“Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland” is a joy and a wonder, just like the original Winsor McCay cartoons. For those ignorant of the history of American cartoons, McCay’s “Little Nemo” series was a classic of naive pop surrealism exploring the adventures of a boy in the dream-world. McCay was sometimes deficient in spelling, but he was never deficient in drawing or imagination. [..] I took particular delight in how some scenes here meticulously mirrored the original cartoon. The animation is at various points dreamy, beautiful, dark, menacing and, of course, surreal. I think it is a mistake to view this film purely as a product of the anime industry – the film is instead a meeting of the Japanese culture with American culture. — imdb user

Originally conceived in 1982, this Japanese-American co-production had a long and tumultuous history which included a 1984 pilot by Ghibli director Yoshifumi Kondō. Though regarded as a commercial failure in the States, it nevertheless went on to be nominated for and won several industry awards for its brilliant animation quality.