Pixar fans have been waiting patiently for the iconic animation studio to release its first fully produced, in-house television series. Since 2020, Win or Lose has been positioned to carry that honor. However, that has now changed. Instead, Inside Out’s spin-off series Dream Productions will mark Pixar’s first foray into television when the limited series premieres on Disney+ on December 11th as part of the 2024 TV schedule.
While the new release date was announced back in September, a day before Inside Out 2 became available to stream on Disney+, there was no teaser trailer to go with it. Thankfully, that has changed. Just three weeks before the premiere, Pixar has finally released the trailer for Dream Productions, and as a massive Inside Out fan, I’m happy to report that it looks amazing! But as excited as I am for the new show, I can’t help but feel confused about the timeline the creators’ chose for it.
Dream Productions Looks Like A Really Fun Show
When the project was first announced, Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer, Pete Docter, revealed that it would be a mockumentary-style show centered around the team of creatives responsible tasked with bringing Riley’s dreams (and nightmares) to life. Fans briefly met the Dream Productions characters in the first film when Joy, Sadness and Bing Bong turn an awkward dream into a nightmare in the hopes of waking Riley up so they can take a train back to headquarters.
While I admit I was a bit apprehensive about the project when I first learned about it, seeing the trailer has extinguished a lot of my fears. There seems to be a strong arc at play with Paula Persimmon’s job as Riley’s daydream director at stake due to a series of bad dreams as of late. With her job on the line, Paula clashes with Xeni, another dream director who has a different vision than the one Paula’s been using for years now.
In addition to the dream workers, the series will also feature Riley and the original five emotions in some capacity. Based on the trailer, the four episodes are going to be packed full of the kind of humor and emotion that will alter viewers' brain chemistry, as both Inside Out films have done.
But I Don't Understand Why They Set It Before The Events Of Inside Out 2
As excited as I am for Pixar’s first television show and the Inside Out franchise growing, I don’t understand why Dream Productions takes place when it does. According to the trailer, the series occurs between the first and second films, meaning the new emotions fans fell in love with will not be present.
Now, I can see where Pixar is coming from. Since production on the show began before Inside Out 2 was released, it makes sense that the writers would have been skeptical about including the new characters since they had no idea how audiences would react to them. However, since the sequel became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, it feels odd to have Anxiety and the rest of the new emotions missing.
Not to mention, the limited series will feature a slightly younger Riley than we saw in the sequel, which could limit her dream potential. I think it would have been more interesting to see how the Dream Workers struggle to deal with Riley’s adolescence in the same way the emotions had to grapple with the change in the sequel.
Maybe if Dream Productions is a hit and becomes one of Disney+'s best original shows, Pixar will reconsider its limited series status and upgrade it to a full-fledged television show that could include all nine of Riley’s emotions. For now, we have the four episodes to look forward to, which will be available to all those with a Disney+ subscription on December 11th.
