2025 has not really been a banner year for animation, which perhaps has worked in favor for Netflix, who went to the bank with a certain group of singing demon hunters earlier this year. The largest opening weekend for an animated feature went to CrunchyRoll, for their continuation of Demon Slayer. I’ve been waiting for a film to really pull some emotion from me. I like my animation to have a bit of heart with it. Not that it can’t make me laugh myself silly, but my favorite animated movies have a punch to them. An emotional gut punch.

We finally get that with Netflix’s new In your Dreams, which at its core explores what a failing marriage can do to kids who pick up on the mounting tension. Once you get to a certain age, you are acutely aware of what divorce is, and likely already have friends whose parents are divorced. So in this household, the catalyst is that Mom and Dad are slipping apart, and possibly the only thing that can fix them is The Sandman. this can be confusing for Netflix junkies, so it isn’t that other sandman, whose series wrapped this year. This is a more typical presentation of Sandman.

Stevie (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) and her brother Elliot (Elias Jansen) have a typical big sister/little brother energy, where he has a tendency to annoy her, and making matters worse, they share a room. Mom (Cristin Miliotti) gets a job interview in Duluth, and leaves Dad (Simu Liu) with the kids, instructing Stevie to help her brother with his book report. So, they swing by a vintage shop, where Stevie is reminded her parents were happier when they were both musicians, and they find a book about The Sandman. Stevie and Elliot read a passage of the book together, which turns out to be a magic spell, allowing to join each other in the same dream. the book promised if they could make it to the Sandman without waking up, they could have their wildest dreams come true. For Elliot, it involves boy stuff like a six pack and a Jetpack. For Stevie, she just wants her family to be OK.

The problem is, if one of them wakes up, they both do. And Nightmara is determined to throw everything she’s got to keep them from reaching the Sandman. Luckily for them, along the way they will be helped by Tony Bologna (Craig Robinson), which is a stuffed animal of Elliots that comes to life in the dreaming, much like a bing Bong type. He will help them as they fly around on their bed (like Little Nemo in Slumberland), hoping to get to the final boss. can Stevie reach the sandman and save her family, and is the Sandman even capable of doing so?

I won’t argue that this has some elements you’ll find in other films. Stevie is a little like Riley from Inside Out, in so much that she is afraid of what might be, and fights against change. In inside Out, Riley runs away. In this, Stevie essentially could get lost in her dreams just trying to find what was once idyllic, but may never be again.It deals with some heavy topics like marital strife, with the caveat of being careful what you wish for. The sad thing is kids will relate to it, and the parents who have kids who see themselves in the film, perhaps need to take a look at why that is. Ultimately, the parents here aren’t fighting, or cheating, or doing anything too adult. They just seem to have emotionally disconnected, and something that simple is being read by Stevie. If your kid can tell that Mommy and Daddy don’t quite love each other as much anymore, perhaps it is time for some counseling.

The audio description, which was masterfully done by International Digital Center, benefits from having Tristan Snyder as a narrator. Family and Kids content is his sweet spot, and there’s so much to love about his performance, which is engaging for children, without being grating for adults. Betty Capone wrote a really strong script, considering all the possibilities of what can happen in your dreams. These two face some really weird things, as their imaginations run amuck, and they face their fears. I’m not sure even all their fears are irrational.

Speaking of the fears, where was the nightmare about showing up to school in your underwear? It is such a common staple of early nightmares, and would have been fun to see that pop up for a second as the kids try to push through.

In Your dreams is fanciful and imaginative, with a compelling narrative that hits home. What works is the relatability, which makes this one of the best animated features this year.

Fresh: Final Grade: 8.4/10