Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland

Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (released in Japan simply as Nemo and credited in some territories simply as Little Nemo) is a 1989 Japanese-American animated musical adventure fantasy film directed by Masami Hata and William Hurtz and based on the comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay. It was released in Japan on July 15, 1989 and in the United States on August 21, 1992.

Why It's Great

 * The film is animated beautifully, with smooth fluid motion, creative landscapes and an interesting choice of more pale colours.
 * The main villain, The Nightmare King, makes for an ominous threat. While he is not on screen for very long, he always makes an impression with his towering stature and presence always in the shadows.
 * While the main character is rather dull, the side characters are fun and full of personality.
 * The Japanese voice acting is really good and is recommended over the English dub.
 * It paved the way for future content. The long, troubled production and disappointing box office performance was a blow to animation company TMS to aim for smaller productions. This led to their involvements in Batman the animated series, Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures, all three of which are held in high regard.