Tony Hale has mined great depths of humor from neuroses in the past, from his role as Buster in Arrested Development to his wonderful ‘bag man,’ Gary, in Veep. He did this in the most literal way imaginable this year, when he took on the voice of Fear in the animated sequel, Inside Out 2. That film would go on to become the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, and it appears it will be the highest-grossing film of 2024, as well. The year of Inside Out isn’t over yet, though, with a special limited series spin-off of the films coming to Disney+ before 2025, titled Dream Productions. Hale shared his excitement with us:
“I haven’t seen it yet, so I’m really eager. I think it comes out in December, I think that’s when it comes out. I mean, here’s the thing, Pixar is just a creative machine to me, and to be given the opportunity to do Inside Out 2, still to this day, I’m like, ‘My name’s up there?’ So I’m just always eager [to see what Pixar does]. Like, even down to that ‘Sarchasm’ they created in the film, that was like this chasm and you’d scream something that would then be interpreted — I just can’t wait to see what they come up with in these episodes, I’m excited to see it.”
Hale took over the role of Fear from Bill Hader, who portrayed the emotion in Inside Out. Apparently, Hader (and Mindy Kaling) dropped out of Inside Out 2 due to salary discrepancies; they were offered $100 thousand (with no bonuses) compared to the $5 million that Amy Poehler was receiving (with additional fees and bonuses), according to Puck.
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What Is Dream Productions Really About?
The title of Dream Productions references a scene from the first film, where we’re shown how dreams are made (through a kind of Hollywood studio system), and is also the title of a song from Michael Giacchino’s original soundtrack. The four-part limited series follows Paula Persimmon (Paula Pell) as she teams with Xeni (Richard Ayoade) to create the next big tween-dream. Dream Productions is created and written by Mike Jones, who co-wrote Soul and Luca for Pixar.
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The full synopsis reads as follows:
“Taking place in between the events of Inside Out and Inside Out 2, Dream Productions is an all-new series about the studio inside Riley’s mind where dreams really do come true — every night, on time and on budget. Riley is growing up and when her memories need some extra processing, Joy and the rest of the Core Emotions send them to Dream Productions.
“Acclaimed director Paula Persimmon (voice of Paula Pell) faces a nightmare of her own: Trying to create the next hit dream after being paired up with Xeni (voice of Richard Ayoade), a smug daydream director looking to step up into the big leagues of night dreams. Also featuring the voices of Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Ally Maki, Kensington Tallman, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Lewis Black and Phyllis Smith, the hilarious, mockumentary-style series is written and directed by Mike Jones and produced by Jaclyn Simon.”
Dream Productions comes to Disney+ on Dec. 11, 2024.