Pixar’s first limited series, “Dream Productions” is set between the events of “Inside Out” and “Inside Out 2”, where it explores the dream studio inside Riley’s mind where dreams really do come true—every night, on time and on budget.

If you remember back in the first “Inside Out” movie, where we see the emotions visit Dream Productions to try to wake Riley up, this series reveals how, with Riley growing up and when her memories need some extra processing, Joy and the rest of the Core Emotions send them to Dream Productions.

The series follows acclaimed director Paula Persimmon, who is voiced by Paula Pell, who faces a nightmare of her own: Trying to create the next hit dream after being paired up with Xeni, who is voiced by Richard Ayoade, a smug daydream director looking to step up into the big leagues of night dreams.

Generally, the core story of Paula is not really adapting to how Riley is growing up, and what she used to create doesn’t work anymore, and she’s struggling to find the right tone.  It’s quite fitting, as it does highlight one of the many issues facing the Disney Channel in real life, where they create content for younger audiences but are struggling to hit with tweens/teenagers!

This series has been in the works for a number of years, and unlike other Pixar series like “Forky Asks A Question” or “Cars On The Road”, these episodes are over twenty minutes a piece, so when combined, at over eighty minutes, it’s bordering on almost becoming a movie, which it does feel like if you binge watch them in one sitting like I did, since it’s all one interconnecting story.   However, it’s probably more in the “straight-to-video” sequel territory than a theatrical release.

One of the things I loved about this series was how it incorporates lots of little in-jokes about Hollywood, which might not get noticed by everyone, such as easter eggs about the Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Nielsen, which I appreciated. 

The show also uses a mockumentary style of following the characters around, similar to “The Office” or even “The Muppets”, which kinda works but doesn’t make much sense when you think about it too much!    

I also liked how they deal with the idea that your dreams can help you work out real-life situations, allowing you to rehearse situations in advance and learn how to cope with situations.

Visually, “Dream Productions” doesn’t feel out of place compared to the other two movies, especially since the character designs are so simple; it just works. The core emotions do pop up throughout the series, though they’re kept to a minimum, which is a little disappointing but understandable.

“Dream Productions” does feel like a spin-off that could run for many seasons, but after the box office success of “Inside Out 2”, We are unlikely to see more adventures with these characters, but it would be great if we could see these characters again in future movies. 

Overall, “Dream Productions” is a nice, easy tie-in with “Inside Out”; it’s got plenty of laughs, and I think it’s going to be a hit on Disney+. It’s not on the same level as the movies, but it’s still full of laughs and heartwarming moments that will pull on your emotions. It’s well worth checking out over the holidays!  “Inside Out” fans are gonna love it!

Rating:  4 Out Of 5

All four episodes of “Dream Productions” arrive on Disney+ on December 11th 2024.

Are you going to be checking out “Dream Productions”?  Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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