In Your Dreams (film)
| In Your Dreams | |
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 Release poster | |
| Directed by | Alex Woo |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Edited by |
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| Music by | John Debney |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release dates |
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Running time | 91 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
In Your Dreams is a 2025 American animated adventure comedy film directed by Alex Woo, and co-directed by Erik Benson from a script by Woo and Benson and a story by Woo, Benson, and Stanley Moore. The film stars Craig Robinson, Simu Liu, Cristin Milioti, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Elias Janssen, Gia Carides, Omid Djalili, and SungWon Cho. Produced by Netflix Animation Studios and Kuku Studios, it had a limited theatrical release on November 7, 2025, before its release on Netflix on November 14, 2025.[2] The film received generally positive reviews from critics.
Plot
Stevie is a 12-year-old perfectionist who struggles with the chaos of her younger brother, Elliot, an aspiring magician. Their family life, once happy, is crumbling. Their parents are constantly arguing over their future: Mom wants to move the family to Duluth for a stable teaching job, while Dad wants to stay put and continue pursuing his dream of being a rock musician.
Desperate to stop the divorce and keep everything the way it was, Stevie and Elliot discover a mysterious book called The Legend of the Sandman at the thrift store Shiver Me Thrifters while avoiding its worker Joon Bae. The book claims that if they can find the Sandman in the dream world, he will grant their ultimate wish. They perform a ritual and fall asleep, entering the dream world together.
In the dream world, the siblings discover they are "Lucid Dreamers"—they can control aspects of the world as long as they hold hands and focus. They are joined by Elliot's smelly, wisecracking stuffed giraffe Baloney Tony who comes to life and who Elliot later finds behind the refrigerator in the waking world. To reach the Sandman, they must traverse surreal landscapes derived from their own subconscious, such as "Breakfast Town" where food is alive and absurd nightmares involving teeth falling out or giant pop quizzes. Throughout the journey, they are hunted by Nightmara: Queen of Nightmares who tries to wake them up to force them back to reality.
The siblings eventually reach the Sandman’s castle, hoping that he will cast their wish where their parents will not move away to Duluth. However, unlike the benevolent figure they expected, the Sandman traps dreamers by offering them a "perfect" fantasy life that never ends, keeping them asleep forever so he can feed on their dreams. He offers Stevie a simulation of her life where her parents are happy and—crucially—where her brother Elliot never existed.
Stevie is initially seduced by this perfect world, leaving her physical body comatose in the real world. Elliot resists the Sandman's temptation and teams up with Nightmara. It is revealed that Nightmara is actually a "tough love" mentor who originally got along with the Sandman as her role is not to scare kids for fun, but to wake them up so they can face their real-life problems and grow.
Elliot breaks into Stevie’s fantasy to save her. Stevie realizes that a "perfect" world without her brother feels wrong and empty. She rejects the Sandman's illusion, choosing the messy, imperfect reality over a fake paradise. Together, they use their lucid dreaming powers to defeat the Sandman and escape.
The family agrees to move to Duluth so Mom can take the job, but Dad compromises by agreeing to start a new band there. The parents are still working through their issues, but they are united in their love for the kids. Stevie accepts that life and her brother will always be a little chaotic and she learns to embrace the imperfection rather than trying to control everything as the family relocates to Duluth, though the moving truck that Michael was on opens up, their stuff falling out.
In the mid-credits after the Tings drive off following the moving truck incident, Joon on his hoverboard finds The Legend of the Sandman book on the street while en route to his Polly's Pizzeria gig and throws it into a nearby garbage can before riding off.
Voice cast
- Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Stevie Ting, a 12-year-old perfectionist. She also serves as the narrator of the film.
- Hailey Magpali as a four-year-old Stevie Ting
- Kai Zen as an eight-year-old Stevie Ting
- Elias Janssen as Elliot Ting, an aspiring magician who is the younger brother of Stevie
- Francis Benson as a four-year-old Elliot Ting
- Craig Robinson as Baloney Tony, a plush giraffe
- Simu Liu as Michael Ting, the father of Stevie and Elliot who is an aspiring rock musician
- Cristin Milioti as Joanne Ting, the mother of Stevie and Elliot who works as a teacher and used to do music with Michael
- Omid Djalili as the Sandman, the ruler of the dream world
- Gia Carides as Nightmara, the Queen of Nightmares
- Erik Benson as Delilah, an expired muffin in Breakfast Town who keeps claiming that she is a "perfect princess"
- Zachary Noah Piser as Joon Bae, a teenager who does odd jobs like a worker at the thrift store Shiver Me Thrifters and performing the Polly's Pizzeria mascot Polly
- Bob Bergen as a blue clown pacifier that appears in Stevie's nightmare
- Maisie Benson as Cereal Girl, an inhabitant of Breakfast Town
- Jorge Diaz as Sausage Dog, an inhabitant of Breakfast Town
- Quinn Minichino Eakens as the Bluberrries, the inhabitants of Breakfast Town
- Lizzie Freeman as Sandling #1, a minion of the Sandman
- Kellen Goff as Sandling #2, a minion of the Sandman
- Scott Menville as Sandling #3, a minion of the Sandman
- SungWon Cho as Chad, an uninterested Sandling that works for the Sandman
- Alex Cazares as Scary Grandmother, the nightmare version of Joanne's mother and Stevie and Elliot's grandmother
- Reece Warren as Stevie's friend with braces who appears in Stevie's test nightmare
Additional voices by Bob Bergen, Alex Cazares, SungWon Cho, Hunter Clayton Dixon, David Errigo Jr., Kellen Goff, Matthew Yang King, Cristin Milioti, Tara Strong, and Miriam Wallen
Production
Development
In April 2023, it was revealed that Erik Benson and Alex Woo would write the screenplay for the animated film In Your Dreams, which Netflix Animation would produce. Sony Pictures Imageworks would handle the animation. The studio selected Benson as co-director and Woo as the creative lead for the movie.[3] In June 2024, it was announced that Woo wrote the story with Stanley Moore.[4]
Casting
In June 2024, Simu Liu and Craig Robinson were announced as part of the cast.[4] In March 2025, it was revealed that Cristin Milioti, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Elias Janssen, Gia Carides, Omid Djalili, SungWon Cho, and Zachary Noah Piser had joined the cast, with the animation well underway.[5]
Music
In June 2024, it was announced that John Debney would compose the film's score.[6]
Release
In Your Dreams had a limited theatrical release on November 7, 2025 in select AMC, Cinemark, Regal and other venues.[7] It was released on Netflix on November 14.[8]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 68 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Harkening back to other classic animated adventures, In Your Dreams adds imaginative flourishes to a familiar framework and delivers big-hearted family entertainment."[9] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[10]
Accolades
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists | December 31, 2025 | Best Animated Feature | In Your Dreams | Nominated | [11] |
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | January 4, 2026 | Best Animated Feature | In Your Dreams | Nominated | [12] |
| Astra Film Awards | January 9, 2026 | Best Animated Feature | In Your Dreams | Nominated | [13] |
| Annie Awards | February 21, 2026 | Best FX – Feature | Dmitriy Kolesnik, Stephen Paschk, David Sellares, Stephanie McNair | Nominated | [14] |
| Best Voice Acting – Feature | Craig Robinson | Nominated | |||
| Visual Effects Society Awards | February 25, 2026 | Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature | Sacha Kapijimpangan Carey Smith, Nicola Lavender, Steve Pilcher | Nominated | [15] |
| Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature | Stephanie McNair, Dmitiry Kolesnik, Stephen Paschke, David Sellares | Nominated |
References
- ^ "In Your Dreams (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. May 10, 2025. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "In Your Dreams movie review & film summary (2025) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
- ^ Robinson, Tasha (April 25, 2023). "Netflix reveals every original animated movie set for release in the next two years". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Milligan, Mercedes (June 6, 2024). "Next on Netflix Animation Presentation Sneak-Peeks 'K-Pop: Demon Hunters', 'Plankton' Movie, 'Motel Transylvania' and Much, Much More!". Animation Magazine. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Tangcay, Jazz (March 11, 2025). "Cristin Milioti Joins Netflix's 'In Your Dreams' Voice Cast (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on March 11, 2025. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ "John Debney Scoring Alex Woo's Netflix Animated Film 'In Your Dreams'". Film Music Reporter. Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ "All the New Netflix Movies Coming This Fall". Netflix Tudum. August 22, 2025. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
- ^ Roxborough, Scott (June 11, 2025). "Netflix Reveals First Details of 'Stranger Things' Animated Series, Award Contender 'In Your Dreams'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
- ^ "In Your Dreams". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
- ^ "In Your Dreams". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
- ^ Neglia, Matt (December 31, 2025). "The 2025 Alliance Of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) EDA Award Winners". Next Best Picture. Archived from the original on December 31, 2025. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
- ^ "NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 31ST ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS HOSTED BY CHELSEA HANDLER – Critics Choice Association". Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- ^ Alter, Ethan (November 25, 2025). "'One Battle After Another' leads Astra Film Awards nominations". GoldDerby. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
- ^ Lewis, Hilary (January 5, 2026). "2026 Annie Awards Nominations: 'Elio,' 'Kpop Demon Hunters' Lead Film Nods". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Victorian, Brande (January 13, 2026). "'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Leads 2026 Visual Effects Society Nominations With 10 Nods". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
