‘Dream Productions’ Review – Pixar’s ‘Inside Out’ Spin-off Is Missing Some Key Ingredients

Earlier this year, Inside Out 2 became not only the highest-grossing film of 2024, but the highest-grossing animated film of all time. Inside Out 2 also became the first Pixar film since 2019’s Toy Story 4 to hit a billion dollars worldwide. To compare, Inside Out 2 made about the same amount in its opening weekend that Elemental made in its entire domestic run. But what is it about Inside Out 2 that turned this film into such a runaway hit, especially after years of modest Pixar releases, as well as frequent conversations about Pixar not being what it used to?

It’s hard to say, but personally, the Inside Out franchise has always felt like the studio once again capturing magic in a bottle, with a concept that reminds of the early days of Pixar, when every idea was brilliant and impactful. With its story of the young girl Riley, as she grows up and deals with her emotions, Pixar once again has a franchise like its biggest star, Toy Story. Inside Out can return to Riley as she grows up, giving kids a playful, honest look at what they’re going through, with a story adults can sympathize with and see the truth in. The beauty of Inside Out is that, yes, it’s a fun, playful world full of possibilities and imagination, but with an emotional core (pun not intended) that hits as hard as anything Pixar has made.

The Inside Out franchise ends this banner year with Dream Productions, a Disney+ series set between the events of Inside Out and Inside Out 2, centered on the filmmaking team inside Riley’s head that, as the name implies, creates her dreams. It’s a concept with plenty of potential and opportunity for the same type of introspective humor that has made this series so great. But even though Dream Productions does a decent job of carving its own path in the world of Inside Out (and inside Riley), and is pleasantly entertaining throughout, Disney+’s latest TV series doesn’t have the heart, soul, or humor that has made Inside Out one of Pixar’s biggest properties.

What Is ‘Dream Productions’ About?

Dream Productions takes on a mockumentary format as it follows Paula Persimmon (voiced by Paula Pell), a revered director inside Riley. Paula’s best work is a dream Riley had about her pacifier, but as Riley is now a twelve-year-old, it’s been a while since this major hit. As Paula’s dreams don’t have the same success they once did, changes are made by the head of Dream Productions, Jean Dewberry (Maya Rudolph). For one, Paula’s assistant director and biggest help on set, Janelle (Ally Maki), has the opportunity to make her own dreams come true by getting to direct her own Riley dreams. However, that means Paula is stuck now working with Xeni (Richard Ayoade), who thinks more outside the box and wants to be more experimental in his approach to Riley’s dreams. With Janelle on her own path, Paula has to try and work with Xeni to develop another hit.

Dream Productions largely uses Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), and all the other emotions sparingly, more a reminder that they’re still around, as they react to the choices of the Dream Productions team. It’s a smart choice that allows Dream Productions to carve its own path, without having to involve the cast of the films too much in the proceedings. And since this series takes place between the two movies, it also minimizes the questions as to what is going on with the emotions introduced in Inside Out 2.

The goal with dreams in this world is to send stories to Riley that will influence her life, and not be forgotten. With Riley preparing for her first school dance, there are plenty of fears that she has to overcome, and Dream Productions is on the way to help her navigate the awkwardness of this situation, as well as assist Riley in speaking up about not wanting to wear her mom’s hand-me-down dress.

‘Dream Productions’ Doesn’t Have the Same Impact as the Inside Out Movies

The best part of Dream Productions is easily Pell and Ayoade’s performances, and their dynamic is always fun to watch. Paula Persimmon is an old timer, set in her ways, and trying to capture the same successes she had when Riley was younger, not realizing that they may not be as effective nowadays. Xeni is more avant-garde in his approach to Riley’s dreams, which comes with its own set of issues. Yet it’s also great to watch Janelle put together a beautifully crafted dream that speaks to Riley in just the right way. If there’s going to be an Inside Out 3 (and let’s be real, there will be), it would be great to see Pell and Ayoade again. But Dream Productions is more focused on following Paula and Xeni than showing examples of what makes an effective dream.

It’s also wild how, with four episodes, Dream Productions manages to be shorter than either of the Inside Out films, and feels rushed because of it. Each episode is written by Mike Jones, the co-writer of Soul and Luca, and there’s no time to build these characters in any meaningful way. Because Dream Productions doesn’t have much time, it ends up focusing far too much on Paula’s failures and occasional successes, rather than showing any real connection as to why Paula wants to have this impact on Riley’s life. Sure, we see Riley reacting to the strange stuff that happens in her dreams, but there’s rarely any weight to it. Consider how Inside Out showed the emotions and how meaningful the changes they had on Riley meant to them personally, and how that resonated in truly beautiful ways. Dream Productions doesn’t include those same interactions between the internal and the external.

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“Ah, ha ha ha! Money, money, money!”

At about 82 minutes altogether, there’s not enough time for Dream Productions to let this idea breathe — and, considering this is an entire series and not a movie, it’s wild how much more packed-in this seems than either of the films. The choice to make the show a mockumentary of sorts serves no purpose other than as an easy shortcut to have the characters explain what they’re feeling directly to the camera, rather than actually showing us naturally. And by the time we get to the fourth and final episode, it’s as though our characters have to rush through the lesson learned, culminating in a strange conclusion that also sort of feels like an easy way out without the emotional resonance one would hope for. It’s hard to imagine that giving Dream Productions an episode or two more to stretch out this narrative would’ve made a world of difference.

While it’s nice and smart that Dream Productions just tries, for the most part, to carve its own path away from the Inside Out films, it’s fundamentally missing the aspects that make this shared world so great.Dream Productions is enjoyable and not a bad way to spend an hour and a half, but it’s hard for it to not be lacking, especially while Inside Out 2 still looms large for audiences. Dream Productions doesn’t quite have the heart or the humor of the movies, but it’s a perfectly pleasant dream regardless.

Dream Production premieres with all four episodes December 11 on Disney+.

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Dream Productions

Dream Productions is entertaining, but can’t capture the magic of Inside Out.

Pros

• Paula Pell and Richard Ayoade are a joy, as always.
• Dream Productions paves its own path, without following too much in Inside Out’s footsteps.

Cons

• Four episodes makes this rushed and shorter than either Inside Out film.
• Dream Productions doesn’t have the emotional hook that one would expect.

Watch on Disney+