‘Dreams in Nightmares’ review: A visually stunning road dramedy - Yakima Herald-Republic

It has taken literally decades for Brad Bird to make Ray Gunn. First developed by Bird in the 1990s, even before The Iron Giant, the animated film is finally coming out this year, having bounced around in Bird’s mind for most of his professional life. You see that immediately, too, as the movie is densely packed with ideas and visuals, some of which clearly have been there from the first brainstorming sessions, while others have been added along the way. It’s a bit too long and sometimes a bit busy for its own good, but this one really hooked me in a way I wasn’t expected. Ray Gunn is a fun science fiction adventure that also functions as a pretty high level film noir. Mixing sci-fi and noir is clever, as is the racial element that’s depicted here in regards to aliens and humans. Bird takes advantage of not having to exclusively make this for children in order to follow a lot of the beats of a neo noir. It’s not strictly adult fare, to be sure, but there is an actual body count and stakes here.