Slumberland movie review

Little Nemo in Slumberland was a revolutionary comic strip that debuted in the New York Herald in 1905. It boasted a unique design, with panels that expanded and contracted to convey a genuine sense of proportion to readers. Bold use of color and trippy storylines set it apart, and creator Winsor McCay was later hailed as "the first original genius of the comic strip medium" by historian R.C. Harvey. R. Crumb, Art Spiegelman, and Federico Fellini all cited him as an influence. McCay was also a pioneer of animated film, with his first movie featuring a live-action/animation hybrid depicting him producing 4,000 drawings of Nemo. However, his use of ethnic stereotypes, especially in the case of one of Nemo’s friends, African Impie, is problematic by today's standards.

Little Nemo in Slumberland has been attempted on the big screen multiple times. A European version called "Dream One" in 1984 and the Japanese-American animated co-production "Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland" were both commercial flops. The Terry Gilliam classic "Time Bandits" came closest to capturing McCay’s blend of strikingly hallucinatory imagery and ambitious storytelling to date. Now, Francis Lawrence's "Slumberland" has arrived. The movie will likely be disliked by most, with reasons varying depending on knowledge of the source material. For those familiar with McCay and his place in comics history, the film will be viewed as a profound betrayal of his work, turning a unique creation into forgettable sludge. Those who have never heard of Nemo or McCay will see it as just another bland fantasy epic that fails to produce a single memorable image, despite spending millions of dollars.

In "Slumberland," Nemo (Marlow Barkley) is a nine-year-old girl living in an isolated lighthouse with her father (Kyle Chandler), who tells her elaborate bedtime stories of fantastic treasure, dangerous creatures, and his loyal rogue friend, Flip. When her father dies at sea, Nemo is sent to live with his estranged brother, Philip (Chris O’Dowd), a dullard who sells doorknobs for a living and has no idea how to communicate with children, let alone a grieving one. Nemo turns to the world of her dreams to cope with her loss and see her father again. She meets the actual Flip (Jason Momoa), a thief looking for a map belonging to her dad that will allow him to traverse throughout Slumberland, hopping from one person’s dream to the next. Nemo finds the map and uses it to force Flip to help her find her father. They travel through dreams, pursued by Agent Green (Weruche Opia), who represents the bureaucracy that governs the dream world and wants to crack down on people like Flip. They are also pursued by a shadowy nightmare that wants to engulf Nemo.

Despite the significant budget, "Slumberland" lacks imagination. Director Francis Lawrence has proven himself a decent craftsman in films such as "Constantine" and the last three "Hunger Games" entries, but he lacks the wild imagination required for this movie. He presents an elaborate visual tableau that fails to connect in any meaningful or memorable way. The screenplay by David Guion and Michael Handelman initially grapples with examining how dreams help children cope with grief, but it quickly gives way to a series of endless chases, explosions, and moments that are similar to popular fantasy films from the last couple of decades. Barkley is decent as Nemo, especially in her scenes with O’Dowd, but Momoa is a disappointment, obnoxiously flailing... (the sentence is cut off) performance as Flip is an utter annoyance and the character's design is oddly off-putting, looking like a bizarre mix of Robin Williams from "Popeye" and a character from a disturbing children's show. Even the supporting cast, which includes Chandler, O'Dowd, and Opia, feels underused and given little to do beyond spouting clunky exposition and advancing the plot from one point to another.

In the end, "Slumberland" is a disappointing and forgettable film that fails to capture the essence of Winsor McCay's "Little Nemo in Slumberland." Despite a strong start, the film quickly devolves into a generic fantasy adventure, devoid of the charm, creativity, and imagination that made the original comic strip such a groundbreaking work. While it may be appealing to some younger viewers, fans of the source material are likely to be disappointed by this bland and uninspired adaptation.