Is ‘Slumberland’ based on ‘Little Nemo?’

The movie Slumberland is getting a lot of attention on Netflix due to its innovative art style and the inclusion of Jason Momoa as a horned, sharp-tooth creature that acts as a sidekick to the movie’s main character Nemo.

The movie follows Nemo as she travels through dreamworld with Flip (Momoa) and tries to track down her late father. What people might not know is that the show is based on a comic strip called Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay.

The comic strip debuted in 1905 and ran in the New York Herald until 1911, and then it bounced around a little until 1927. Every panel featured a boy named Nemo (which translates to no one in Latin) and his adventures in dreaming, which he woke up from in the final panel.

Here’s a sample:

There have been a number of adaptations over the years. Back in 1905, there were attempts to put the strip on stage. It was actually successful and went on the road for two years.

McCay was instrumental in the use of animation with film, and in 1911 finished his first film called Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics, which featured the famous character.

In 1984 there was a movie called Nemo, but other than a boy who wears pajamas the parallels to the comic strip were few. A movie called Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland was produced by Japan and the U.S. came out in 1992.

There’s even a video game called Little Nemo: The Dream Master, which was based on that film.

Slumberland the show is the latest adaptation. It’s currently streaming on Netflix.