Just when we thought the “Inside Out” franchise was done, a spin off series called “Dream Productions” was released on Disney+. With the previous release of “Inside Out 2” with a nine-year difference from the first movie, the expectation was that “Inside Out 3” or any other related program would be released a couple of years later, but Disney decided to make a spin-off TV series. It is a four-episode show that has a runtime of about 80 minutes, which focuses on the process of how dreams are made in Riley’s mind.
It is common for many companies to milk a franchise with spin-off shows, but “Dream Productions” did very well with exploring the “Inside Out” world instead of resorting back to the past movies. Each episode was filled with creativity as we followed the main characters, Paula and Xeni, through a documentary-styled look into how dreams are made. The form for making dreams is connected to how movies are made with painted sets, lighting, a cast, a crew and a camera, which acts as Riley. The different genres of themes and how they were directed by each character were clever too.
All the main characters were passionate about creating memorable dreams for Riley, but in their own ways. We were able to explore these ways with Paula, who was stuck with making happy, baby-ish dreams for Riley, or Xeni, who had a different approach to dreams like day-dreaming and improv. Seeing these two forms clash together and be demonstrated to us was surprisingly original compared to knowing how Disney tends to reuse their old ideas in their productions. Paula’s character development was interesting to see too, because she realized Riley was growing up, and the dreams Paula made were not matching with who she was. The change in dream content from age to age made me think about my old dreams and how they differed from years ago to now. This relatable aspect is another great thing from “Dream Productions.”
One of my favorite scenes was seeing imaginary teenage Riley, who was made as a cooler version of Riley with cyan hair, a black choker and makeup. I liked Riley’s character design, and the internet did, too, where edits of teenage Riley dancing had its moment of fame on the internet, as well as people cosplaying as her.
“Dream Productions” had its quick moment of fame, but as all TV shows do, they go up in popularity and then they go down in popularity. This creative spin-off to the “Inside Out” franchise was not disappointing, but with the lack of advertising or amount of episodes, “Dream Productions” will eventually be unrecognizable or unassociated with the “Inside Out” franchise.
