Netflix has been on a roll this year, picking up unique concepts on a regular basis, and this time we have an incredible journey starring Jason Momoa. Slumberland, a fantasy adventure film based on Winsor McCay's comic strip "Little Nemo in Slumberland," is coming to Netflix this November and will take fans on a beautiful adventure. The film stars Jason Momoa in an unlikely role as Flip (a silly, lovable clown who constantly gets in trouble), Marlow Barkley as a little girl who desperately seeks her father, and Chris O'Dowd, Kyle Chandler, and Weruche Opia as supporting characters.
It is directed by Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Mockingjay) and written by David Guion and Michael Handelman. Netflix recently released an official trailer for the Slumberland film, featuring stunning visuals. With a fascinating concept and the Disney feel throughout, the film appears promising enough. If you're still unsure what the story is about, check out our trailer breakdown of the Slumberland film.
A Tale of Lost Father and Desperate Daughter
The trailer begins with a fatherly figure, Chris O'Dowd, dropping a little girl, Nemo, off at school and enthusiastically asking her, "Are you excited for your first day at school?" to which the girl replies, "My dad says schools are basically a prison," implying he is not her father but does care for her to some extent. Despite a bit of levity in how Nemo reinforces her statement about school being like a prison, it reveals her insecurity and unusual outlook on life.
When a friend asks where she went to school, she says she has never been to school before and lived in a lighthouse with her father. Nemo also reveals that her dad's gone, and then we see O'Dowd showing a video of her father (the role played by Kyle Chandler), reminiscing how he used to tell stories about the wild adventures they were going on. In the following scene, we notice O'Dowd laying down Nemo as she drifts off to sleep, curling in her bed.
Welcome to Slumberland: Make Your Wish Come True
Following the scene in which Nemo falls asleep, she is awakened by her teddy pig coming to life. Soon after, the bed transforms into a spider-like creature that carries the girl into the sea and surfs alongside the lovely dolphins. However, the girl finds it amusing instead of being scared, as if her dream world has come to life.
The scene then cuts to Jason Momoa's Flip enthusiastically introducing the world of Slumberland to Nemo, "Welcome to my world, kid. Slumberland — the world of dreams." Nemo finds the world extremely pleasing, with beautiful butterflies flying around, making it even more fascinating to look at. Then the Flip reveals how he was partners with Nemo's dad long ago, hinting at her arrival in Slumberland. In the face of such an unexpected response from the Flip, she searches through the flashbacks in which O'Dowd tells her about her father's adventures.
While wondering about the relationship between the dreamworld, her father, and the Flip, she finds an unforeseen hope when he brings up the buzz about the adventure they're about to embark on: "We're going on a little treasure hunt. This treasure lets you wish whatever you want." As a girl who misses her father every day, it couldn't be more obvious what she'd wish if she ever got her hands on the treasure.
Gear Up! The Adventure is Just Getting Started
As the trailer cuts to the next scene, we see Nemo desperately hoping to find her father, saying, "I could see my dad again." However, the Flip warns her, "If we go through this door, everything changes." The girl, befitting her eagerness to explore the new world, shows the spirit, and they enter Slumberland. Later, we see them being chased by a car and the Flip introducing her to three new rules: stay focused, keep a low profile, and the girl mentions the third rule as a rotten dream, implying that things aren't going as planned.
The trailer then shows a series of adventures in which the girl and Flip, along with a couple of other strangers, drive a truck as if someone is relentlessly chasing them. The adventures continue for a few scenes before we see hopeless Nemo discover that the dream does not last long, and she unexpectedly wakes up in her bed and says, "I don't want to wake up; I want to see my dad again." However, later scenes show her returning to the dream world with unexpected confidence, as O'Dowd tells her she can dream of anything she wants.
After adjusting to the new world, they continue to explore, traversing their dreams and encountering new nightmares as they progress toward their goal. The trailer raises many questions, including how the Flip relates to Nemo's father and how O'Dowd learns about Slumberland. Furthermore, the people we see in the dream may exist in the real world and be aware of everything that's been happening. The greatest mystery, however, would still be the existence of Slumberland's world and whether it actually exists. You'll find out the answers to all of your questions when the film releases on November 18, 2022, but in the meantime, keep an eye on the trailer for more hints.