DROMMABYAGGERNE/ DREAMBUILDERS. Denmark, 2020. Voices of Robyn Dempsey, Emma Jenkins, Luke Griffin, Tom Hale, Karen Ardiff, Brendan McDonald. Directed by Kim Hagen Jensen. 85 minutes. Rated PG (Mild themes)
A question for a reviewer. Here is a fantasy film for a very young audience, a young audience of girls, who will never read the review. There is a hope that parents/grandparents might read the review and find it helpful. So, how to review it?
The point of view of the reviewer is rather important: whether the reviewer has children or not (grandchildren or not). Will they be able to gauge how children at the various stages of their life will respond to the film, draw on their own experiences, draw on their own limited experiences and their discovery of the movies/television programs/streaming?
So, one solution is for the reviewer to ask questions and to speculate on answers.
The story of Dreambuilders is a story of broken families, families joining together, difficulties, clashes, memories of parents… In fact, this is rather a tough world and so it is for the children in this film. Twelve-year-old Minna’s life is turned upside down as new bonus sister Jenny moves in. Jenny is a nuisance and Minna wants her out of her life! Bonding to parents, wary of alternate parents – and the clash between two little girls, one our heroine who starts to become mean, the other obnoxiousness personified. How will little girls and the audience identify with Minna and Jenny and their stressful situations?
And what about the dreams? One night, Minna meets the Dreambuilders and discovers that she can change Jenny by changing her dreams. And the enjoyable fantasy of Minna discovering another life in her dreams, her meeting the various gnomish, elvish characters who create the stages of the scenarios for the dreams, are busy-busy with their work, a bit fearful of their demanding boss and his visits. Will the audience be happy to identify with Minna and the life in her dreams, creating them, seeing her father’s dream and his eating sardines for his birthday, and waking up to find has a taste for sardines!
And what about Jenny in the dreams? Are the girls and the audience identifying with Jenny and her imperious demands and taking over? Are they identifying with Minna, her life with her father disturbed, Jenny and her mother encamping in the house? And, Jenny’s instant dislike to Minna’s hamster (who is actually named Viggo Mortensen, the young audience would have to be strong film buffs to get this reference!). Will they enjoy all the activities that Minna gets up to in trying to influence Jenny, to get her to love Viggo, to persuade her to buy the dowdy pullover that she wears, to cope with Jenny’s bearable change of attitude after she wakes up?
And what about the final peril, the fact that all the discarded sets and props from the dreams stages fall into a chasm of rubbish, that Jenny falls into it, is in coma in her bedroom, that Minna will have to change attitudes and try to rescue Jenny?
Well, of course, happy endings and resolutions – and 80 minutes of animation from Denmark, with a range of voices from Irish actors, has gone by. And here is a possible review!
Rialto
Released 8 January
Peter Malone MSC is an associate Jesuit Media
