Little Nemo: les Aventures au pays de 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.

I remembered this movie that I used to watch when I was little. There was a parade, a squirrel, a little boy, a big man and a big key. There was a lot of black goo at one point and an evil guy. I had no idea what the movie was called and I had no idea if it was actually real, because when I told people about it (which I did a lot because I wanted to find out what it was called so I could see it again) no one had heard about it.

I started thinking that I had dreamt the whole thing. That it was one of those dreams that you have several times. I had tried googling it, I had asked my parents and my sibling, who should've known what I was talking about seeing as I probably couldn't just pick it out and put it on myself as a little kid.

Years passed, yes, years. I just thought that it was a dream. I didn't really believe that it was, but maybe...? A year or so ago, I remembered it again; the squirrel, the little boy, the key, everything. I decided to google it again, but this time I used different search words and I found it. I was so happy. You have no idea! I had been thinking about this movie for years!

I watched it again and it's a cute and sometimes scary movie. I was just happy I had a chance to find it again (:

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.

"Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland" (aka. Little Nemo: Dreamland no Daiboken) is quite a fun Euro-Anime film. It also spun off a video game based on the movie and it is a good film for those whom don't really remember or never heard of McKay's original comic series.

It is about a young boy named Nemo and his flying squirrel going on different dreamlike adventures, some of them having different results of their own. Sorry, I just don't feel like spoiling anyone today.

I swear, I cannot believe this film bombed outside of Europe and Asia, because it was "un-Disney like". Yeah, well, that is why Little Nemo is good. Alot of Disney's (recent) works are so sappy and sweetsy, like syrup on sugar on saccarine. Kind of like an unberable sweetness.

Anyways, check this movie out. You will be doing me and others whom remember this film a favor, and PLEASE put it on either DVD or VCD, with also the original Japanese and French tracks too!

PS. Did you know that Brian Froud, Moebius and Hayao Miyazaki all worked on Little Nemo? No wonder it is so great!

"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".