Crime
Prime Target
This math-centric thriller comes with an interesting premise. But Prime Target comes with some primary problems, too.
Paula Persimmon is a legend in Riley’s mind—even though the 12-year-old doesn’t know she exists.
Let’s back up a little. Paula works in the Dream Productions studios in the noggin of one Riley Anderson, whom we’ve met before in the Inside Out movies. When Riley goes to sleep, Paula gets to work, directing some of the girl’s most memorable, literally life-changing dreams. Her career really took off with the classic Farewell, My Paci, a dream so powerful that it convinced a very young Riley to spit out her pacifier for good.
“That dream changed the world,” says Joy, one of Riley’s emotions.
But while Paula was the toast of Dream Productions in Riley’s younger years, she hasn’t had a hit for a while. And the head of the studio, Jean Dewberry, wants Paula and the rest of the Dream Productions directors to get with the times … or else.
“Tweens want drama!” Jean thunders at a tense staff meeting. “They want to be taken seriously. They’re practically grown-ups! So we’re going to up our game by tapping into what preteens are all about.”
And just what, exactly, are preteens all about? Not about the dreamy cupcakes and glitter that Paula built her career on. But Janelle, Paula’s longtime and longsuffering assistant director, just might have the pulse of what makes Riley’s sleeping heart beat. Jean makes turns her into a full-fledged director.
That’s great for Janelle, but not so great for Paula: Janelle wasn’t just a capable second fiddle, but a de facto BFF. And the guy tapped to be Paula’s new assistant director? The ever-so-pretentious Xeni, who cut his teeth as a “professional daydream maker.”
“You night dreamers will never understand art,” Xeni sniffs on their first meeting.
But the two had better learn to work together, and fast. Jean’s not known for her patience. And with Riley’s very first school dance on the horizon—a dance that Riley has ever-so-many conflicted opinions about—she needs some good, cathartic dreams to help her work through her emotions.
But, as Paula well knows, they have to be the right sort of dreams. It’s not like they just happen of their own accord, right?
On the Inside Out timeline, Dream Productions fits snugly between the two movies—exploring 12-year-old Riley’s psyche after the Andersons’ traumatic move to San Francisco (in Inside Out) but before she hits adolescence and is introduced to a raft of new emotions (in Inside Out 2).
My own emotional reaction to Pixar’s first television series? Tempered joy.
Dream Productions doesn’t rise to the level of the Inside Out films—movies that I consider to be among Pixar’s best. And it comes with a few small-but-important cautions.
First, you’ll hear a few misuses of God’s name and a bit of bathroom humor throughout the series. (An interview with one of Riley’s most popular dream-time stars is punctuated by a series of censor-y bleeps, too.) We learn that Riley’s also thinking (and dreaming) about what the future might bring: Could it be a nose ring? A tattoo? Riley’s pondering the possibilities. And, of course, tween-level romance is definitely on the table, and Riley’s dreams feature a new star: “Canadian boyfriend.”
“I would die for you!” Canadian boyfriend says. Often.
But outside of those dramatic, Twilight-esque exclamations, the “romance” here is pretty mild. The closest we see of anything overtly physical consists of dream Riley riding with Canadian boyfriend aboard a moose (of course), her arms wrapped around his middle and her face resting lightly on his back.
And while Dream Productions doesn’t have the emotional heft of the Inside Out films—and perhaps pushes ever-so-slightly into more problematic territory—the show delivers some nice messages about teamwork and resilience. It’s fun, sweet and mostly clean. And it won’t put parents to sleep, either. Indeed, it’s a show that many families could watch—and enjoy—together.
Dream Productions comes with a few minor caveats thus far, sure. But it’s hardly a nightmare. And if parents keep one eye open for the show’s few issues, they can rest relatively easy with this one.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out. )
Using a quasi-documentary format (think The Office or Parks & Recreation), we’re introduced to Paula, Janelle, Xeni and other major players on the Dream Productions studio lot. Paula recounts her past successes as a director, but she admits it’s been a while since she’s had a hit. She plans to use a new, joyful memory as a catalyst: Riley recently found an old, childhood toy of hers and was thrilled to rediscover it, so that toy will take a starring role in Paula’s new production.
The problem? When Riley took the toy to school, she was roundly kidded about it—making that toy more a center for embarrassment rather than joy.
Paula does a poor job of listening to Janelle’s cautions about using the mermaid-themed toy as a dream centerpiece. (“It’s a mer-miracle!” Paula says when she discovers the toy’s equivalent prop in a warehouse.) Nor does she listen to Janelle when the assistant director tries to tell her that she’s applied for a new job—this time as a director.
We see some dreamtime dancing. A worker on the Dream Productions lot says, “Curse you, chamomile!” when Riley unexpectedly falls asleep when she drinks the tea. Chaos erupts on the lot, and a prop nearly runs someone over. Someone advises Paula to “meditate” on something.
Melatonin, Paula’s dog, tends to put people to sleep. “Not me for some reason!” Paula says, taking a loooong sip of coffee.
After the failure of her latest dream, Paula loses her cushy office and gets a new assistant director, Xeni. He promptly tells her that her last dream was antiquated. “It lacks meaning, truth, danger!” he says. “Why do you always go for the happy ending?” But Dream Productions gets some new fodder for possible dreams from Riley’s waking life: Riley’s mom finds an old, poofy-sleeved dress of hers (“It’s vintage!” she enthuses) and suggests that Riley wear it to the dance.
Xeni wants to give Riley a dream where she plays Go Fish with death (a nod to Ingmar Bergman’s famous film The Seventh Seal). We see a prop based on that manifestation of the Grim Reaper. When Riley talks with a friend of hers over the phone, the friend sees that Riley’s wearing her mother’s “vintage” dress: An embarrassed Riley suggests that she’s considering it for a Halloween costume. Rainbow Unicorn wears a neck brace in the aftermath of a disastrous dream. (When Paula goes into the unicorn’s trailer to discuss her starring in a new dream, we hear what would seem to be a physical altercation behind the closed door. “She loves the pages,” Paula says as she exits, disheveled.)
Xeni nearly misuses God’s name (“Gah!”), then exclaims, “You’re so bourgeois!” We also hear the word “dang.” Someone describes a dream as a “sludge bucket.” When Paula’s demoted, her new office is in a bathroom: An apparently male entity exits a bathroom stall (we hear the flush) and Paula waves her hand in front of her (non-existent) nose. An interview with Rainbow Unicorn features, apparently, a pair of bleeped profanities. (That said, those profanities, if heard, would only be offensive to those who speak unicorn.)
In need of ideas, Paula goes with Xeni to the hip, jazzy Café Maturity, where they spot their new star—a boy with swooping hair and an undying “love” for Riley. He is, we learn, Riley’s imaginary boyfriend—though Xeni tells Paula that the word “imaginary is offensive because it denies his existence.”
“Yes, sorry, Canadian boyfriend, which I guess is better?” Paula says.
“Obviously better,” Xeni says.
But while Canadian Boyfriend proves to be a dreamtime hit, the pressure to amp up the stakes leads to the discovery and creation of more Canadian boyfriends (because more is obviously better), which sends sleeping Riley down a dangerous road.
I mean that literally: Riley tells her bevy of boyfriends that she needs some space—and she begins to sleepwalk, nearly tumbling down a flight of stairs. One moody Canadian boyfriend may wear a dark shade of lipstick. (“You’re my rainbow in the dark, or whatever,” the boyfriend tells dreaming Riley.) The original Canadian boyfriend constantly says that he would “die” for Riley, and others join in.
Xeni discusses what Riley ponders in Café Maturity: “She’s drinking coffee. She might get a tattoo … she’s considering a nose ring. Maybe a septum ring.” (“What is a septum?” Paula asks.) We see posters referencing zombie llamas. A waking Riley tells her friends that she might ask someone to the dance. That said, given her only love interest thus far is her “Canadian boyfriend,” it’s uncertain whether she’s thinking about asking someone real or whether she’s just engaged in a bit of wishful thinking.
When a director gets the rare honor of directing an all-night dream, a crew member announces that she’s “wearing a diaper” in anticipation. Riley rides on the back of a moose with her Canadian boyfriend, clutching him around the middle. Xeni suggests they skip past the tween romance and look forward to when Riley and Canadian boyfriend are “married, 80 and hate each other.” There’s a reference to “brain farts” and the sound of apparent flatulence. (“That was the chair,” someone says.) Members of Dream Production act in unkind ways.
With Riley still wavering in her waking life between whether she wants to go to the dance or not, Dream Productions swings into action to help. Paula’s given one last chance to save her job. But Xeni—who’s been fired as Paula’s assistant director—seeks to destroy that last chance by writing a horrific script that she must use. The thing is, that script might not just capsize Paula; it might cause some significant trauma to Riley, as well.
In his fury toward Paula, Xeni temporarily forgets the harm the script might cause Riley. But ultimately, he does remember. And when he does, Xeni flies into action to salvage the situation. In the aftermath, we see several Dream Productions characters make sacrificial choices (though those choices do involve skirting both studio rules and security guards).
Violent chaos takes place on set. God’s name is misused.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
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