Better Than Nolan's $825M Rip-Off: Paprika is Available to Watch for Free, Finally

Summary

• Christopher Nolan ’s Inception shares a lot of similarities with the animated movie Paprika.
• Both center around characters entering the dreams of another person to influence their subconscious.
• Some have wondered if Nolan stole his ideas from Paprika.

In 2010, Christopher Nolan delivered the year’s trippiest thriller: Inception. But four years earlier, revered director Satoshi Kon released an even trippie thriller, also centering around dream sabotage. That movie? Paprika.

Paprika: What’s It About?

In this 2006 animated psychological thriller, a scientific team creates a device called the “DC Mini”, which allows therapists to enter the dreams of their clients. Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a scientist by day, but at night she acts as a “dream detective” under her alter ego, Paprika.

When the DC Mini is stolen, the consequences are potentially devastating. Because it is still a prototype, there are no restrictions on it – meaning that anyone can infiltrate the minds of anyone else, driving them to madness.

Soon the real world and the dream world begin to meld as Atsuko/Paprika fights to save humanity from the threats to their subconscious.

Inception: What’s It About?

Cobb and Arthur are corporate spies and professional “extractors”: they use prototype technology to enter into the dreams of unsuspecting targets. Unlike in Paprika, the goal is not to help the people whose subconscious they enter, but rather to gather clues and gain information about rival corporations. (Like Paprika herself, Cobb and Arthur are essentially dream detectives).

This heist is different. Instead of gleaning information from their subject’s subconscious, Cobb and Arthur are planning to implant an idea that will alter the choices of their client’s greatest competitor.

Striking Similarities

Paprika was made with a budget of $2.6 million. Inception had a price tag of $160 million. In spite of costing 100x less, the Japanese anime is often regarded as the superior film – though those looking for a tightly woven plot and thorough exposition might find themselves lost in Paprika’s surreal landscape.

Both movies center around a new prototype technology that allows users to enter into the dreams of others. In both films, we are introduced into a dream world where reality bends and warps to stunning effect.

Both films explore the way a person’s subconscious can distort their perception of space and time. Both look at the brutal consequences when dream travel goes wrong – in both films, it results in suicide attempts.

Both movies reference Greek mythology, and both feature a trippy hallway scene along with other visual similarities.

The character of Atsuko/Paprika shares a lot of similarities with Ariadne in Inception. The way the characters dress, communicate, and respond to the dream world are quite similar, which is one of the biggest reasons why Paprika fans insist that Nolan ripped off their favorite film.

Did Nolan Steal From Paprika?

There’s a lot of drama surrounding this question, but the answer is… probably not. Nolan first pitched the idea of Inception to Warner Brothers back in 2002, four years before Paprika was released. Although the screenplay wasn’t written yet, he delivered an 80-page treatment for a movie about “dream stealers” that centered around lucid dreaming.

Though it’s possible Nolan took inspiration from some of Paprika’s images and ideas, he was definitely thinking about the basics of Inception long before he could have seen the anime.

Paprika is based on a book from the nineties, but it wasn’t translated into English until 2009 – at which point Inception was well underway.

Where Can I Watch Them?

Inception is available on Netflix, Prime, or Crave. You can watch Paprika for free on Tubi.