Watch: Animated Short ‘The Dream Machine’ Healing with a Machine

by Alex Billington
November 28, 2025
Source: YouTube

“What would you say you dream about the most? 💤 Or what would you want to dream about – best case scenario?” Another entrancing, unique animated short film to enjoy watching here. The Dream Machine is a sci-fi animated short directed by filmmaker Jimmy Marble, in collaboration with the animators Frances Haszard and Louis Olsen. The Dream Machine follows Marianne, a grieving young widow, who uses a new invention to recreate dreams in an effort to cope with her loss, but her escape soon tears apart the edges of reality and the universe. The concept obviously is a reminder of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or even Philip K. Dick’s Total Recall which also is about dreams. The voice cast includes (order of appearance): Sage Price, Theo Martins, Alina Cutrono, Logan Polish, Susan Berger, Nadav Heyman. It takes a bit to get going but the second half of this is cleverly profound. How do you recreate the indomitable feeling of wanting to fall into your lover’s eyes? A very good question. It’s only a quick 8 minutes – worth a watch.

Thanks to Short of the Week for the tip on this debuting online. Brief intro from YouTube: “A widow joins an advanced virtual reality program to cope with her loss, but her journey through simulated dreams takes an unforeseen turn that challenges her grip on reality.” The Dream Machine is an animated short written and directed by filmmaker Jimmy Marble based in Los Angeles – you can view more of his work on his Vimeo page or visit his official website or follow him on IG @jimmymarble for extra updates. The short is animated by Frances Haszard and Louis Olsen. Produced by Thomas Grabinski, Jett Steiger, and Lana Kim; and by Ways & Means and Oh Baby, Inc. Featuring music composed by Jeffrey Brodsky. This short first premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival earlier this year – and is now a Vimeo Staff Pick. For more info on the film, visit YouTube or SOTW. To view more shorts (including animation), click here. Thoughts?

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