nemo redeem himself and save his new friends?

The lead characters are very well developed, thanks in no small part to the great voice actors. They convey a genuine and convincing level of human emotion. Little Nemo has a very surreal atmosphere to it, which work perfectly at conveying the dreamy atmosphere of Slumberland. There are also some surprisingly dark and moody moments. Don't get me wrong, this isn't scary by any means, far from it, but the colors are very effective in conveying the tense emotion and gloomy atmosphere of these scenes. Likewise the more upbeat moments are also very well executed, with a bright vibrant array of reds, blues, yellows, etc. Really top-notch animation, that still holds up very well even by today's standards.

I would definitely recommend Little Nemo if you're looking for a quality children's film, that parents will likely enjoy as well.