Little Nemo - Adventures in the World of Dreams - The 1984 animated film

Little Nemo - Adventures in the World of Dreams - The 1984 animated film

Little Nemo - Adventures in the world of dreams (リ ト ル ・ ニ モ Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland) is a 1989 Japanese musical animated (anime) fantasy film directed by Masami Hata and William Hurtz. Based on Winsor McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland comic.

The film went through a long development process with numerous screenwriters. Eventually, the script was attributed to Chris Columbus and Richard Outten; the texture and art style differed from the original version. The original score was written by Oscar winners Sherman Brothers. The film features the English dub voices of Gabriel Damon, Mickey Rooney, René Auberjonois, Danny Mann and Bernard Erhard.

The film was famous for having had a troubled development, with many people, some of whom worked for Disney, Star Wars, Looney Tunes and Studio Ghibli, characters such as George Lucas, Chuck Jones, Ray Bradbury, Isao Takahata, Brad Bird, Jerry Rees , Chris Columbus, Ken Anderson, Frank Thomas, Oliver Johnston, Paul Julian, Osamu Dezaki, the Sherman Brothers (Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman), Hayao Miyazaki (who worked at TMS at the time) and Gary Kurtz get involved in the film before leaving everyone behind.

The film was first released in Japan on July 15, 1989 by Toho-Towa and in the United States on August 21, 1992 by Hemdale Film Corporation. It received positive reviews, but only made $ 11,4 million on a $ 35 million spending budget and was a box office bomb. However, it sold well on home video and has since become a cult film.

History

The film opens with the young Nemo living a nightmare in which he is chased by a locomotive. Upon awakening the next day, he goes with his pet flying squirrel, Icarus, to see a parade welcoming a traveling circus. However, Nemo is unable to see the circus as his parents are too busy to take him with them.

Later that night, Nemo mimics sleepwalking in an attempt to sneak away a cake, which acts against a promise he had previously made to his mother, which catches him in the act and rushes him back to his room empty-handed. . After actually falling asleep later that night, Nemo is approached by figures from the circus parade.

The circus organist introduces himself as Professor Genius and claims he was sent on a mission by King Morpheus, the king of a kingdom called Slumberland. The mission involves Nemo becoming Princess Camille's playmate. Although Nemo initially has reservations about interacting with royals of the opposite sex, he and Icarus decide to set out on his mission after being persuaded with a gift box of cookies from the princess.

Nemo is taken to Slumberland in an airship that he is allowed to drive, causing some chaos, and is introduced to King Morpheus, who also serves as the ringmaster on Earth. Morpheus reveals that he summoned Nemo to become his heir to the throne. Morpheus gives Nemo a golden key that opens all the doors of the kingdom and warns him of a door with a dragon sign that must never be opened.

Nemo is introduced to Princess Camille and the couple roams the whole of Slumberland together. Later, Nemo meets the mischievous clown, Flip, who angers a group of cops and forces him and Nemo to hide in a cave. There, Nemo discovers the door that Morpheus had warned him not to open.

Flip tries Nemo to unlock the door, which sets off the "nightmare". Nemo rushes back to Morpheus Castle in time for his coronation ceremony, where he is given the royal scepter, the only thing capable of defeating the Nightmare King, the ruler of Nightmare Land, should he ever return to Slumberland.

In the midst of a dance session between Morpheus and Genius, “The Nightmare” reaches the castle and steals Morpheus. As the partygoers search for a scapegoat, Flip and Nemo reveal themselves responsible for The Nightmare's escape, since Morpheus gave Nemo the key and it was Flip's idea to open the door.

Nemo wakes up in his home, which he floods with seawater and expels it into the ocean. Genius finds Nemo and tells him not to blame himself for everything that happened and that it is Flip's fault. When the two return to Slumberland, Flip reveals that he has a map for Nightmare Land, where Morpheus is currently being held. Nemo, Icarus, Camille, Flip and Genius set off on a tugboat in search of Morpheus.

They are soon sucked into a whirlwind and find themselves in the monster-infested Nightmare Land. The five come across a group of shape-shifting goblins who wish to help in the quest to save Morpheus. The Nightmare King sends a flock of frightening, giant bats to capture the rescue team.

Nemo attempts to use the scepter but wakes up in his bed instead. The goblins appear in Nemo's room and the group travels to the nightmare castle by flying through a hole in the sky. However, they are later imprisoned in the castle, where the Nightmare King demands possession of the scepter.

Nemo soon uses the scepter to eliminate and finally defeat the Nightmare King. Slumberland celebrates the fall of the Nightmare Kingdom. Camille takes Nemo home on the airship. The two share a kiss after which Nemo wakes up in his room, where he apologizes to his mother for breaking his promise and trying to get the cake. Nemo's parents also agree to take Nemo to the circus. Nemo looks out the window as he reflects on his adventure.

Characters

Nemo: he is a human boy living in New York City who is brought to Slumberland to be Princess Camille's official playmate; in reality, however, he is called to be the heir of the elderly King Morpheus. He is given the key to Slumberland, but warned by the king to leave a door closed with a coiled dragon emblazoned on it. Sadly, he opens the aforementioned door when tempted by Flip and embarks on a mission to restore Slumberland to his righteous glory, save King Morpheus, and defeat the Nightmare King.

Flip: he is described as a "scary dude" by Professor Genius, he is wanted all over Slumberland to "have fun" (the bounty on his head is considerable) and his only friend is his accomplice: a bird named Flap. He tricks Nemo into accidentally freeing the Nightmare King and blames Nemo for the downfall of Slumberland. He is in possession of a map of Nightmare Land (hand drawn and written in his own special code) and acts as a guide for the Nightmare Castle until it is replaced by the Boomps. Has a serious smoking addiction. In the real world, he is a clown in a circus who stops in the town of Nemo.

Professor Genius: advisor to King Morpheus. He comes to the real world to take Nemo to Slumberland. Being a sophisticated man, he is quite punctual and prefers order to madness. He is a handsome dancer, as he dances a lot during Nemo's coronation ceremony. In the real world, he is an organ player in a circus who stops in the town of Nemo.
Danny Mann as Icarus: a flying squirrel, Nemo's best friend and a supporting protagonist. Icarus is Nemo's only friend in the real world. He shows great concern for Nemo's well-being in a similar sense to that of two brothers. Speak a mixture of squirrel and some English. His cry is painful to the Boomps' ears. He hates being called a "little mouse" (for which Princess Camille mistakes him). Unlike other squirrels, Icarus eats human food, such as cookies. His initial relationship with Princess Camille, although it lasts, eventually changes for the better.

King Morpheus: the ruler of Slumberland. He has protected Slumberland for years with the help of the royal scepter - an ancient weapon of great power. Although he is a child at heart, he knows when to be serious. He has Nemo brought to Slumberland so that he can become his heir to the throne. He gives Nemo the Slumberland key, which can open any door; however, he warns Nemo of a door with a dragon symbol emblazoned on it that it must never be opened. Like Professor Genius, he is a true dancer, as he dances alongside the Professor during Nemo's coronation ceremony. When Nemo accidentally releases the Nightmare King, King Morpheus is captured and Nemo must go and rescue him from Nightmare Land. In the real world, he is the ringmaster of a circus who stops in the town of Nemo.

The Nightmare King: is a demonic creature with horns that rules the realm of nightmares or bad dreams. When Nemo goes to Nightmare Land to save King Morpheus, the Nightmare King has Nemo's friends (Professor Genius, Flip and Princess Camille) captured by his henchmen. He has proved himself to be a liar and quite capricious as he destroys several servants for the failure of only one of his subordinates (the general of his army). Among its strengths are a giant flying stingray and a presence known as "The Nightmare". The only thing that can defeat him is the royal scepter.

Princess Camille: the daughter of King Morpheus. Although she initially acts somewhat spoiled, she ultimately likes Nemo. He also grows fond of Icarus (and vice versa, despite a difficult start). When her father is kidnapped by the Nightmare King, she takes on the role of ruler but decides to join Nemo in his mission to save King Morpheus. In the real world, she is the daughter of a ringmaster of a circus who stops in the town of Nemo.

father of Nemo
Flap: Flip's bird companion.
Nemo's mother
oompa: a member of the Boomps who befriends Nemo.
Oomp: a member of the Boomps who befriends Nemo.
Oompo: a member of the Boomps who befriends Nemo.
Ooppe: a member of the Boomps who befriends Nemo.
Oompy: a member of the Boomps who befriends Nemo.
dance teacher
the woman
captain of the airship
goblin: a hideous creature that serves as a member of the Nightmare King's army. They are sent by the Nightmare King to make sure Nemo doesn't reach his castle and free King Morpheus. Although the goblins manage to capture most of Nemo's friends, they fail to capture Nemo himself and, when the Nightmare King finds out, he kills them all in a fit of rage. The only goblins to survive are the Boomps (who, unlike other goblins, aren't horrible and are actually good).

policeman
Good Good
courtier and policeman
master of etiquette
teacher
fencing master
librarian
equestrian teacher

Production

Nemo was born from an idea of ​​producer Yutaka Fujioka. His dream for years had been to make an animated feature version of Little Nemo in Slumberland that would use the resources of his Tokyo Movie Shinsha studio. As a first step towards the realization of this project, in 1977 he personally flew to Monterey, California, to persuade McCay's descendants to allow him to obtain the film rights to the comic. He initially turned to George Lucas a year later to help him produce the film, but Lucas ran into problems with the plot, feeling there was no character development for the titular character. Fujioka also approached Chuck Jones, but Jones also refused. The film was officially announced as a project in 1982. In February of that year, the TMS / Kinetographics company was formed in America to produce Nemo, and the best staff from around the world were assembled to begin production. Gary Kurtz was named producer of the American production and hired Ray Bradbury and later Edward Summer to write the scripts. Kurtz would eventually step down in the fall of 1984.

In the early 80s, both Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata (who were both working at TMS Entertainment at the time) were involved in the film, but both separated due to creative differences; essentially, Miyazaki didn't seem to be thrilled with the concept of an animated film he created where everything was a dream, and Takahata agreed with Lucas and was more interested in creating a story that described Nemo's growing up as a boy. Miyazaki later described his involvement in the film as "the worst experience I've ever had". The succeeding directors of the duo were Andy Gaskill and Yoshifumi Kondo, who both dropped out of production in March 1985 after completing a pilot film on 70mm. Osamu Dezaki was also called to direct for a short time and completed another pilot film, but he left as well. A third pilot film was made by Sadao Tsukioka but has yet to be made available to the public.

Brad Bird and Jerry Rees also worked on the film through the US department as animators for a month, while at the same time working on a non-produced adaptation of Will Eisner's The Spirit with Gary Kurtz. During production, the two regularly asked the animators what they were doing, and the response they were commonly given was "We are just illustrating what Bradbury is writing." After meeting Bradbury in person and asking him about the story he was writing for the film, he replied "I'm just writing what these wonderful artists are drawing." Bird and Rees left the project soon after their meeting with Bradbury.

When all these people were gone, Fujioka had the proofs done by Chris Columbus, Mœbius, John Canemaker, Richard Martini and many others. He then hired Summer to do another script. Subsequently, Richard Outten was hired to work on the script for Columbus while Columbus was busy with his directorial debut, Adventures in Babysitting. Many Disney Studio animators, including Ken Anderson and Leo Salkin, worked on individual sequences, and John Canemaker, Corny Cole, and Brian Froud provided visual development. Frank Thomas, Oliver Johnston and Paul Julian consulted at the production. The famous Sherman Brothers (Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) were hired to write Nemo songs. This was their first anime film, although not their first animated film; the couple had previously worked on several projects for Disney, including Hanna-Barbera's The Jungle Book and Charlotte's Web.

Little progress was made in production until January 1988, when the many ideas posted on the walls of the Los Angeles studio were reduced to a minimum to create the storyboard from which the film would be made. It was at this point that Thomas and Johnston recommended William T. Hurtz as director of American production, and TMS hired Masami Hata, a former Sanrio director, as an appointed director at the TMS studio in Japan. The actual animation for the completed film began in June 1988 when TMS was just completing Akira. The success of that film in Japan further helped TMS finally start production of Little Nemo. Although derived from an American comic, Little Nemo was animated by the Japanese company Tokyo Movie Shinsha and therefore is often considered an anime film, although it was a joint production of Japanese and American animators and production companies.

Technical data

Original title Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
Original language Japanese
Country of Production Japan
Year 1989
Duration 95 min
Gender animation, adventure, fantastic
Regia Masami Hata, William Hurtz
Subject Winsor McCay (comic series)
Film script Chris Columbus, Yutaka Fujioka, Richard Outten, Jean "Moebius" Giraud
Production house Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Distribution in Italian Warner Bros. Italy

Original voice actors

Takuma Gono as Nemo
Hiroko Kasahara: Princess Camilla
Tarō Ishida: Nightmare King
Koichi Kitamura: Prof. Genius
Kenji Utsumi: King Morpheus
Chikao Ōhtsuka: Flip

Italian voice actors

Simone Crisari: Nemo
Edoardo Nevola: Icarus
Michele Kalamera: King of the Nightmare
Renato Mori: King Morpheus
Gil Baroni: Flip
Laura Latini: Bon Bon
Marco Bresciani, Mauro Gravina, Vittorio Amandola, Mino Caprio, Luigi Ferraro: the five elves