MCU star reveals why he was "floored" by script for new Netflix animated film In Your Dreams

Netflix has already had one huge animated success story this year in K-Pop Demon Hunters – and the streamer will no doubt be hoping that it's latest new film In Your Dreams can achieve similar success.

The animation is the brainchild of Pixar alum Alex Woo, and follows a brother and sister who – along with the former's stuffed toy Baloney Tony – journey into the world of their own dreams to meet The Sandman, hopeful that he will grant them their wish of saving their parents' marriage.

The mother and father in the film are played by The Penguin's Cristin Milioti and Shang-Chi star Simu Liu, and speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, the latter revealed he had been "floored" by how moved he was when Woo first sent him the script in early 2021.

"I mean, that original script had a very different ending and a very different way in which that story played out," he said. "[But] I just felt like the heart of it was so human and so real and really the spirit of it – which I think is unchanged in this final product – is just that idea of, like, families aren't always perfect."

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He continued: "No matter how perfect something may seem, there's always going to be moments of conflict. And it doesn't mean there's a good guy or a bad guy. It just means that your parents are human beings who sometimes want different things or sometimes have a different idea on what the next step forward looks like."

Liu added that he felt this was "such a beautiful message" to give to kids, especially due to how it differed from the more simple ways families can often be presented on screen.

"I think kids internalise a lot of what they see out in the world," he said. "And I think a lot of what we feed them in terms of media, in terms of the families that are shown in television and in movies, tend to feel picturesque and perfect and that's just not true. So I felt like this was an important movie as well."

There was another aspect, too, that attracted Liu to the project: the fact that he got the chance to sing.

"Alex was like, 'Well, first of all, I hate to ask you this, but I kind of need you to sing for me,'" he recalled. "Because this character is a folk musician. And so yeah, I had to sing for him. I had to win the role."

His voice clearly impressed the director, and in the end Liu got the chance to recored a duet with co-star Milioti for the film's soundtrack, an experience he greatly enjoyed.

"It's such a beautiful song, original song just for this movie," he said. "And Cristin is on it – I'm so lucky to be on a song with her as well, because she's such an incredible singer. So yeah, I'm really excited for for people to hear it!"

In Your Dreams is streaming on Netflix from Friday 14th November 2025.

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