Netflix has surprised fans today with a bonus episode of its recently premiered series ‘The Sandman’. This bonus episode continues the story of Morpheus and his journeys in the Dreaming and waking world.
Here’s all you need to know about this new episode 11 titled as “A Dream of a Thousand Cats/Calliope”:
How many parts does episode 11 have and what’s it about?
‘The Sandman’ episode 11 is a two-part episode wherein a Siamese cat is dreaming of a new world in one and a writer in desperate need of inspiration crosses paths with Morpheus in the other.
From where is episode 11 of ‘The Sandman’ inspired?
“A Dream of a Thousand Cats/Calliope” is an adaptation of Dream Country, the arc that spans issues 17-20 of The Sandman comic, written by Neil Gaiman. It includes two of the four stories from that arc: “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” and “Calliope.” In the comics, Dream Country follows The Doll’s House, the arc depicted in Episodes 7-10 of ‘The Sandman’.
Who stars in episode 11 of ‘The Sandman’?
In the first part of episode 11, “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” Tom Sturridge reprises his role as Dream, aka Morpheus, voicing an animated, feline version of himself. Other than Sturridge, the first part also has the following star-studded voiceover cast:
Sandra Oh as The Prophet
Rosie Day as The Tabby Kitten
David Gyasi as The Grey Cat
Joe Lycett as The Black Cat
Neil Gaiman as Crow/Skull Bird
James McAvoy as Golden-Haired Man
David Tennant as Don and Georgia Tennant as Laura Lynn
Michael Sheen as Paul and Anna Lundberg as Marion
Nonso Anozie as Wyvern
Diane Morgan as Gryphon
Tom Wu as Hippogriff
Coming to “Caliiope”, the cast includes the following:
Melissanthi Mahut as Calliope
Arthur Darvill as Richard Madoc
Nina Wadia as Fate Mother
Souad Faress as Fate Crone
Dinita Gohil as Fate Maiden
Kevin Harvey as Larry
Amita Suman as Nora
Derek Jacobi as Erasmus Fry
What’s special about the bonus 11th episode of ‘The Sandman’?
For starters, “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” is the first animated Sandman story. Talking about the new episode Dutch animator Hisko Hulsing who is the director and production designer for the episode says, “We endeavored to make the animated version of ‘A Dream of a Thousand Cats’ as mesmerizing and hypnotic as we could by utilizing the magic of real oil paintings on canvas.”
What went into the making of bonus episode?
The makers combined the paintings with classically drawn 2D animation, based on realistic 3D animation of telepathic cats in order to create a trippy world that feels both grounded and dreamy at the same time. Untold Studio’s in London created the breathtaking 3D animation of the cats. The wonderful 2D animation, oil paintings and stylizing were all done at Submarine Studio’s in Amsterdam.
The bonus 11th episode of ‘The Sandman’ is currently streaming on Netflix.