Audience RatedPint-Sized ReviewsStreaming MoviesWoke-ish

In Your Dreams

In Your Dreams is a fast-paced but forgettable family adventure that coasts on solid pacing and colorful visuals while lacking emotional depth and meaningful storytelling.
18228
Starring
Hailey Magpali, Simu Liu, Cristin Milioti
Directors
Erik Benson, Alexander Woo
Rating
PG
Genre
Adventure, Comedy, Children, Fantasy
Release date
Nov 14, 2025
Where to watch
Netflix
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Story/Plot/Script
Visuals/Cinematography
Performance
Direction
Age Appropriate
Parent Appeal
Non-Wokeness
Rating Summary
In Your Dreams tackles a subject that might not be the best for those looking for a fun family movie night. Moreover, its somewhat unearned conclusion doesn't provide much in the way of a satisfying closure.

Boss Baby did it better.

In Your Dreams is a 2024 Netflix animated movie about two young siblings, Stevie and Max, who enter a magical dreamworld every night. There, they meet the Sandman, who grants wishes, but things get complicated when their parents’ troubled marriage starts bleeding into their dreams. With the help of some quirky creatures, the kids try to fix their family while navigating weird, shifting dream landscapes.

In Your Dreams REVIEW

An older child who learns to like a younger sibling is nothing new in children's movies. There are dozens of examples, and while Netflix's In Your Dreams certainly isn't the best example, neither is it the worst.

In Your Dreams is a high-energy tale with a lot going for it, at least as far as direct-to-streaming content goes. The voice talent is solid, the animation is slightly north of generic, and there's just enough originality and whimsy to entertain the kids without making parents regret their life choices.

Arguably, the best thing this flick has going for it is its pacing. Unlike the recently released Wicked: For Good, which is all but ruined by its stuttering storytelling, In Your Dreams' pacing is excellent. It's brisk and bouncy, and even though the story only makes a perfunctory attempt to reach the deeper psychological and emotional notes intrinsic to its plot, structurally, it's smooth and seamless. What it lacks in narrative texture, it makes up for in flow and efficiency.

The resulting family film is, unless you're sitting down to critique it, moderately enjoyable. Too bad the filmmakers weren't as concerned with messaging.

Parental Notes

PARENTAL NOTES

Important Information for Parents

Our Parental Notes flag the material parents may want to know about before pressing play, including profanity, blasphemy, adult content, extreme violence, frightening intensity, hyper-stimulating sequences, and other family-content concerns.

UNLOCK PARENTAL NOTES.Profanity, blasphemy, adult content, extreme violence, hyper-stimulating intensity, and more.
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James Carrick

James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.

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  1. aroh100876 November 19, 2025 at

    Spoilers, don’t continue reading if you don’t want to know what happens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Spoiler
    I’m surprised the family stayed together at the end, I was really expecting for it to break up…

    And yes, I just so the whole movie to decide if my daughter is gonna watch it. I guess she can watch it this weekend if she wants.

    Reply

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'wiow_build_ratings_share_image_square' : (isAudience ? 'wiow_build_audience_share_image_square' : 'wiow_build_share_image_square'); var payload = new URLSearchParams(); payload.append('action', action); payload.append('post_id', String(postId)); payload.append('share_context', kind); if (kind === 'ratings-admin') { payload.append('admin', '1'); } if (kind === 'ratings-question' || kind === 'audience-question' || kind === 'critics-question') { payload.append('questions', '1'); payload.append('mode', 'questions'); } if (kind === 'audience-teaser' || kind === 'critics-teaser') { payload.append('mode', 'teaser'); } if (cycleImageUrl) { payload.append('cycle_image_url', cycleImageUrl); } if (posterUrl) { payload.append('poster_url', posterUrl); } if (options.force) { payload.append('force', '1'); } if (options.reset) { payload.append('reset_combo', '1'); } var res = await fetch('https://worthitorwoke.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php', { method: 'POST', credentials: 'same-origin', headers: {'Content-Type':'application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8'}, body: payload.toString() }); var data = await res.json(); if (!data || !data.success || !data.data){ throw new Error((data && data.data && data.data.message) ? data.data.message : 'Square share build failed.'); } return { image_url: data.data.image_url, share_url: data.data.share_url || sharePage, cycle_image_url: data.data.cycle_image_url || cycleImageUrl || '', poster_url: data.data.poster_url || posterUrl || '' }; } window.__wiowRefreshShareOptions = async function(win){ if (!wiowCanAdminNext || !window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext || !window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext.row) return false; var ctx = window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext; var row = ctx.row; var heading = ctx.heading || 'Share options'; var targetWin = win || ctx.win; try { renderShareOptionsLoadingWindow(targetWin, heading); var built = await buildShareImage(row, { force:true }); var builtSquare = await buildShareSquareImage(row, built.cycle_image_url || '', built.poster_url || '', { force:true }); if (!built || !built.image_url || !builtSquare || !builtSquare.image_url) throw new Error('Share build failed.'); window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext = { row: row, heading: heading, win: targetWin }; renderShareOptionsWindow(targetWin, built.image_url, builtSquare.image_url, built.share_url || row.getAttribute('data-share-page') || '', heading); } catch(err) { if (targetWin && !targetWin.closed) { var msg = (err && err.message) ? err.message : 'Could not build next combo.'; targetWin.document.open(); targetWin.document.write('

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'); targetWin.document.close(); } } return false; }; // Unified capture-phase share handler. Chrome incognito can allow the visual // pointer animation while another script prevents the later bubbling click // handler from ever running. Handle all top-level share buttons here first. document.addEventListener('click', async function(e){ var targetEl = e.target && e.target.nodeType === 1 ? e.target : (e.target && e.target.parentElement ? e.target.parentElement : null); var btn = targetEl && targetEl.closest ? targetEl.closest('.wiow-share-btn') : null; if (!btn) return; // Ignore the Audience modal "Rate" button (it also has wiow-share-btn class in your CSS usage) if (btn.hasAttribute('data-wiow-audience-open')) return; var row = btn.closest('[data-wiow-share="1"], .wiow-share-row'); if (!row) return; var platform = btn.getAttribute('data-platform'); // Public top-level controls must work even when AJAX generation or membership-gated data is unavailable. // Options still uses the full image-builder path below. if (platform === 'x' || platform === 'link') { e.preventDefault(); e.stopPropagation(); var quickStatus = row.querySelector('.wiow-share-status'); var quickUrl = btn.getAttribute('data-copy-url') || row.getAttribute('data-share-page') || row.getAttribute('data-post-url') || wiowShareFallbackUrl(row); if (!quickUrl) { if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = 'No share URL available.'; return; } if (platform === 'x') { openPopup(btn.getAttribute('href') || btn.getAttribute('data-wiow-x-intent') || wiowShareXIntentUrl(row)); if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = ''; return; } if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = 'Copying link…'; var copiedQuick = await wiowCopyShareText(quickUrl); var quickLabel = btn.querySelector('.wiow-share-btn__label'); var quickOriginal = quickLabel ? quickLabel.textContent : 'Copy link'; if (copiedQuick) { if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = 'Link copied.'; if (quickLabel) { quickLabel.textContent = 'Copied!'; window.setTimeout(function(){ quickLabel.textContent = quickOriginal || 'Copy link'; }, 1500); } } else { if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = 'Could not copy link.'; } return; } e.preventDefault(); var previewWin = null; if (platform === 'copy') { previewWin = openShareOptionsWindow(); var preloadKind = (row.getAttribute('data-share-kind') || 'critics').trim().toLowerCase(); var preloadHeading = (preloadKind === 'audience' || preloadKind === 'audience-teaser' || preloadKind === 'audience-question') ? 'Audience share options' : ((preloadKind === 'ratings' || preloadKind === 'ratings-admin' || preloadKind === 'ratings-question') ? 'Ratings share options' : 'Critic share options'); renderShareOptionsLoadingWindow(previewWin, preloadHeading); } var statusEl = row.querySelector('.wiow-share-status'); if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = (platform === 'link') ? 'Copying link…' : 'Preparing share…'; try { var publicShareUrl = wiowShareFallbackUrl(row); var publicPostTitle = (row.getAttribute('data-post-title') || '').trim(); if (!publicPostTitle) publicPostTitle = 'this'; var publicShareKind = (row.getAttribute('data-share-kind') || 'critics').trim().toLowerCase(); var publicUpperTitle = publicPostTitle.toUpperCase(); var publicLineTwo = (publicShareKind === 'audience' || publicShareKind === 'audience-teaser' || publicShareKind === 'audience-question') ? 'See what the audience is saying.' : ((publicShareKind === 'ratings' || publicShareKind === 'ratings-admin' || publicShareKind === 'ratings-question') ? 'See the Worth it or Woke score.' : 'See what sane critics say.'); var publicBaseText = 'Is ' + publicUpperTitle + ' Worth it or Woke?\n\n' + publicLineTwo + '\n\nFollow @worthitorwoke for more.'; // Public top-level X and Copy Link controls should not depend on AJAX image generation. // The share URL itself carries the OG/Twitter metadata; scrapers can generate/fetch the image from that URL. if ((platform === 'x' || platform === 'link') && publicShareUrl) { if (platform === 'link') { var copiedPublicLink = await wiowCopyShareText(publicShareUrl); var publicLabel = btn.querySelector('.wiow-share-btn__label'); var publicOriginalLabel = publicLabel ? publicLabel.textContent : ''; if (copiedPublicLink) { if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Link copied.'; if (publicLabel) { publicLabel.textContent = 'Copied!'; window.setTimeout(function(){ publicLabel.textContent = publicOriginalLabel || 'Copy link'; }, 1500); } } else { if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Could not copy link.'; } return; } openPopup('https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=' + encodeURIComponent(publicBaseText) + '&url=' + encodeURIComponent(publicShareUrl)); if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = ''; return; } var built; var builtSquare = null; if (platform === 'copy') { // Build the landscape first so it chooses exactly one featured/gallery cycle image, // then pass that same image to the square builder. This prevents two square // outputs or mismatched gallery states in the Share Options window. built = await buildShareImage(row, { force:true }); builtSquare = await buildShareSquareImage(row, built.cycle_image_url || '', built.poster_url || '', { force:true }); if (!built || !built.image_url) { throw new Error('Landscape share build failed.'); } if (!builtSquare || !builtSquare.image_url) { throw new Error('Square share build failed.'); } } else { built = await buildShareImage(row); } var shareUrl = built.share_url; var postUrl = (row.getAttribute('data-post-url') || '').trim() || shareUrl; var postTitle = (row.getAttribute('data-post-title') || '').trim(); if (!postTitle) postTitle = 'this'; var shareKind = (row.getAttribute('data-share-kind') || 'critics').trim().toLowerCase(); var upperTitle = postTitle.toUpperCase(); var lineTwo = (shareKind === 'audience' || shareKind === 'audience-teaser' || shareKind === 'audience-question') ? 'See what the audience is saying.' : ((shareKind === 'ratings' || shareKind === 'ratings-admin' || shareKind === 'ratings-question') ? 'See the Worth it or Woke score.' : 'See what sane critics say.'); var baseText = 'Is ' + upperTitle + ' Worth it or Woke?\n\n' + lineTwo + '\n\nFollow @worthitorwoke for more.'; var textWithUrl = baseText + '\n\n' + shareUrl; var postTextWithUrl = baseText + '\n\n' + postUrl; var encodedUrl = encodeURIComponent(shareUrl); var encodedBaseText = encodeURIComponent(baseText); var encodedTextWithUrl = encodeURIComponent(textWithUrl); if (platform === 'link') { var copiedLink = await wiowCopyShareText(shareUrl); var label = btn.querySelector('.wiow-share-btn__label'); var originalLabel = label ? label.textContent : ''; if (copiedLink) { if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Link copied.'; if (label) { label.textContent = 'Copied!'; window.setTimeout(function(){ label.textContent = originalLabel || 'Copy link'; }, 1500); } } else { if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Could not copy link.'; } return; } if (platform === 'x'){ // X gets the URL through the intent URL parameter, so do not also duplicate it in the tweet text. openPopup('https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=' + encodedBaseText + '&url=' + encodedUrl); } else if (platform === 'facebook'){ // Facebook sharing has been intentionally removed from this plugin flow. if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Facebook sharing is currently disabled.'; } else if (platform === 'copy'){ var heading = (shareKind === 'audience' || shareKind === 'audience-teaser' || shareKind === 'audience-question') ? 'Audience share options' : ((shareKind === 'ratings' || shareKind === 'ratings-admin' || shareKind === 'ratings-question') ? 'Ratings share options' : 'Critic share options'); window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext = { row: row, heading: heading, win: previewWin }; var shown = renderShareOptionsWindow(previewWin, built.image_url, (builtSquare ? builtSquare.image_url : ''), shareUrl, heading); if (!shown) { var copied = false; if (navigator.clipboard && window.isSecureContext && navigator.clipboard.writeText){ try { await navigator.clipboard.writeText(shareUrl); copied = true; } catch (copyErr) {} } if (!copied) { var ta = document.createElement('textarea'); ta.value = shareUrl; ta.setAttribute('readonly', 'readonly'); ta.style.position = 'fixed'; ta.style.opacity = '0'; document.body.appendChild(ta); ta.focus(); ta.select(); ta.setSelectionRange(0, ta.value.length); copied = !!document.execCommand('copy'); ta.remove(); } } } if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = (platform === 'copy') ? 'Ready.' : ''; } catch(err){ if (previewWin && !previewWin.closed) { previewWin.close(); } if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = (err && err.message) ? err.message : 'Could not share.'; } }, true); })();