The plot is simple: in his dreams, when this kid Nemo (Gabriel Damon, THE LAND BEFORE TIME, TEQUILA SUNRISE) falls asleep he flies his bed over the city, then over a post-apocalyptic city and into a magical land, still in his pajamas. Then he hired team after team to try to crack it, so by the time it reached fruition more than a decade later it was very impressive on a technical level and a total mess as a story. (But it also says LAPUTA, NAUSICAA and PRINCESS MONONOKE all came out of rejected LITTLE NEMO ideas, which sounds far-fetched to me.)įujioka dreamed of an anime film with full animation (more drawings per second than were standard in Japan) to cross over to American audiences, and he got the rights to Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo comic strip in the late ‘70s. Wikipedia says that Moebius coming aboard, seeing Miyazaki’s drawings and wondering why they weren’t using them was what led to their friendship. Japanese animation legends Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata worked on many concepts and treatments, but their ideas were rejected.
Other names I recognized include DARK CRYSTAL designer Brian Froud under “design development” and indie animator and scholar John Canemaker as “visual image development.” Some bigger names are not in the credits, but were part of the history of the project: Japanese producer Yutaka Fujioka of TMS (the studio behind AKIRA) wanted to collaborate with George Lucas, but he turned it down and suggested his partner Gary Kurtz, who did work on the movie for years before leaving. The songs are by the Sherman Brothers ( MARY POPPINS). Disney legends Frank Thomas & Oliver Johnston are on a list of story consultants along with CHINATOWN writer Robert Towne. The opening credits for this thing are incredible because you see a screenwriting credit for Chris Columbus, and then story by Jean Moebius Giraud (also designer), and then “concept for screen” by Ray Bradbury. It was a 1989 release in Japan, but we got it on August 21st, 1992. LITTLE NEMO: ADVENTURES IN SLUMBERLAND (onscreen title: just LITTLE NEMO) is a long-in-the-works Japanese-American co-production. Now let’s move on to two more distinctly befuddling animated features released, unsurprisingly, in August, the month of misfit movies. But in any study of the weirdness of summer ’92 it must be acknowledged. Back then I liked it (or wanted to like it) enough that I saw it twice in the theater, then when I watched it five years ago to write that review I decided to retire from watching COOL WORLD. I really want to direct you to my review of COOL WORLD if you haven’t read it, though, because this is a real headscratcher of a movie from indie/adult animation pioneer Ralph Bakshi, working with Paramount and making all kinds of concessions that might’ve turned it even weirder.
And Tone Loc got more to do (voicing a fucked up baby) than he did in FERNGULLY (where he was a lizard). It’s also kind of cool that it’s adapted from a standup routine. Both were rated PG-13, which was very unusual for the time… and I guess would be now too, huh? BEBE’S KIDS is groundbreaking as an animated feature from a Black director and about a Black family. Now I need to bring up two July releases that I skipped over because I’d previously reviewed them: COOL WORLD (co-starring Brad Pitt of JOHNNY SUEDE fame) and BEBE’S KIDS (written and produced by BOOMERANG’s Reginald Hudlin). Earlier I reviewed the well-meaning environmental fantasy FERNGULLY: THE LAST RAINFOREST and mentioned Don Bluth’s bizarre Elvis-rooster movie ROCK-A-DOODLE. Barney and Baby Bop's Costume: Irene Corey, Suzanne Braddick, Irene Corey Designs, Inc.Although the weird blockbusters like ALIEN 3 and BATMAN RETURNS were a defining feature of summer ’92, it’s hard to overstate how much weird animation popped up in this little window between Disney reinvigorating the animated feature and anybody else figuring out how to get in on the action in a reasonable way.Swing Crew: Valerio Andredes, Havier Lizama, Valario Molina.Puppet Fabrication: Norine Henry, Carol Nelson.Craft Service: Donna Fankhauser, Sue Shinn.Camera Operators: Larry Allen, Patrick Guteriez, Eric Norberg.Executive Producers: Sheryl Stamps-Leach, Kathy O'Rourke-Parker.It is for use by purchaser only and any other use including copying or reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited by law. The material in this video product is protected by copyright.