“Sandman please, I call unto you.
Grant me my dreams,
Make them come true.”
If only we could all pray that incantation each night and have our dreams come true! Who wouldn’t want that? Welllll, let’s think about that for a minute.
With IN YOUR DREAMS, Netflix Animation and director/co-writer Alex Woo and co-director/co-writer Erik Benson launch us into a dazzling, full-throttle adventure through the wild world of sleep. Here, Sandman is absolutely real, hot dogs are literally dogs, a stuffed giraffe named Baloney Tony springs to life, beds buck like broncos, Breakfast Town is magically delicious, zombie breakfasts roam freely, donuts chat, fruit has attitude, and every neon-colored cereal ever invented is yours for the eating—milk optional. Our guides are 11-year-old Stevie and her mischievous, magically obsessed, pesky little brother Elliot, two kids desperate to make one dream come true: keep their family whole. But in Dreamland, nothing is simple, and to reach the Sandman, they’ll have to face challenges bigger than any nightmare.
Back in the real world, Stevie’s family has hit some turbulence. Her parents were once an indie music duo, but life shifted—first with Stevie’s arrival, then with Elliot’s. Mom traded the stage for stability and became the breadwinner, while Dad clings to the idea of a solo album that will clearly never materialize. With finances tight and the strain rising, Mom interviews for a major job in Duluth—an assistant college professor, a huge leap from her current role as a teacher. But Dad refuses to move, Stevie doesn’t want to uproot her life, and Elliot is too wrapped up in magic tricks to notice anything. When Stevie overhears her parents discussing the possibility of separating if Mom gets the Duluth job, she becomes convinced it’s up to her to keep the family together. And a happy French toast breakfast with whipped cream smiley faces definitely won’t cut it.
A simple trip to the bookstore for a book report leads the siblings to something far more extraordinary. While Stevie swoons over the nerdy clerk and Elliot discovers stacks of vintage comics filled with heroes, cowboys, and cosmic adventures, Elliot wanders into the basement and finds a dusty trunk of old magic props… and a mysterious dream book featuring none other than the Sandman. That night, after reciting an incantation found in the book, Stevie and Elliot are launched into Dreamland—each landing in a fantasy shaped by their passions. Elliot’s bed gallops across the sky like a bucking bronco, while Stevie enters Breakfast Town, a sugary wonderland built from her happiest childhood memories.
But how do they reach the Sandman—and fix their family? The answer arrives quickly: when they recite the spell together, they share the same dream and gain the power to reshape Dreamland itself. Their quest leads them through challenges and emotional truths, including a confrontation with Nightmara, Queen of Nightmares, whose lesson for Elliot hits harder than any monster.
Beyond Dreamland’s electric spectacle, the real joy of IN YOUR DREAMS lies in Stevie and Elliot’s relationship. Watching them grow, clash, bond, and finally understand each other gives the film its emotional core. Their journey is full of wonder, fear, humor, and even heartbreak—especially as they race to keep Elliot asleep so their shared dream doesn’t crumble.
Visually, the film is a feast for the eyes. Shared-dream sequences explode with imagination: Elliot’s comic-book fantasies come alive; an exuberant, “It’s a Small World”-inspired ride bursts with color and cultural whimsy; a Chuck E. Cheese-style ball pit becomes a riot of chaos; Sandman’s glowing castle shimmers like a beacon in the night; and the bronco-bed ride channels pure Bedknobs and Broomsticks nostalgia. With Woo’s Pixar background—and many Pixar alumni on the team—it’s no surprise the film carries echoes of animation classics. But rather than imitate, it evolves, forging its own vibrant identity.
In Dreamworld, color is king. Neon hues blaze across the screen, and one sequence even erupts into anime-style spectacle. Bridges and buildings are constructed from popsicle sticks, wrappers, pipe cleaners, cereal bowls, milk cartons—an entire universe built from the raw materials of childhood imagination. Sandman’s castle, sculpted from glowing dream-sand and surrounded by shimmering star-orbs, is a stunning achievement, with illumination effects so rich they nearly leap off the screen.
The nightmare sequence is one of the film’s most universally relatable moments—teeth falling out, showing up naked in public, failing a test you forgot to study for. They’re the kinds of nightmares everyone has endured, but here they’re delivered with comedic flair. Then comes the brilliant needle-drop of the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams,” turning the moment into a wickedly funny highlight.
Music plays a huge role in IN YOUR DREAMS. Alongside “Sweet Dreams,” the soundtrack includes a clever new cover of “Mr. Sandman” plus the 1954 Chordettes version, “Don’t Cha,” “Sleep2Dream,” “Hey Ya,” Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” and an uproarious use of Eric Carmen’s “Hungry Eyes” from “Dirty Dancing”. Simu Liu delivers a gorgeous rendition of “The Holding On and The Letting Go,” easily one of the film’s most emotional moments. Composer John Debney ties everything together with a score that’s cinematic, playful, and rich with motifs—from western cues for Elliot’s bucking bronco dreams to heroic flourishes for Baloney Tony’s big saves. And yes, keep your ears open: there’s one more Dirty Dancing nod hidden in the dialogue.
The voice cast is superb. Craig Robinson brings irresistible and exuberant warmth and charm to Baloney Tony, while Omid Djalili gives the Sandman a wonderfully ambiguous edge—equal parts comforting and unsettling. But the film’s emotional weight rests on Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Stevie and Elias Janssen as Elliot, and they absolutely soar. Their vocal rhythms with cadence and tonal inflections, emotional honesty, and dynamic range make every moment between them feel lived-in and real.
Yet IN YOUR DREAMS isn’t all candy colors and glowing castles. Woo and Benson balance the magic with grounded emotional stakes—family strain, fear of change, and a deeper, more devastating truth lurking beneath the surface. Sandman wants to keep everyone happy in their perfect dream worlds. But at what cost? Is eternal comfort worth sacrificing real life—its mess, its growth, its imperfect beauty?
In the end, IN YOUR DREAMS is a story about life; sometimes dazzling, sometimes difficult, often less than a dream, but always full of honesty, hope, heart, and love—even for your pesky little brother. And sometimes all it takes is a dream to see that.
Directed by Alex Woo
Co-Directed by Erik Benson
Written by Erik Benson and Alex Woo
Voice Cast: Simu Liu, Cristin Milioti, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Elias Jenssen, Craig Robinson, Omid Djalili, Gia Carides
by debbie elias, 10/31/2025
IN YOUR DREAMS is streaming on Netflix.
