Little Nemo

[eddievalient]

Hi all! I have just rediscovered a wonderful movie. I was browsing in Doller General the other day and saw "Little Nemo: Adventures In Slumberland" on sale for $3 (not bad for a dvd). I'm not one to pass up a deal, so I picked it up. I hadn't seen the film in at least 10 years. Lately, I have rediscovered a lot of films I hadn't seen since I was a child. The case with many of them is that as a kid I didn't like them that much, but watching them now I love them (Mary Poppins and An American Tail are examples). Little Nemo falls into this category. Watching it today, I was amazed at how excellent a fantasy film it is. The story is appropriately whimsical, the music is fantastic (I especially love the end credits song), the voice work is great and the animation is astounding. The film is aimed more at children rather than a general all-ages audience, but for the young at heart it's very enjoyable. If you can find it, I highly recommend it. Has anyone else seen this movie?

[Ben]

I have this on LaserDisc in a nice widescreen print and about a half-hour of interview extras.

A lot of big name people worked on this movie, but for all their expertise it never sruck me as being as good as the sum of its parts. With all that talent you'd have thought it would have been more tight all over, but then again, maybe that was the problem...to many cooks...

What was the DVD like? I remember this coming out and wondering whether to pick it up, but passed as I didn't like the movie that strongly enough.

It's certainly visually amazing (in parts) and the voice work is mainly smooth and works well, but the disjointed story and long length put me off enough to really get into the movie.

[PixarVixen]

I have Little Nemo on VHS. Heheh. I wouldn't mind having it on DVD though. It's one of the only video game-based movies I've seen that is good.

~~=oP

[eddievalient]

Actually, I found out that the videogame is based on the movie, not the other way around. The reason for the confusion is that the movie came out in Japan three years before it came to America (even though it was conceived and written by Americans) and we ended up getting the videogame first. Funny how that stuff happens.

[Ben]

Yeah, I was going to say...videogame!?!?!?

Little Nemo is based on Windsor McCay's 1904 short film, itself based on his own newspaper cartoon strip:
http://www.dvdtoons.com/reviews/48

[PixarVixen]

The reason for the confusion is that the movie came out in Japan three years before it came to America (even though it was conceived and written by Americans) and we ended up getting the videogame first.

Well now, isn't that something? LOL

I don't think it was a very well known movie. It wasn't advertised or anything. One day my mom was like, "Look what I found". I was so thrilled. Of course up until today, I had been thinking all along that it was video game-based and not the other way around.

I even have the soundtrack to the video game. I'm such a geek.

~~=oP

[Thalia-is-Crazy]

I've got that one on VHS!
I really loved it,
Except for the princess, she was annoying... but I guess that was the point.

Awesome find!
I wouldn't mind having that on DVD either.

[Daniel]

A new live action film adaptation is being made exclusively for Netflix. It will feature a gender-swapped version of Nemo, named Nema. Good grief...

[Ben]

Well that’s just...DUMB.

[Randall]

Nema?

NEMA?

Ha. My spell correct changed it to "Enema." Yeah, that about sums up my feelings.

As a huge McCay fan, I find myself bewildered, frustrated, and annoyed.

[droosan]

Little Nemo in Slumberland is a 'public domain' property; Netflix is just seeking a spin on the material which makes it 'theirs'.

Though .. they are not the first to 'gender swap' the title character. That honor -- such as it may be -- belongs to Vittorio Giardino, who created a serialized erotic parody for european comics magazines back in the 1980s, titled Little Ego (which is actually rather well-crafted, for what it is .. but is very much NSFW/not for kids!)

I rather doubt Netflix intends to go in that direction, however.

[Randall]

Yes, one cannot blame them for going for a distinctive take. Still, a little disappointing. At least the fairly modern animated film was quite faithful.