The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

Disney+ subscribers are well aware of the steady diet of MCU and Star Wars television shows on offer. But "Pixar" is another major franchise on the service, and they too have a handful of TV series available. I recently finished watching one, Dream Productions.

This series takes us back to the world of Inside Out, and specifically back into the mind of Riley Andersen -- to the place where her dreams are made. Dream Productions operates like a movie studio, with scripted dreams and auteurs determined to provide Riley with insight and influence. Director Paula Persimmon is feeling increasingly behind the times, her best work dating back to Riley's childhood. New dream makers -- both friend and foe -- are looking to take her place as she fights to remain relevant.

Dream Productions is a simple, four episode mini-series. It perhaps could have been a regular (if short) Pixar movie if it had all been stitched together -- and I suppose you could binge it that way. But it works well as bite-sized returns to one of Pixar's most successful franchises (both creatively and financially) -- and seems better this way than attempting to bill it as, say, "Inside Out 3." There are cameo appearances from the emotions in Riley's brain (still voiced by Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, and the rest), and we do see bits of Riley in the real world -- but this really is centered on an entirely new cast of characters.

Because Inside Out is such a well-realized world with such creative potential, this TV spin-off starts with a leg up. And yet, they kind of keep telling variations of the same story: one obsessive character thinks they know what's best for Riley, and must learn that Riley is becoming a different, more developed person. Dream Productions' character of Paula Persimmon is especially similar to Joy in many ways. The show isn't bad... but the third bite at the same apple isn't as tasty.

If the structure is similar, though, the trappings are fun and different. The show spins a lot of Hollywood humor out of making dreams-as-movies. Fun ideas about adolescence are introduced, such as Riley imagining a "Canadian boyfriend." And the performances are fun. In particular, give me Maya Rudolph in any comedy and I'll lap it up; here she plays the studio head at Dream Productions.

I'd give Dream Productions a B. If somehow the Inside Out movies didn't win you over, I can't imagine this will. But if the premise charms you, I think you'll enjoy the trip back inside Riley's head.