At the start of In Your Dreams, a new DreamWorks Animation movie available to stream on Netflix on November 14, 2025, we meet a 12-year-old girl named Stevie. She is stressed. Her mind sparkles with idyllic childhood memories, but her present situation hardly resembles those happier times. Her parents are getting divorced<\/a>, and she convinces herself that it\u2019s her responsibility to heal their relationship.<\/p>\n When her 8-year-old brother, Elliot, stumbles on a book which reveals that the Sandman, who controls the world of dreams, can grant wishes, she latches onto the idea that this mythical being can restore her family\u2019s happiness.<\/p>\n But first, she and Elliot have to face their nightmares to get to him\u2014and that includes a city populated by rotting breakfast food<\/a>. And, in Stevie\u2019s case, it means appearing in a popular department store completely naked (but then again who hasn\u2019t had that nightmare).<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a girl who is so desperate to fix her family that she\u2019ll brave her literal nightmares just for a chance to do so. Her desperation and drive is something that a lot of type-A tweens could relate to,\u201d Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, 20, who voices Stevie in the movie, tells Parents. \u201cAll she sees is that something she thought was perfect has changed, and her distress pushes her to find the Sandman.\u201d<\/p>\n Stevie is worrying about how chaotic and unmanageable her life might become when her parents divorce, while bickering with ever optimistic and upbeat brother Elliot.<\/p>\n Her worries infuses the film with a darker tone that viewers might not find in other kids\u2019 movies, but the tweens watching might be able to relate to her feelings of responsibility and concern for her parents. Yet, because she\u2019s still a young kid, she doesn\u2019t quite fully grasp how layered and complex the decision to maintain a family unit\u2014or to break it apart\u2014might be for the adults in the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cShe thinks a black and white solution can fix a problem filled with so much complicated grey, and her reckoning with that reality is extremely difficult,\u201d explains Hoang-Rappaport.<\/p>\n Sometimes, kids try to be brave when it feels like their families are falling apart. That’s can be the case even when parents try to hide conflict.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was a kid and my parents were going through challenges,\u201d Alex Woo, the film\u2019s director, says, \u201cI could always feel it, even when they pretended that everything was fine.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s what Stevie wants to do too\u2014pretend everything is fine, though her inner world is marred by the loss of control she feels when her parents argue. And she\u2019d rather try to fix the situation on her own. It\u2019s a mindset that will feel familiar to both adults and older kids.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember getting the audition sides and thinking, \u2018Wow, they\u2019re not shying away from Stevie\u2019s pain in this,\u2019\u201d says Hoang-Rappaport. \u201cThe movie affirms that feeling hurt by those experiences is perfectly normal and worthy of acknowledging, but it also doesn\u2019t pretend we can just wish the bad times away. I mean, that\u2019s quite literally what Stevie tries to do.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, it\u2019s the film\u2019s refusal to downplay, dismiss, or gloss over Stevie\u2019s reaction to her tumultuous family circumstances that makes the movie work. Too often we see teens and tween dismissed as dramatic or overly-emotional, but Steveie\u2019s perspective is portrayed with respect and nuance.<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
What’s the Plot of ‘In Your Dreams’?<\/h2>\n
‘In Your Dreams’ Has a Darker Tone Than Most Kids’ Movies<\/h2>\n
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The Protagonist’s Mental Health Takes Center Stage<\/h2>\n
‘In Your Dreams’ Could Be a Catalyst for a Heart-To-Heart With Your Kid<\/h2>\n