Simu Liu is adding another talent to his resume: singing in an animated musical moment. The ‘Shang-Chi’ star performs a duet with Grammy winner Cristin Milioti in their new film, “In Your Dreams.” Milioti described the song as “really great” and a “beautiful moment” in the film, which opens in theaters this Friday.
The duet is especially poignant because Liu and Milioti play a couple whose marriage is on the rocks. The song provides a rare glimpse of harmony, which is what their children are desperately trying to recapture. The film, an adventure-comedy, follows the kids as they seek The Sandman to magically “fix” their parents.
This realistic, anti-fairy tale plot is what attracted Liu to the project. He was “fascinated” by the pitch from director Alex Woo (Pixar’s “Ratatouille”) to show a “real family that argues.” Liu has been vocal that the “always happy” family trope is “not true” and that “it’s important” for kids to see “imperfect” families.
The cast of the Netflix film also includes Craig Robinson as a stuffed animal named Baloney Tony, with animation by Sony Pictures Imageworks. The story is told from the perspective of the daughter, Stevie, voiced by Jolie Hoang-Rappaport.
Stevie’s journey is one of learning that “there is no magic solution to real-life problems.” Her quest to “fix” her family ends with the hard-won truth that life doesn’t always go as planned. The duet, in this context, becomes a bittersweet reminder of what was, rather than a promise of what will be.
