Little Nemo in Slumberland (much later renamed for copyright reasons to In the Land of Wonderful Dreams), was a weekly Sunday comic strip written by Winsor McCay, which ran from 1905 to 1914. It featured the strange and surreal dreams of a young boy named Nemo. Strips often ended with Nemo waking up from terrifying situations his dreams had led him to.In 1911 McCay produced a short animated film entitled Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and his Moving Comics, featuring characters from Little Nemo.A feature-length Animated Adaptation, Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, was produced in the late Eighties, in Japan, where it was released in 1989 with limited release in the US. In 1992 a re-cut edition was released in the US. This film also served as the basis for Nemo and Little Nemo: The Dream Master, two Capcom-developed video games for the arcade and NES, respectively, in 1990. The latter ultimately became more well-known than the both the film and the comic itself. A Live-Adaptation was made in 1984, titled Nemo or Dream One.Years and years of Sunday strips, now in the Public Domain in the US, can be found here.The music video to the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' song "Runnin' Down A Dream'' is an homage to the strips, as is the Genesis song "Scenes From A Night's Dream".Not to be confused witha certain CGI clownfish.
The original comic provides examples of:
Abusive Parents: Nemo's parents threaten to spank him for things that he does in his sleep that he really has no control over, like falling out of bed, yelling in his sleep, and even kicking the covers off his bed.
Banister Slide: Nemo and Flip slide down a very long and winding banister in one issue, which ends up going in zig-zags, wavy bumps, and cork screws. It was later also done in the movie.
Barbie Doll Anatomy: There are a surprising amount of nude scenes, but both Nemo and Princess Camille lack anything resembling genitals or nipples.
Bedmate Reveal: There was one installment of the comic strip where Nemo wakes up, thinking his dream has ended, and to his suprise sees Flip in bed next to him, meaning he's still dreaming.
Cigar Chomper: Flip. It carried into the film as well.
Comic Book Time: Although it's also heavily Lampshaded at times, with characters complaining they feel like they've waited "for weeks" for something to happen.
Floorboard Failure: In Little Nemo in Slumberland, Nemo and Flip are served a new kind of breakfast food that gives them a Balloon Belly. The chairs start to collapse underneath their weight, and then the floors, leading to the entire house being demolished.
Have a Gay Old Time: In one comic there's a giant named Boob. Hearing someone say "Wait until I see that Boob!" can make modern readers chuckle.
"I want to stop and rest a bit, I'm fagged out from running!"
Heel Face Turn: Flip does one in the comic, starting out as the main antagonist by waking Nemo up from his dream to eventually becoming Nemo's friend. Though he was never really 'evil' per se, but more of a nuisance. Much later in the comic, he went back to being a nuisance again.
Being a nuisance was only the beginning for Flip. His vindictiveness was what caused the real damage. Whenever the people of Slumberland took measures to keep him from ruining their events by being a major nuisance, he retaliated, often ending up wreaking havoc on parts of Slumberland (or having his uncle melt them). At one point, he has his uncle melt down the whole city. Oddly enough, this same tendency is what also what starts his Heel Face Turn as he saves the group after they're captured by pirates.
Made a Slave: When Flip captures Imp and introduces him to Nemo, he essentially says "He belongs to me now." There's a reason Imp doesn't show up in the animated movie.
Male Frontal Nudity: In an installment where Nemo is taking a bath and ends up swimming through the sea, climbing onto an iceberg and getting chased by a polar bear. Of course, we don't actually ''see'' anything, but he is naked the entire time.
Medium Awareness: In one installment, Nemo, Flip and Imp are so hungry that they begin tearing off lines from their comic panels and knocking down letters from the Little Nemo In Slumberland logo, eating them. Nemo worries that this will upset the artist but Flip maintains that it will teach the person who draws them a lesson. When Flip asks what's in the letters they're eating Nemo replies that it's printer's ink as far as he knows.
And something similar happens in this comic, where eventually the entire panel collapses on itself and Nemo complains to the artist.
Recurring Dreams: The entire comic. Suffice to say, if your dreams keep continuing every night as an ongoing story arc, it's time to see a shrink.
Remember the New Guy: The Professor mainly debuted this way because he was first introduced in a popular Little Nemo stage show based on the comics, which also makes him a Canon Immigrant.
Save the Villain: When Flip was still the antagonist Nemo did save him a few times, most notably when King Morpheus' firing squad was about ready to execute Flip, and Nemo ran in front of him to stop it. Of course Flip was less than grateful, because in the next installment he convinces his Uncle Dawn to bring forth the sun and ruin the King's Thanksgiving dinner by waking everyone up.
Shout Out: The music video for Tom Petty's "Running Down a Dream" is taken straight out of the Little Nemo in Slumberland comics, complete with a Lawyer-Friendly Cameo from Flip, by using a cigar smoking little imp who looked vaguely similar to Flip but different enough.
Sky Pirates: They attack the royal airship in one installment.
Taken for Granite: Nemo is turned into a statue for a week to hide him from Flip in one issue. And the next week Flip gets turned into a statue.
There Are No Therapists: You'd think that Nemo's parents would try to get some sort of help for him, seeing as he appears to wake up screaming from nightmares every night.
Vague Age: We never find out just how old Flip is. He's sometimes referred to as a child, and he's certainly the same height as Nemo, though he has a receding hairline and smokes cigars. At one point he claims to be 23 years old but even that is debatable.
Walk The Plank: In an issue where Nemo, Flip and the princess are abducted by pirates.
Adult Child: Nemo first meets King Morpheus when he's playing with a toy train in a playroom atmosphere.
Ambiguous Gender: In the original comics, Bon Bon (also known as The Candy Kid) was male. In the movie...it's a little less clear. S/he's voiced by a female, but that's quite common for young male characters as well. The longer hair and pastel clothes mean nothing in this film. Fandom tends to be split on this as well.
But You Were There, and You, and You: Nemo sees people very similar in appearance and mannerisms to the characters he meets in Slumberland at the beginning when he goes to watch a circus parade.
Canon Foreigner: Professor Genius, who seems partly based on Dr. Pill from the comics though his appearance is different. Also, Icarus, Nightmareland and the Nightmare King are unique to the film.
Compressed Adaptation: It took Nemo months to finally reach the Princess in the comics, and yet in the film Nemo dreams everything that happens to him in Slumberland in a single night. Of course, doing a plot like the movie has as a weekly comic would probably translate to about one or two years worth of storyline.
Cool and Unusual Punishment: Execution in Slumberland is carried out by firing the convicted into space from a giant cannon.
Cool Train: King Morpheus rides around in a toy one.
Cute Bruiser: Princess Camille, seen when she punches Flip straight in the jaw.
Dream Within a Dream: Happens to Nemo twice. Both times he realizes he's still dreaming when, after waking up from a Catapult Nightmare, he finds the Royal Scepter in his bed.
Et Tu, Brute?: Nemo breaks his promise not to open the Forbidden Door, releasing the Nightmare King and getting King Morpheus kidnapped.
Fantasy World Map: Flip is the only one who has a map of both Slumberland and Nightmareland. Not only that but he's also the only one who can understand it.
Flat Character: Nemo is pretty much the blandest character in the movie.
He's really not all that different from how he was in the comics though.
Getting Crap Past the Radar: So, Princess Camille orders Nemo to her palace from his bed in order to become her 'playmate'?
Princess Camille to Nemo: "Your underwear is rather cute."
The 'sitting in a tree inside cloud/dandelion/cotton candy puffs with clothes strewn about' snippet is certainly worth mentioning, as Nemo and Camille would probably have had to have seen each other naked at some point for them to end up like that.
Must Have Nicotine: Flip continues to sneak cigars even after the princess banned him from smoking any.
My Species Doth Protest Too Much: The Boomps, who are 'good goblins' and are just misunderstood by the other residents of Nightmareland.
Nice Hat: Both Flip and the Professor have nice top hats.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Nemo is the one who unleashes the Nightmare King, after Flip talks him into opening the forbidden door.
Nightmare Sequence: Pretty much the whole second half of the movie, plus the first dream he has.
Or Was It a Dream?: A couple times Nemo wakes up in his bed, thinking that the whole adventure was a dream; only to find the Royal Scepter under the covers of his bed.
Say My Name: By Nemo most of the time, although Princess Camille does her share of it too.
Scenery Porn: If you like Studio Ghibli's penchant for prettiness, you'll like this.
Scooby Dooby Doors: Slight variation. Flip and Nemo run between two rows of large pillars while being chased by guards.
Sealed Evil in a Can: The Nightmare King was being imprisoned behind a giant door beneath Slumberland, and King Morpheus decides to entrust the only key that can open the door to Nemo.
Thanks for the Mammary: Flip accidentally grabs Princess Camille's breasts shortly after they rescue her from water goblins in Nightmareland and gets elbowed for it, in the film.
Then again, she wasn't old enough to really have much in the way of breasts.
Through His Stomach: Nemo initially doesn't care to meet Princess Camille...until Bon Bon presents the cookies she'd prepared as a gift for him, at which point he's all for it.
Little Nemo in Slumberland (much later renamed for copyright reasons to In the Land of Wonderful Dreams), was a weekly Sunday comic strip written by Winsor McCay, which ran from 1905 to 1914. It featured the strange and surreal dreams of a young boy named Nemo. Strips often ended with Nemo waking up from terrifying situations his dreams had led him to.In 1911 McCay produced a short animated film entitled Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and his Moving Comics
, featuring characters from Little Nemo.A feature-length Animated Adaptation, Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, was produced in the late Eighties, in Japan, where it was released in 1989 with limited release in the US. In 1992 a re-cut edition was released in the US. This film also served as the basis for Nemo and Little Nemo: The Dream Master, two Capcom-developed video games for the arcade and NES, respectively, in 1990. The latter ultimately became more well-known than the both the film and the comic itself. A Live-Adaptation was made in 1984, titled Nemo or Dream One.Years and years of Sunday strips, now in the Public Domain in the US, can be found here
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