Slumberland
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Sometimes, our dreams can be so sweet that we dread waking up. So when a heartbroken young girl in Netflix’s Slumberland gets the opportunity to go on fun-filled adventures in her dreams instead of waking up to a painful reality, she takes full advantage.

Slumberland travels to a magical world of dreams with 11-year-old Nemo (Marlow Barkley), who’s forced to start a new life in the city with her boring Uncle Philip (Chris O’Dowd) after her lighthouse keeper father is lost at sea. One night, her dreams take her back to their lighthouse, where she meets Flip (Jason Momoa), the outlaw from her father’s stories. Flip takes her to Slumberland, in search of the magic pearls that can make wishes come true. And Nemo decides to leave the waking world behind to go in search of the pearls—and her father.

Nemo’s quest takes her and Flip through one dream after another—from a beautiful ballroom full of butterflies to a gigantic garbage truck racing through the city streets. And that idea alone—of traveling through people’s wildest, most imaginative dreams—makes this an intriguing film. So does the promise of Jason Momoa going all-out Jason Momoa—a kind of monstrous Captain Jack Sparrow with gigantic clown shoes, horns, and spiky teeth. It seems like it should make for a playful, inventive, and dramatic family adventure. At times, it is just that—but, unfortunately, it doesn’t all come together as you might expect.

Nemo’s story is—unsurprisingly—a heartbreaking tale of loss and grief. She’s spent most of her life at sea, with her dad as her parents, her teachers, and her best friends—all wrapped up in one. When she loses him, it feels like she’s lost everything. And she’ll do anything to get him back—even if that means venturing through dreams, battling a giant squid, and swimming to the bottom of the Sea of Nightmares. What plays out is sometimes magical and sometimes moving, but it also feels needlessly complicated, racing from one dream to another—only a couple of which are really interesting. But perhaps the biggest disappointment of all is Jason Momoa, who clearly struggles to talk through his fake fangs—and whose wild and crazy antics end up feeling more awkward and self-conscious than playful and fun.

Overall, Nemo’s story is charming and heartfelt—and this sweet, sad kid’s journey might even bring a tear or two to your eye. But the film struggles to balance out the melancholy with the fun and imagination, making this family fantasy feel like a missed opportunity.


This adventure through dreams arrives on Netflix on November 18, 2022.


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