Starring: Jason Momoa, Marlow Barkley, Chris O’Dowd, Kyle Chandler, Weruche Opia, India de Beaufort, Humberly González
OUR RATING: ★★☆☆☆
Story:
Netflix fantasy adventure directed by Francis Lawrence. Slumberland (2022) follows Nemo (Marlow Barkley), a young girl who discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric character as guide, Flip (Jason Momoa), hopes that she will be able to see her late father again.
Our Favorite Quotes:
'Being brave isn't about not being scared. It's about doing what you have to do, even when you are.' - Agent Green (Slumberland) Share on X
Best Quotes
Agent Green: People think dreams are an escape. A chance to slip away from waking life to a world with no consequence. But that’s not true. Your dreams don’t just happen. We make them happen. And we design them with care just for you. We have our reasons, and we have our rules. We make your dreams to help you on your journey. And where this one’s going, she’s going to need all the help she can get.
Peter: What is a lighthouse for?
Nemo: To keep ships safe.
Peter: No. That’s not what it’s for. But when you can answer that question, I’ll give you the key to the lighthouse, and that’s a promise.
Peter: [telling a story to Nemo] Now, one day old Flippy comes up to me, and he says, “Guess what I’ve heard.” He’s heard about these Pearls. Magic Pearls. You get one of these Pearls, and you can wish for whatever you want. The trouble was that these Pearls can only be found in the most dangerous waters known to mankind. The Sea of Nightmares.
Nemo: Wait. You can’t stop now.
Peter: What? You mean during the scary part?
Nemo: It wasn’t scary. It was a potentially interesting start to a story.
Nemo: Carla, where’s my dad?
Carla: Nemo, he’s gone, honey. He’s gone.
Carla: Your dad left instructions. If anything ever happened to him, he wanted you to go and stay with your uncle in the city.
Nemo: But I have to take care of the lighthouse.
Carla: Nemo, you can’t live alone.
Nemo: But I can do it. I know how. He’s taught me everything.
Carla: I’m sorry, honey.
Pastor: “For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place. The flood may bear me far. I hope to see my Pilot face to face when I have crost the bar.”
Philip: [to Nemo, referring to the lock] That’s not a toy. This is an antique. Came from a prison cell in Alcatraz. In case I need to lock you in your room. I’m not going to lock you in your room. That was humor.
'Schools are basically prisons. They keep kids locked up physically and mentally, prepare them for jobs that are also basically prisons, until they retire and go to a nursing home. Their final prison.' - Nemo (Slumberland) Share on X
Nemo: Who are you?
Flip: Nobody? I’m just one of those weird things that happens in dreams. Ignore me. I’m leaving now.
Nemo: What are you doing here? And where’s my dad?
Flip: Nobody told you?
Nemo: I know what happened.
Flip: Well, your dad and I were partners a long time ago, before he went straight and had a kid. Big mistake, in my opinion.
Flip: Mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Named Flip.
Nemo: You’re Flip? I thought you were something my dad made up. And you’re different than I imagined.
Flip: Handsomer? More “gorgeouser”, if you will?
Nemo: Hairier. And smellier.
Nemo: I mean, I know you’re not real, but I always pictured like a normal human being.
Flip: Okay, you just said like four insulting things on top of each other. Rude.
Nemo: Hey, you can’t just bust in here like some kind of thief.
Flip: You say thief like it’s a bad thing. A thief just takes things that don’t belong to them.
Nemo: You can’t take things from other people’s dreams.
Flip: Sure you can. You just got to know how to get in and get out.
'The real world is bigger than you thought.' - Flip (Slumberland) Share on X
Flip: I’m in your dream.
Nemo: You’re just a figment of my imagination.
Flip: You wish you could dream up something this good. Look at that. I look good.
Flip: I’m going on a little treasure hunt, and this treasure is magic. Lets you wish for whatever you want here in Slumberland.
Nemo: I could see my dad again.
Flip: Oh, yeah. You can see your dad again. Right here, every night.
Philip: This place should be amazing. It costs a fortune.
Nemo: My dad said schools are basically prisons. They keep kids locked up physically and mentally, prepare them for jobs that are also basically prisons, until they retire and go to a nursing home. Their final prison.
Philip: School is not a prison.
Nemo: Can I leave whenever I want to?
Philip: It’s a little like a prison.
Ms. Arya: Do you know what the most resilient thing on earth is? It’s not titanium.
Philip: Is it tungsten? It has a higher tensile strength…
Ms. Arya: The human spirit.
Philip: Oh, you mean metaphorically.
Ms. Arya: [to Nemo] What you’re going through, it’s hard. But you know what? You are stronger than you know.
'Life is what happens when you're awake.' - Philip (Slumberland) Share on X
Jamal: [referring to his friends] Those are my Undeadheads. We dress up as zombies and watch zombie movies. It’s cooler than it sounds, I think.
Philip: [after he shows Nemo how to pick a lock] Houdini who? Houdini me. That’s Houdini who. That’s a little mantra. You don’t have to say that. Want to have a go?
Nemo: I’m a little doorknobbed out.
Nemo: I found the map.
Flip: I knew I liked you.
Nemo: You tried to kill me.
Flip: I was trying to wake you up. Everybody knows you can’t die in your dreams.
Nemo: [referring to the map] You told me about this in my dream, and then I find it in the Waking World. How is that possible?
Flip: Maybe the real world’s bigger than you thought.
Nemo: Hey! It’s my map. You can’t just take it.
Flip: Yeah, well, I hate to break it to you, kid. Taking people’s stuff’s kind of my thing.
'We don't give you what you want. We give you what you need.' - Agent Green (Slumberland) Share on X
Nemo: You said you can’t die in a dream.
Flip: I said you can’t die in your dream. You die in your dream, you wake up. You die in someone else’s dream, you don’t wake up. Ever.
Nemo: I don’t care. I’m coming.
Flip: [referring to the book] What is this? Extraordinary Knobs.
Nemo: It’s my Uncle Philip’s. He’s a doorknob salesman. He has no friends, no life, and he makes me go to school.
Flip: What a monster.
Flip: What the heck is that?
Nemo: He’s a pig, and his name is Pig.
Flip: Super creative. Fine. Bring him. I love bacon.
Nemo: I could see my dad again?
Flip: If you don’t die. Which you probably will. Oh, my God. Your dad would kill me if he knew I was doing this.
'No dream lasts forever. Sooner or later, they all fade.' - Agent Green (Slumberland) Share on X
Flip: Alright. We go through this door, everything changes. You slip up, you’re dead. You’ll never see the Waking World again.
Nemo: Okay. What are we waiting for?
Flip: That’s the spirit.
Flip: [to Nemo] Alright. Welcome to my world, kid. Brand-new dream, still under construction.
Flip: [to Nemo] Elegante. Spanish for “I look good”. I’m a flipping outlaw, so I don’t play by the rules. But here’s the rules. Rule number one, keep a low profile. You don’t want to get caught messing around in other people’s dreams. Trust me. If the dream pigs catch you, they will…
Flip: [as Pig oinks behind them] Oh. My bad, buddy.
'Things get darkest right before the dawn. The world's stupid that way.' - Philip (Slumberland) Share on X
Flip: If the dream cops catch you, they will lock you up and throw away the key. Doomed to rot in a dingy Bureau prison cell for all of eternity, till you cease to exist entirely. So, blend in.
Nemo: Yeah. Because you totally blend in.
Flip: [to Nemo] Rule number two, stay focused. We’re not here to have fun, okay? We get in, we find the next door, then we get out. Onto the next dream. Our one and only mission is finding those Pearls.
Trailer: