Nemo
Nemo (released in some countries under the title Dream One) is a 1984 Fantasy film loosely based on Little Nemo in Slumberland.
It begins with the eponymous main character's parents going out to the opera. Their butler, Benjamin promises to tell Nemo a bedtime story involving rocket ships, Zorro, and Alice in Wonderland -- but before Benjamin has a chance to tell the story, Nemo gets out of bed and goes into an elevator which takes him to a beach on a world where it's always twilight during the daytime. There he encounters several strange characters, including Princess Alice of Yonderland, The Legend (a Captain Ersatz of Zorro), and a mysterious alien named Rals-Akrai (who arrives in a rocket ship). A significant portion of the story takes place in the Nautilus (the submarine from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea). The film has a dream-like feel to it -- it's very surreal and in parts, somewhat creepy.
- Alice Allusion
- All Just a Dream: Possibly averted; the ending implies that the events of the film really did happen.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Boris initially seems like he might be an example of this trope (one of the first things he does is shoot Cunegond for stealing a necklace from his tent), but later in the film he is shown in a much more sympathetic light.
- The Bechdel Test: Passes due to a brief conversation between Alice and Duchka.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: A mixed-gender example; Nemo is the blond, Alice is the brunette, and Cunegond is the redhead.
- Brother-Sister Incest: Boris's relationship with Duchka might not be 100% platonic.
- But You Were There and You and You: Mr. Rip, Cunegond, Boris, and Duchka are played by the same actors as Benjamin, the elevator operator, and Nemo's parents, respectively.
- Captain Ersatz: The Legend.
- Chekhov's Gun: The Nautilus spends most of the film stuck on the beach. When the beach floods at the end, Nemo and Monkey use it to sail to Yonderland.
- Coming of Age Story
- Cool Ship: The Nautilus, of course.
- Dance of Romance: Duchka and The Legend.
- Disney Death: Monkey.
- A Dog Named "Dog": Subverted with Monkey, who is actually an ape.
- Down the Rabbit Hole
- Everything's Better with Monkeys
- Everything's Better with Princesses
- Fainting: Alice faints a few times.
- Gainax Ending
- Green-Skinned Space Babe: Rals-Akrai.
- Healing Hands: Mr. Rip heals Cunegond's gunshot wound.
- Inexplicably Awesome: Mr. Rip.
- Intellectual Animal: Monkey seems to be this (despite Cunegond insisting otherwise), although he has difficulty communicating with the other characters due to not being a Talking Animal.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Cunegond shows signs of this.
- Killed Off for Real: Boris.
- Love At First Sight: When he first sees Alice, Nemo gushes over how beautiful she is. Later on, Duchka has a similar reaction when she first sees The Legend.
- Love Dodecahedron: First Nemo falls in love with Alice, then The Legend falls in love with Alice, then Alice falls in love with Nemo (after he gets a Plot-Relevant Age-Up), then Duchka falls in love with The Legend, which makes Boris very jealous (and speaking of Boris, one throwaway line implies that he might have a bit of a crush on Rals-Akrai).
- Man Child: Nemo, after his Plot-Relevant Age-Up. Which makes sense since he probably still has the mind of a little kid.
- May-December Romance: Nemo and Alice (sort of).
- Mind Screw: Justified since the story runs on dream logic.
- Name's the Same: Nemo points out that he has the same name as the captain of the Nautilus.
- Non-Human Sidekick: Monkey.
- Pajama-Clad Hero: Subverted; Nemo wears pajamas at first, but he soon gets a different outfit.
- Pantomime Animal: Monkey.
- Plot-Relevant Age-Up: Nemo (most likely to keep his romance with Alice from being Squicky).
- Princess Classic: Alice.
- Rescue Romance: Nemo and Alice.
- Shirtless Scene: At the end of the film, Nemo takes his shirt off for no apparent reason.