Alex Woo spent years at animation houses including Pixar, Cartoon Network, and Lucasfilm before directing his first feature. His Netflix film In Your Dreams took nearly a decade to bring to the screen, and in conversation with Polygon he admits the movie likely wouldn’t have been made if it had been pitched as science fiction. He describes a persistent industry aversion to sci‑fi in animated features as an “unspoken rule.”
“For some reason, science fiction struggles in animation,” Woo observes, pointing to recent studio disappointments such as Lightyear, Elio, and even cult titles like Titan A.E.. Executives, seeing those misses, have grown wary of funding sci‑fi animation, giving rise to a cautious stance that effectively sidelines the genre.
That reluctance stands in sharp contrast to Japan, where sci‑fi anime is a mainstay and has inspired generations of creators. Woo cites landmark works like Akira and other dystopian staples as examples of the genre’s deep cultural roots there. He also references Paprika as a standout — an animated masterpiece that explores dream logic with the audacity of a live‑action Inception reinterpretation (an idea he suggests would be risky to attempt in the West).
Image: NetflixBeyond genre discussion, Woo emphasizes a simple principle he absorbed at Pixar: prioritize story and character above all. When characters are fully realized and the narrative carries emotional weight, the film can connect with wide audiences. To that end, he recruited several former Pixar collaborators for In Your Dreams, including production designer Steve Pilcher, who also worked on Finding Dory.
That emphasis on emotional clarity helps explain why Woo steered toward fantasy rather than hard futurism. Setting the film inside a dream world allowed him to stage spectacle while keeping the emotional core intact — a balance he believes is essential for audience engagement and also a way to avoid the industry’s sci‑fi reticence.
Woo isn’t convinced sci‑fi animation is doomed in Western markets; he sees the hesitation as cultural and commercial caution rather than an absolute rule. As global streaming expands viewers’ tastes, opportunities may open for creators willing to take that risk. Then again, even celebrated directors like Shinichirō Watanabe — known for Cowboy Bebop and Lazarus — have faced obstacles getting certain projects greenlit, underscoring how unpredictable the landscape can be.
Source: Polygon
