| Dream Escape | |
 Dream Escape Poster without text  Dream Escape Japanese text | |
| Creator Information | |
| Directed By: | Ace Dismukes |
|---|---|
| Produced By: | Essembly Studio's |
| Written By: | Ace Dismukes |
| Music By: | Dream Escape Soundtrack |
| Release Information | |
| Release Dates: | 2025, May 26th |
| Running Time: | 2h 15m |
| Website: | Dream Escape Wiki (Unfinished Wiki) |
Dream Escape (夢の逃避, Yume no Tōhi), is the second project created by Ace Dismukes, who has been working on both the film and manga since 2020. Initially conceived as a comedy series with Ace and his friends exploring a dream world.[1] Over time, "Dream Escape" transformed from a teen group comedy into a personal adventure manga. During its development, two unnamed characters were eventually cut from the final version. The final stages of development occurred between 2023 and 2024.
The story follows a young boy, named Ēsu, who, after signing up for a program named Camp Neko,[2] discovers a mysterious staircase[3] That leads to a Dream world. Within the dream world, he is bombarded by obstacles, challenges, and trials to escape the dream world, all governed by Nanako Kun and The Grand Dream King.
This wiki, The Purples Wiki, and Dream Escape wiki includes the same information.
Plot Synopsis:
As the school year comes to an end, Esu is signed up for a summer camp called 'Camp Neko,' a camp dedicated to exploring and discovering wild cats. Before Esu knows it, he is transported to a surreal dream world by a mysterious staircase controlled by Nanako and the Grand Dream King. Esu must find his way out of this reality to escape.
Plot:
Movie:
As we see a clear bag with a note that says, "Goodbye school," and a number that reads "80-3923-3234," before cutting to Ēsu, standing eagerly for the School Bus. Ēsu watches his house leave his view as he is ready to meet his friends for the last time. He dazes upon the houses, driveways, streets before ending in his school, 'Hibiya Middle.' We cut to Ēsu and his friends chatting about what they're going to do around summer's break, before they are interrupted about the announcement. Seven of the camp members enter the cafeteria and begins to advertise their camp, Camp Neko. At this camp, each bed is giving to a child, food, water and cooling is provided and 'lots' of fun is guaranteed at this camp.
The seven members pass out packets, reaching Ēsu, who grabs the packet and ponders about the camp. He and his friends agree to attend the camp together. Ēsu boards the bus, and the scene cuts to his home and neighborhood. Ēsu runs to his mom and informs her about the new camping site for summer breaks. His mother agrees and signs him up online. The scene cuts to Ēsu on his bed, thinking about all the "fun" he'd have at the camp, such as slides and interacting with wild cats, which makes him sleepy.
Five days later, the camp sends buses to each location. Ēsu's mom tells him to get ready for Camp Neko. Ēsu quickly responds and puts on an oversized tee with purple collar stripes and arm stripes, white socks, light purple pants, and gray shoes. His mom is reluctant to send him to the camp and gives him one last hug. She tells him that their father will give him lots of items before they come back as they are getting paid on the day Ēsu returns.
Ēsu's mom pushes him out of the door and leaves for the bus. The bus driver welcomes him by name and advises him to sit in the eighth seat of the bus. Ēsu waves at his mom one last time before leaving for camp Neko. Ēsu watches and ponders once more as he sees familiar environments, until he is greeted with the Camp Neko camping site. The bus goes down steeply, prompting children to scream in excitement. Ēsu is quite worried as the bus wobbles and thumps at high speeds before stopping at the main entrance of Camp Neko.
The children exit, with Ēsu existing last. He is greeted by the lonely yet lively camp, prompting him to explore more. As Ēsu explores his environment, he stumbles upon a camping house featuring names, including his own. He enters the cozy shed and sees tools and clothing, including a yellow cat ear hoodie, white and brown shorts, striped arm and leg warmers, and brown slip-on shoes, which are separated as boy and girl options.
Ēsu quickly puts on the boy outfit and exits the shed to explore more. Suddenly, his friends call for him. K and O are waiting for him at the camp and explain that Commander-K is leading the fifty-two people. The Commander talks about their adventures and the workings of the camp before calling the first roll. The camping leader asks for questions but receives no response. She then leads the team through the camp to explore wild cats.
Ēsu and his team begins to travel through the "Neko-Forest," a six-hundred-mile jungle filled with wild cat's native to Asia. As the group is led by commander-, Ēsu suddenly finds a mysterious, lonely staircase within the forest. Ēsu is left behind for a period amount of time, as the team stumble across a sleeping Catopuma Temminckii.[4] A wild cat that is not commonly found near their country.
Ēsu, distracted by the staircase, begins to walk up it, oblivious to the world around him. The stairway is illuminated by a bright open patch within the forest, surrounded by trees and leaves. Commander-K calls for the group to follow her to the next location, but they couldn't spot Ēsu among them. Thinking that he was left behind, they call for Ēsu. Realizing he's in too deep, Ēsu attempts to retreat back to the team, replying, "Yes, I'm coming!" However, Ēsu suddenly finds himself unable to escape the staircase, as if an invisible barrier is preventing him from leaving. This shocks Ēsu, and to his surprise, he finds the reality around him warping into a small, dark room with a faucet. Within seconds, the room begins filling with water, forcing Ēsu to search for a small door to escape from.
Once Ēsu escapes the filled room, falling through one of the lone bookshelves and landing roughly. He finds himself in a vast, twisting wooden space with muted colors. Reluctantly, Ēsu explores this expansive area, his footsteps echoing through the silence. He soon stumbles upon a huge room featuring a strange, multicolored gate. As Ēsu approaches the gate, it unexpectedly opens, revealing that he is actually in a place suspended in the sky. Shocked by the revelation, Ēsu does not run away; instead, he sits in the middle of the gate, gazing down at the sky while water drips from his clothes, skin, and hair.
Ēsu begins to ponder how he ended up in this world and all the strange events that have occurred. Suddenly, the gates start to close slightly, urging him to escape. When Ēsu reaches behind him, he discovers the same invisible barrier that blocked him during his transformation into the dream world. This causes him to fall through the sky, screaming and babbling. As he looks up, the sky transforms into a peculiar hallway. Ēsu lands awkwardly, stunned and confused, and stands up to find himself in a reflective, colorful hallway with various passages that seem to lead to similar locations.
Cautiously, Ēsu starts to explore the hallways, each leading to the same colorful, reflective environment. Suddenly, a woman interrupts his solitary walk, explaining that he needs to collect keys to enter a new level of hallways. At that moment, music reminiscent of the '80s and '90s begins to play, calming Ēsu. He comments on the music and its time period. As Ēsu continues his exploration, he stumbles upon a peculiar hallway with a small platform. Suddenly, doors open, and Ēsu turns to see nightmarish, spider-like creatures with round heads and numerous eyes wobbling across the hallway in strange ways. The monsters begin to chase Ēsu, and he immediately runs for his life. The music stops as a horde of monsters chases Ēsu, forcing him to stop by a near stairwell. Luckily for him, the monsters seem to have no higher brain function and avoid him entirely.
Ēsu looks back to see small, crawling, spider-like eye creatures that seem to also avoid him as well. Ēsu looks down to the staircase and begins to explore the place with caution.
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Cast:
Ēsu
A very kind and
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Nanako Kun
Under the Grand Dream King's orders
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The Grand Dream King
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Production:
Development:
External Links:
Dream Escape | Dream Escape Wiki (Unfinished Wiki)
References and footnotes:
- ↑ This concept later evolved into "The Pricery Family."
- ↑ Camp Neko is a fictional program that was actually inspired by a real location in the United States called Tiger Club (After School Program & Summer Camp).
- ↑ Dream Escape is inspired by reports of 'mysterious staircases and paths.' According to urban myths, if one finds a staircase in the woods, they might go missing or experience time travel. This urban legend inspired Ace Dismukes to create the manga and film.
- ↑ The Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) is a medium-sized wild cat native to the northeastern Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China.