Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland

Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
Japanese theatrical release poster
Directed by	Masami Hata William Hurtz
Produced by	Yutaka Fujioka
Screenplay by	Chris Columbus Richard Outten
Story by	Yutaka Fujioka Jean "Mœbius" Giraud
Based on	Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay
Starring	Mickey Rooney René Auberjonois Gabriel Damon
Music by	Thomas Chase Stephen Rucker Richard B. Sherman Robert M. Sherman (songs)
Edited by	Takeshi Seyama
Production company	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Distributed by	Hemdale Film Corporation
Release date	July 15, 1989 (1989-07-15) (Japan: Edited) August 25, 1989 (1989-08-25) (US) August 21, 1992 (1992-08-21) (US)
Running time	95 minutes (Original cut) 84 minutes (Edited cut)
Country	Japan United States
Language	English
Budget	¥3 billion ($35 million)
Box office	$11.4 million

Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, known in Japan as simply Nemo (NEMO/ニモ ), is a 1989 Japanese/American animated adventure fantasy film directed by Masami Hata and William T. Hurtz. Based on the comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay, the film went through a lengthy development process with a number of screenwriters. Ultimately, the screenplay was credited to Chris Columbus and Richard Outten; the storyline and art style differed from the original version. The original soundtrack was penned by the Academy Award-winning Sherman Brothers. It was a box office bomb.

Set in 1905 (the year the Little Nemo comic strip premiered in the New York Herald), the film opens with the young boy Nemo experiencing a nightmare in which he is pursued by a locomotive. Upon awakening the next day, he goes to see a parade welcoming a traveling circus. However, Nemo is unable to see the circus because his father and his mother are too busy to take him. Later that night, Nemo imitates sleepwalking in an attempt to sneak some pie away, which acts against a promise he had made earlier to his mother. Upon falling asleep that night, Nemo is approached by figures from the parade. The circus organist introduces himself as Professor Genius and claims that they had been sent on a mission by King Morpheus, the king of a realm named Slumberland. The mission involves Nemo becoming the playmate of the princess, Camille. Although Nemo initially has reservations about interacting with royalty of the opposite gender, he decides to set off to fulfill his mission after being persuaded with a gift box of cookies from the princess.