First Impressions: “In Your Dreams” Brings Back the Importance of Accepting Life’s Imperfections

Writer-director Alex Woo brings his own dream to life with the release of his feature directorial debut, In Your Dreams. Premiered November 14 on Netflix, the film showcases the dreamscape of 12-year-old Stevie and her younger brother Elliot as they navigate through their nightmares to reach the Sandman, who is said to grant them their wish of the perfect family. In Your Dreams features the voice acting from Simu Liu, Cristin Milioti, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Elias Janssen, Craig Robinson, and more. 

Spoiler warning: This article contains major spoilers for In Your Dreams.

Setting the Scene

Stevie Ting (voiced by Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) is your classic pre-teen that juggles with different kinds of pressure and holds herself to a high degree of responsibility. The opening scene depicts a loving family of three as Stevie and her parents (voiced by Simu Liu and Cristin Milioti) cook breakfast together. The peaceful morning is then interrupted by the cries from her baby brother, Elliot, causing her childhood home to crumble. 

Stevie awakes from her nightmare to be faced with the harsh reality of her parents’ arguing. In order to prevent her mother from taking a job across the state, Stevie takes it upon herself to try to get back to when she felt her life was perfect. She embodies the perfectionist mindset and runs a tight ship not just for herself, but is adamant about keeping her brother in line too. 

With a current phase of magic obsession, Elliot (voiced by Elias Janssen) snags the restricted novel The Legend of the Sandman, the Giver of Dreams for his book report. After reading the enchantment in the book together, Stevie and Elliot discover that their dreamscapes have merged. Stevie plots for a way to navigate through their nightmares to reach the Sandman so that she can make her dream of the perfect family come true. 

A Sibling Adventure

Stevie and Elliot’s dynamic was inspired by Woo’s own relationship with his brother. EnVi chatted with Woo over Zoom, and he explained, “I’m very, you know, the responsible one, the studious one…and my brother is much more charming and funny and kind of goes with the flow. He’s just a lot cooler than I am.” Stevie is no doubt the leader behind the pair’s quest to reach the Sandman despite neither of them knowing how to do so. 

Stevie is easily agitated by Elliot’s mannerisms throughout the film. From Elliot’s persistence of being accompanied by his stuffed animal giraffe, Baloney Tony (voiced by Craig Robinson), to his jerky driving of the flying bed, Stevie is far past irritated by her brother’s presence on her mission. While Stevie’s driving force is her idea of the perfect family, Elliot is often sidetracked by his own interests of magic tricks and jet packs. Woo echoed this feeling with his own childhood. “When we were kids, I was kind of trying to be the parent all the time. My brother was always acting up, and I found it incredibly frustrating.”

While walking a mile in someone else’s shoes is a testament to learning one’s feelings, there’s nothing quite like battling nightmares. Stevie and Elliot encounter each other’s own worst fears that the other never knew they had. Stevie comes to accept some of Elliot’s unconventional problem solving methods through the turmoil, and they learn how to work together in order to push past the nightmare. Woo stated that he grew to understand his brother’s opposite personality, too. “I’ve come to appreciate that he learns how to go with the flow and embrace the messiness of life, whereas I’m always trying to control everything,” Woo said.

Breaking A Lucid Dream

The entire film is layered with both dream sequences and reality. After the Sandman (voiced by Omid Djalili) grants Stevie and Elliot with the perfect family, classic suspicion creeps in of everything still being a dream. Although everything is perfect to Stevie, Elliot realizes that his once disorganized belongings are now spotless and lacking authenticity. Their perfect wish shatters, and Elliot begs his sister to wake up from their counterfeit world. With Stevie reluctant to return to their broken household, the siblings separate, but it doesn’t take long for Stevie to realize that perfect isn’t always better. 

In order for Stevie to not be stuck in her own dream forever, Elliot must return to his dreamscape and face his nightmares alone. When Elliot meets Nightmara (voiced by Gia Carides), he learns that nightmares and dreams live in harmony. Nightmares are not meant to be evil, but they serve greater purpose in terms of preparation to explore the unknown. Elliot’s driving force behind saving his sister is the fact that she grounds him amongst life’s chaos. 

Stevie’s parents also enter their dreams to rescue their daughter with reassurance that no matter what happens they will still be a family. The ending of the film remains honest in the fact that Stevie notes her parents are still figuring things out, but when life is constantly moving, Stevie and Elliot’s bond will remain unchanging and unwavering. 

The Subtle Infusion of Culture

While In Your Dreams features a mixed racial family, the film does not center on their cultural identity. In an interview with Jacki Jing, Hoang-Rappaort shared her perspective, “I feel like there’s two sides to representation, right? There is showcasing culture, but then there’s also showcasing people of different ethnicities being the face of issues that are universal. And I think that’s something you really get from this story.”

Furthermore, Woo talked about wanting to cast a Chinese actor for the role of Dad in an interview with The Upcoming. Prior to the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a mutual friend introduced Woo to Simu Liu via his role as Jung Kim in Kim’s Convenience. “At this point, Simu was offer-only because he was a Marvel superhero and about to blow up in a really big way. He was all for it, but then I told him you know this character’s a musician, and I need him to sing,” Woo shared. A crucial subplot in the film is Stevie’s dad chasing after a dream of his own to make a living as a singer-songwriter. 

Stevie realizes that her dad’s career causes a lot of strain on her parents’ relationship. The audience witnesses a duet sung by Liu and Milioti only when Stevie enjoys the scenes of the perfect family that the Sandman fabricated. The duet’s instrumental is played again during the ending scene of the film as Stevie’s family loads up the moving truck for their next chapter together. “I still feel guilty about asking Simu Liu to give me an audition when he was offer-only,” Woo confessed.

Dreams and Disarray

In Your Dreams is a comedic adventure story that is jam packed with jetpacks, flying beds, and stuffed animals coming to life. At the center of the film is a heartfelt story between siblings who juggle the uncertainty in life. Be sure to check out In Your Dreams on Netflix.

In awe of stunning animation? Check out our review of Ne Zha II here!