Reviews

Jan 28, 2015
Mixed Feelings
Overview:

Time to look at a genre that I have completely neglected in my previous reviews. The world of anime children's movies! What better place to start then with Little Nemo, the first anime movie ever to see widespread theatrical release in the United States? This was 1992, so I was only 4 when this came out in theaters and it...was an experience. I remember that much from my first viewing, but I didn't re-watch this film until recently.

Background:

Although released stateside in 1992, Little Nemo was actually made in 1989. I mention this because it was an odd period for kids movies. This was the 1980s, right before the "Disney Renaissance" of bright, cheerful, musical kid's movies. The 1980s was a time when nearly ALL the kids movies tried to be dark, daring, and really push the envelope. Sometimes this resulted in masterpieces like The Neverending Story from West Germany, Miyazaki's Nausicca, and America's Secret of Nimh. Other times this attempt to be "dark and edgy" led to nothing but batshit insanity with nightmare fuel imagery for no reason, exemplified by films like The Brave Little Toaster. Little Nemo...is much more Toaster than Nausicca.

Plot: 5/10

The plot is very loosely based on a 1905 American comic about a boy that falls asleep and has adventures in dreamland. He must help Morpheus the king of dreamland defeat the evil king of the nightmare world. At least the fact that he IS dreaming explains the very surrealist imagery, along with all the scenes young children would find disturbing. He is in the nightmare world after all, unlike Toaster where twisted, freaky shit just happens at complete random! In the end, Nemo defeats the Nightmare King, realizes it was all a dream (the cliche' award goes to...) and goes to the circus with his family. There really isn't much to say about the plot because Nemo is a purely visual experience. Unlike the 3 masterpiece children's films I mentioned above, Nemo doesn't really tackle complex issues or themes. It doesn't have a deep message with layers of symbolism for adults to enjoy like Nausicca or Neverending Story. It is an interesting little visual experience, but not really much else.

Characters: 3/10

The characters in this movie are honestly really bland. Nemo himself is a very 2D character and the most memorable character is an obnoxious clown played by Japan's favorite comedian Mickey Roony! At least he isn't dressed up in "yellow face" in this movie. Instead the clown is drawn with what looks suspiciously like "black face" because that's...better?

Sound: 5/10

It has a kind of catchy opening theme, but it is VERY misleading since it is so cheerful and light, yet this movie is mostly not.

Overall: 5/10

Little Nemo was a box office disaster losing over 30 million dollars, which was a big deal in 1992. The film was critically panned by Roger Ebert, and most of the other elite American film critics of that time. Honestly, I don't blame them. The art and animation was good at times, but that is really the only thing positive I have to say about this movie. I have met a few other people my age that actually liked this POS, but then again my generation liked Space Jam. Overall, I wouldn't really bother seeing Little Nemo unless you are very interested in anime history or just morbidly curious.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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