In the Realms of the Unreal

Synopsis

Henry Darger was an elderly recluse who spent his childhood in an Illinois asylum for feeble-minded children and his adulthood working as a janitor. To the outside world he lived a quiet, nearly solitary existence, but in his mind he'd created a haunting, fantasy dreamscape. When Henry Darger died alone at the age of 81, his landlords discovered hundreds of brilliant and disturbing paintings, some over 10 feet long, and a 15,000 page illustrated novel (The Realms of the Unreal), which told the epic story of the virtuous Vivian Girls, seven angelic sisters who lead a rebellion against, goddless, child-enslaving men. Featuring the voices of Dakota Fanning (I AM SAM, CAT IN THE HAT) and Larry Pine (THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, THE ICE STORM), the music of Emmy-winning composer Jeff Beal and the work of a team of animators, this wholly original film tells the story of a hidden universe.