The nickname “practically unadaptable comic” what sandman received for many years was not an exaggeration, that we all understand by now. Among the many stories for which this opinion was quite strong, A Dream of a Thousand Cats occupied a privileged position. The fact that it mainly focuses on a feline world, or from the perspective of felines, makes this plot very difficult to transpose to the audiovisual, so the choice of the series producers to choose animation in order to reimagine this story ended up being the best possible. In fact, the only one, in my opinion, does justice to what the author wanted to convey in his original publication, The Sandman #18now grouped in the arch land of dreams.
The original story has a perfect rhythmic progression, built in layers. In it, we see a kitten being put to sleep. In the next scene he sees an adult cat at the window, inviting him to something that will happen outside the house. In the present animation, directed by Hisko Hulsing (known in recent years for his work on the series undone), we see this beginning being very well shaped in feeling and progression, with a puppy escaping for a night adventure where he will meet the speech of a Prophet cat (Sandra Oh, in a placid, imposing and very beautiful dub). There’s a good variety of feelings in this beginning, all very close to horror. In the development, this feeling is reinforced, but there are scenes that follow a different path, a breath of beauty and warmth in the midst of a story that, regardless of the interpretation that the viewer makes of the plot, will always be melancholy, beautiful and touching.
The chosen animation technique went very well in this production, so strongly anchored in sensations, in communicating to the public the construction and/or deconstruction of an entire existence. The director makes a hypnotic mix of real oil paintings with the classic 2D format. The interaction between the world of humans and the world of cats also allows blocks of scenes where these paintings interact with the realistic 3D drawings of cats, made by Untold Studios, London. Taking this material, Submarine Studios, in Amsterdam, finished with a coloring that is a real spectacle. the scenes of flashback from the Prophet mix a mother’s pain with a feline moment sexy, from her flirtation with a stray cat she chose to be her lover. The scene is beautiful, the color of the cat is beautiful and the twilight environment in the background says a huge amount of things to the viewer, being able to create one of the most intense and joyful atmospheres of the work in a few seconds.
Seeing Morpheus here represented in the dreams of a feline mother in a grieving process is exciting in many ways, and is further proof (which comes exactly from the comics, not an invention of the series!) that the manifestation of the Dream can be in any shape, color, environment, culture and species. In addition to the obvious indication that animals also access the Dream, we note how much the cat’s dream brings a narrative of creation worthy of applause. The idea that the most strongly dreamy species is the one who gives all the explanations and who dictates the rules for the world they inhabit, from its beginning to its end. The invitation to the collective dream is directly established, as is the difficulty of this common dream happening. In fact, choosing the cats for this representation was very right on the part of Neil Gaiman, who, by the way, is very well voicing the skeletal crow of the part of Dreaming visited by the cat.
What shapes a reality? What is the true power of a collective dream? How is it possible to erase an entire Era and create something where the former dominators become the dominated and, depending on the case, accepted in some spaces of the new reality? The amount of interpretations for this tale has always fascinated me. It’s an adventure about creation, about the possibility of changing things (our reality/our Universe is the example given in the story, but the author’s fable applies, as always, in this genre, to any particular environment in someone’s life) ; about dreaming together and, based on this collective desire, seeking to build a New Era. A lyrical narrative with a gaping window of hope for any self-respecting dreamer.
Sandman – 1X11: Dream of a Thousand Cats — USA, UK, August 19, 2022
Direction: Hisko Hulsing
Road map: Catherine Smyth-McMullen
Cast: Tom Sturridge, Sandra Oh, Rosie Day, Neil Gaiman, David Gyasi, Joe Lycett, James McAvoy, David Tennant, Georgia Tennant, Michael Sheen, Anna Lundberg, Nonso Anozie, Diane Morgan, Tom Wu
Duration: 16 min.
