Dream Productions Review: A Mixed Bag of Dream Dust

Remember that feeling when you first watched The Matrix and your mind was blown, but then you had to sit through the sequels? That's kind of how I felt watching Disney+'s "Dream Productions." As someone who's spent more hours debating Pixar theories than I care to admit (yes, I'm that person at parties), this new series caught me somewhere between nostalgia and mild disappointment – like finding out your favorite childhood superhero now does insurance commercials.

Set between "Inside Out" and its sequel, "Dream Productions" follows dream-director Paula Persimmon (Paula Pell) as she navigates the challenges of creating dreams for a growing Riley. It's essentially "The Office" meets "Inception," minus the cool spinning top and with significantly less Leonardo DiCaprio brooding.

The show adopts that mockumentary style we've all come to know from binge-watching "Parks and Recreation" during lockdown, but somehow doesn't quite stick the landing.

The premise is genuinely clever. Paula must adapt her dream-crafting from unicorns and cupcakes (her previous greatest hit was convincing young Riley to give up her passy) to more complex content as Riley turns twelve. She's paired with Xeni (Richard Ayoade), a pretentious daydream director who talks about dreams the way film students talk about French New Wave cinema. Ayoade's performance is a highlight, delivering lines about the symbolic importance of playing go fish with Death with the kind of deadpan brilliance that made "IT Crowd" legendary.

The show's attention to detail is impressive, I'll give it that. There's a character called Melatonin you can pet to fall asleep (which, honestly, sounds more effective than my current method of scrolling through social media until 3 AM), and the hierarchy of dreams, daydreams, and "brainfarts" feels like something straight out of a Douglas Adams novel. The way Riley's classroom doodles of her future teenage self manifest in dreams is particularly inspired.

But here's where things get as messy as my attempts at cosplay. The series sits awkwardly between kid and adult content, like that one person at a convention who can't decide if they're cosplaying as Batman or The Joker so they've somehow done both. The writing from Mike Jones thinks it's cleverer than it actually is – and I say this as someone who once tried to explain the plot of "Primer" to my cat.

At four episodes (three at 22 minutes and a slightly longer finale), it's mercifully concise. But while it has moments of genuine charm and creativity, it never quite reaches the emotional depths that made early Pixar films feel like therapy sessions disguised as entertainment. It's like they had all the ingredients for a fantastic feast but ended up making just a decent sandwich.

The show's biggest success is probably its voice cast, with Maya Rudolph as studio head Jean Dewberry joining the ensemble with the energy of someone who just discovered coffee exists. The cameos from the original Inside Out emotions are welcome additions, though they feel more like fan service than narrative necessity – kind of like when your favorite band plays their hit song but you can tell their heart isn't in it anymore.

"Dream Productions" isn't bad – it's just not quite the dream come true we might have hoped for. It's perfectly fine entertainment for a lazy weekend, when you're too tired to rewatch "Everything Everywhere All at Once" for the fifth time but still want something with a bit of heart and humor.

Think of it as the comfort food of streaming content: it won't change your life, but it won't ruin your day either.

For a series about dreams, it plays it surprisingly safe. Maybe that's the point – not every piece of content needs to be groundbreaking.

Sometimes "good enough" is, well, good enough. But coming from the studio that once made us cry about a silent robot falling in love, I can't help but wish they'd dreamed a little bigger.

Rating: 6/10 Inception Totems (It's still spinning... I think?)