‘Slumberland’ Ending Explained: Is Nemo Able to Find Her Dad?
Welcome to the Ending Explained for Slumberland, a new fantasy adventure film now available on Netflix. Slumberland is the biggest release on Netflix this week, and it really shows that the streaming service is capable of releasing films that are way above the average when it wants to. The film is directed by Francis Lawrence, who right now is working on the Bioshock adaptation, also for Netflix, and stars Jason Momoa, and Marlow Barkley. The film is one of Netflix’s biggest productions, with a reported budget of almost $150 million.
The film has all the characteristics of a big-budget Hollywood production and makes heavy use of visual effects to compose the inside of the dream realm, where most of the adventure takes place. The visual effects are quite impressive sometimes, but they never become something that might deceive your senses. You definitely notice when something is fake, and it is not. The script also falls short of a great adventure because the stakes are just not high enough. Yes, the core of the story has emotional weight, but from the beginning, you know exactly what is going to happen.
The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Slumberland. Read at your own risk.
How Can Nemo See Her Dad Again?
The film begins by introducing us to Nemo and her dad, Peter. They live, the two of them alone, in a lighthouse, where Peter serves as the caretaker. Nemo is homeschooled, and she and her dad have fun together in multiple ways. Life seems to be going well, and their routine allows them to be close to each other and happy with life. Peter is used to telling Nemo stories about him and his imaginary friend Flip, and she finds the story comforting enough to go to sleep.
One day, in a dreadful storm, Peter goes out to the sea to help a ship that is having problems in the storm. This is something Peter has done many times before, and Nemo is ready to do what he must if, for example, the power goes out. However, this time is different, and Peter doesn’t come back from his trip to the ocean. He dies during the storm, and Nemo is left alone. The authorities call Philip, Nemo’s uncle and the younger brother of Peter, and he decides to take care of her.
Nemo is sent for the first time to school, and she feels like a prisoner there. She discovers her uncle is not a very fun person. He is not a bad person by any means, but he is just so boring. He sells doorknobs as a profession. However, when she sleeps, Nemo crosses over to the world of dreams, where she meets Flip, his father’s imaginary friend. Flip wants to find a pearl that can grant any wish, and for that, he needs a map that Peter had. Flip promises Nemo that if they work together, she can wish to see her father again using the Pearl.
Nemo finds the map and goes into agreement with Flip to help each other find the pearls. She sets up a hammock in the school’s basement and sleeps there during school to travel to the world of dreams and maximize her time in the sleeping world.
Is Nemo Able To Find Her Dad?
Flip takes Nemo with him to find the pearls, but that is not exactly legal. They are being pursued by Agent Green, an agent in service of the dream bureau. She captures Nemo and before waking her up, she tells her the pearls are just a myth. However, Nemo keeps dreaming and keeps getting closer to Flip. It is revealed that Flip’s dream is to wake up. If you spend too much time in the dream world, you forget who you are in the waking world. This happened to Flip, and he doesn’t know who he is.
Back in the waking world, Nemo is having a hard time with her uncle. But she discovers that when he and her dad used to be kids, they would play to have adventures, and Philip would take the name of Flip. Nemo realizes that all the stories her father told her were not about some imaginary friend, but about his little brother Philip. However, when Peter left the house, Philip stopped dreaming, and it was at that moment that Flip got caught in the dreaming world. This is the reason her uncle is so boring, his physical form and his alter-ego in the dream world are separated.
In the dream world, Nemo is followed by something called a nightmare. Agent Green explains to Nemo that the creature will follow her until the moment when she lets go of whatever is making her suffer. Flip rescues her, and they discover the last place on the map, a representation of the lighthouse in the dreaming world. Nemo grabs the pearls, but the nightmare attacks, Flip jumps to the rescue, but the nightmare is too strong. Having only one pearl, Nemo wishes for Flip to wake up, and he disappears from the dream world.
In the real world, Nemo has also returned to the lighthouse in the middle of the storm, but she has almost drowned in the ocean. The coastal guard and her uncle are there to rescue her. In the dream world, Nemo picks up one more pearl and sees her dad again. They spend time together, but she realizes she must wake up because life goes on. When she wakes up, she discovers that Flip is back with Philip and that his entire demeanor has changed. The movie ends with both Nemo and Philip starting new lives in the real world, but not forgetting the importance of dreaming of something more.
