Slumberland Parent Guide

Eleven-year-old Nemo (Marlow Barkley) loves her life. She lives in a lighthouse with her father (Kyle Chandler), who teaches her about the lighthouse and regales her with stories of the mystical Slumberland, where he used to go on adventures with the outlaw Flip (Jason Momoa). After a tragic accident during a storm, the now orphaned Nemo is sent to the city to live with her uncle, Philip (Chris O’Dowd). As she adjusts to her new reality, her dreams start to feature a mysterious figure who reminds her a lot of her dad’s old friend Flip.

Children’s fantasy has a long and rich history, with many fantastic films (and books) in the genre. Netflix has decided to throw its hat in the ring with a Narnia level production, based on the century-old comic series “Little Nemo in Slumberland”. Unfortunately, though not lacking in production value or star power, the film fails to evoke the fantastical, adventurous spirit generated by the giants of the genre. The basic premise and idea is intriguing: dreams all happen in one universe controlled by a mysterious bureau and some people are able to move consciously through other people’s dreams. Sadly, this solid idea is wasted on a bloated, meandering script which can’t seem to decide what it wants to be.

I am a firm believer that movies aimed at children and families should stay as close to the 90-minute runtime mark as possible. 10 or 15 minutes over is acceptable, but there is no reason to push the 2-hour mark. Slumberland is far too long, and it feels like it. This stems from the previously mentioned script problem, but a harsh editing session could have fixed most of those issues. As it stands, the story is unfocused and lacks stakes because it’s too confusing to be easily comprehensible. It’s a story about grief, growing up, letting go, facing difficult emotions, adult-child relationships, sibling relationships, and loyalty all at once, and it’s just too much to place on one production. It’s not that the messages are bad, it’s just that there are so many of them that no single one is able to land effectively.

That all said, the visibly high budget keeps the film watchable, and at times, visually interesting. The fantasy elements are fun, and perhaps enough to get young viewers interested in the genre. But the weak story and long runtime may prevent this from becoming a family favorite. There are a few more swear words than expected for the target audience, which is surprising, but the movie is otherwise lacking in negative content. When I asked my 6-year-old was he thought of the movie he said, “It was bad, and I don’t want to watch it again”. Perhaps more blunt than I would be, but he’s definitely been honing his criticism skills!