What if you could meet the Sandman and ask him to make your dream a reality? In Netflix’s “In Your Dreams”, siblings Stevie and Elliot discover a path to finding the Sandman in the hopes that he’ll grant them their ultimate dream. The upcoming animated feature “In Your Dreams” is a comedy adventure that explores the bizarre world of dreams, nightmares, and the heartwarming story of a family.
The Movie Couple participated in a virtual press conference held on October 28, with voice talents Craig Robinson (Baloney Tony), Simu Liu (Dad), Cristin Milioti (Mom), Jolie Hoang-Rappaport (Stevie), Elias Janssen (Elliot), Gia Carides (Nightmara), and Alex Woo (Director, Screenwriter, Creator) in attendance.
Here are five things we learned about “In Your Dreams”
The Story Is Inspired By Director Alex Woo’s Personal Experience
Woo left Pixar in 2016 and started his own animation company, Kuku Studios. His team spent the first year dreaming up ideas for shows and movies, when he recounted a story from when he was 6 or 7 years old, finding his mom at the door with her bags packed.
Alex Woo: That’s when I thought about this thing that happened to me when I was, I don’t know, maybe six or seven years old. I woke up one morning and I found my mom at the front door with her bags packed. And she had to sort of gently explain to me and my brother that she was going away for a little while. And she had to figure things out for herself and her family.
His experience inspired the core storyline of “In Your Dreams”
Alex Woo: And it was really scary for us. And yeah. This movie is very much about me sort of reconciling and dealing with the fact that life is not perfect. And that there’s a lot of messiness in life. But there’s also a beauty in that. So, yeah. So, it’s sort of a combination of this really intimate, personal story with this big, adventurous, fantastical, spectacular world of dreams.
Craig Robinson Ranks Baloney Tony As His #1 Favorite Character
Voiced by actor and comedian Craig Robinson, Baloney Tony is a one-eyed, bolongna-slinging giraffe plushie, who happens to be Elliot’s best friend. When asked where Baloney Tony ranked on his list of favorite characters, Robinson replied,
Craig Robinson: Number one, clearly. And thank you. That is amazing to hear. Yeah. It was just we found a character in the room. You know. We were cracking jokes back and forth. And Alex let us improv. And all of that. But yeah. I’m excited for people to see it. And it was fun being Elliot’s best friend. And the enemy of joy.
The Inspiration Behind Stevie and Elliot’s Name
Parents Michael and Jennifer were a musical duo called Hypsonic. Naturally, they leaned into their musical influence when it came to naming the kids.
Alex Woo: When Mom and Dad had Stevie and Elliot, they were still very much in the headspace of loving music, living in that world. So, it made sense to me that, especially with their first born, they would name her after somebody that they really admired. And Stevie Nicks is obviously an amazing musician. And she has that very famous song, Dreams. [laugh] So, it just felt so appropriate to name Stevie after Stevie Nicks.
What about Stevie’s younger brother Elliot?
Alex Woo: Elliot was named after Elliot from E.T.
Simu Liu and Cristin Milioti About the Challenges of Playing Their Character
Actors Simu Liu and Cristin Milioti play Michael and Jennifer, parents to Stevie and Elliot. They talk about their experience working on the project, and some of the challenges they faced during recording.
Cristin Milioti: The way an animated film is made, it’s so many years. And it’s such an interesting process to like, you know, you record something and then you don’t return to it for like four or five months. And you have to like get back into that mind frame of like, “Oh right, how did we calibrate it? Oh, we went to like a seven last time. Oh, this should be at a five now.”
In animation, things are changing all the time, Milioti talks about how rare of an opportunity it is to work on a project such as “In Your Dreams”
Cristin Miilioti: Like, it’s constantly changing. Which is so cool. And so rare. Like, you would never get to do that, obviously, on, like, a live action thing. And the rewarding part, I feel like is hopefully, you know, any kids or adults that are dealing with like a nuanced situation at home feel comforted as well as entertained.
Simu Liu: I think it’s always hard, you know, whenever you don’t — you know, this is gonna sound cliche, but I believe, you know, acting is reacting a lot. And it’s hard when you don’t have anything to react off of. Like, you know, most of my initial work as dad was done not with Cristin, but with Alex voicing my wife.
Alex Woo: And Cristin is a much better actress than I am.
Cristin Milioti: Well, you are a good scene partner.
Simu Liu: Well, you know, don’t cut yourself short. But, you know, I remember specifically, like, you know, Alex was a naggy wife. Like, he was like, “Michael,” like, you know, “Time to face reality,” you know [laugh] And I’d be like, “Oh man, tough marriage,” you know.
Creating Nightmara
Voiced by Gia Carides, the mysterious Nightmara is the main obstacle that stops Stevie and Elliot from reaching the Sandman. She’s shrouded in dark clouds, and, like her namesake, conjures up nightmare scenes to force Stevie and Elliot awake. Cardies talks about how she and Woo created the character together in the studio.
Gia Cardies: Nightmara was amazing, actually. Because we really created her in the studio. Alex had incredible ideas. And, in the beginning, they weren’t sure whether she was going to really be a character that we saw. Or was she going to be an energy. So, I came in a few times and worked with Alex and recorded various different scenes. And ended up creating this really beautiful character. So, it was very exciting. Her coming to life. She is the voice of the nightmares, and the fears, and the anxieties, and she confronts the kids. She also, I wove in some loving, earthy, grounded wisdom.
Carides goes on to talk about the history Nightmara has with the Sandman.
Gia Carides: There was kind of this history of a relationship, somewhat, that she had with the Sandman. And so that kind of energy was really interesting and fun to play with. She was just a glorious character to bring to life. She’s not in the movie a lot, but when she shows up, it makes an impact. And it was really fun to voice her. Amazingly fun.
“In Your Dreams” streams exclusively on Netflix on November 14.
About In Your Dreams:
In Your Dreams is a comedy adventure about Stevie and her brother Elliot who journey into the absurd landscape of their own dreams. If the siblings can withstand a snarky stuffed giraffe, zombie breakfast foods, and the queen of nightmares, the Sandman will grant them their ultimate dream come true…the perfect family.
The Cast of In Your Dreams
- Craig Robinson (Baloney Tony)
- Simu Liu (Dad)
- Cristin Milioti (Mom)
- Jolie Hoang-Rappaport (Stevie)
- Elias Janssen (Elliot)
- Gia Carides (Nightmara)
