Dream Productions is the first animated television series to be officially produced by Pixar, which follows a film crew as they try to create Riley's first successful dream as a teenager. And I thought the series was actually pretty good .

I admit that I wasn't originally interested in seeing this show, given how disappointed I was with the Monsters At Work series, but then I learned that Monsters At Work wasn't even produced by Pixar! And that makes sense, since that series is filled with forgettable characters, stiff animation, and a rather unexciting storyline. But, thankfully, this isn't the case with Dream Productions at all. This is a fun series filled with memorable characters, beautifully fluid animation, and a really interesting premise.

Now, I should probably mention that the series doesn't actually revolve around the main characters from Inside Out, but an entirely brand new cast of characters instead. The fan favorite characters do manage to make a few brief cameo appearances, though, but the story isn't inherently about them. And that may disappoints anyone who was looking forward to seeing the further adventures of Fear, Joy, Sadness, Disgust, and Anger, but I actually grew to love the characters in this series far more than I was expecting to .

Now, that may have to do with how the series acts as an obvious metaphor for film productions, because I happen to really enjoy seeing how the production process works.

Will the series work as well for someone who isn't already a film fanatic? Maybe. Some inside jokes and references will probably be lost on the average viewer, but I think the show still fundamentally works in its own right. Probably due to the fact that I did grow to care about the new characters who were introduced here.

So, the story follows a character named Paula Persimmon, who is an acclaimed dream director. Or at least, she was an acclaimed dream director; she's kind of fallen out of touch over the years, especially as Riley is starting to grow up and mature. But I genuinely enjoyed watching the journey that Paula went on here. I even liked how her story was told, in a mockumentary style format. It reminded me of when I used to watch Parks and Rec with my little sister. And I know a lot of shows have adopted this kind of style now, but I can't deny that it was fun to see it in animation specifically. But all of the other characters are fun just as well.

The voice acting is really solid, and the animation, as always, is beautifully done. So, while Dream Productions may be a bit different than Inside Out, it still manages to capture the essence of the original films by providing a fun and creative visual representation of maturity and adolescence.

Dream Productions is a clever, witty, and delightful little series that would definitely get a recommendation from me.

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