Review: The Sandman “Dream of a Thousand Cats/Calliope”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

In this two-part story collection, a Siamese cat dreaming of a new world and a writer in desperate need of inspiration cross paths with Morpheus.

Our Take:

The Sandman is a fantasy drama series that recently premiered on Netflix two weeks ago. Based on Neil Gaiman’s comic book published by DC Comics, the 10-episode series follows Morpheus’s (Tom Sturridge) journey to restore order to his realm, The Dreaming, after escaping from an occult ritual. While people struggle with its story and pacing, they enjoyed the adaptation for its faithfulness to the source material, resulting in it being a hit for Netflix. Two weeks later, an eleventh episode of The Sandman was released on the streaming service, consisting of two short stories set in the same universe as the series.

The first story, “Dream of a Thousand Cats”, is the shortest of the bunch, centering on a Siamese cat who tells her story to a group of cats about her encounter with Morpheus (Tom Sturridge). After receiving trauma from her owner throwing her half-breed kittens into the river, the cat wound up in The Dreaming, searching for a way to take revenge against her owners. Upon meeting Morpheus, she’s presented with a parallel universe in which cats ruled over the humans until the latter fought back by dreaming of the world we’re in now. The Siamese cat then spreads the word to every cat in the world to dream of a better world for them.

“Dream of a Thousand Cats” is the only story in the collection to be entirely animated, which is appropriate given its concept. It resembles a style you’d see in a graphic novel, as it thrust the viewers into an imaginative and surreal world of The Sandman. From a technical perspective, the animation works wonders in bringing this side of the universe in a unique fashion. Additionally, it features plenty of recognizable and solid vocal performances, like Sandra Oh as the Siamese cat, James McAvoy as the Golden-Haired Man, and David Tennant as Don.

The second story, “Calliope”, switches back to the live-action format for a traditional Sandman episode. It centers on Richard Madoc (Arthur Darvill), a struggling author who gains possession of a Greek goddess named Calliope (Melissanthi Mahut) from Erasmus Fry (Derek Jacobi). Richard uses Calliope to acquire the ideas needed to write several books for the next four years. Of course, this captured the attention of Morpheus, who happens to be Calliope’s former lover. Morpheus then uses his ability to punish Madoc into receiving loads of ideas until he frees her.

While I did like “Dream of a Thousand Cats” for its animation, I honestly prefer “Calliope” as the best of the two-story collection. It does have the same issues as the previous episodes, such as the pacing, but it compensated with a plot straight out of a Twilight Zone episode and a compelling cast, mainly Sturridge as Morpheus. It’s a haunting yet intriguing tale about an author who discovers the cost of fame after using his captive to his advantage.

It’s easy to point out that these short stories offer plenty of things to like for long-time fans of the comic book, including the lore and the characters. Unfortunately, newcomers like myself may have trouble getting interested in the show right away. “Dream of a Thousand Cats” and “Calliope” may not be the best place to start, but they serve as decent standalone stories that reflect the source material creatively and compellingly.