Waking Life

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Waking Life

R

2001

1h 39m

Drama

Animation

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

80%

Tomatometer

141 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Transcending the boundaries of technology and imagination, "Waking Life" is a revolutionary breakthrough in film animation. In "Waking Life," Wiley Wiggins ("Dazed and Confused") travels through a series of encounters and observations in a world that may or may not be reality. It is this surreal existence, flourishing with endless ideas and possibilities, that ultimately leads to the question -- Are we sleep-walking through our waking state or wake-walking through our dreams?

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Critics Consensus

Waking Life's inventive animated aesthetic adds a distinctive visual component to a film that could easily have rested on its smart screenplay and talented ensemble cast.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Dec 29, 2010

4/5

Love-it-or-hate-it film best for older teens.

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Emanuel Levy

Variety

Oct 31, 2006

B+

This inventive animated film, which takes Linklater back to his roots in Austin and Slacker, represents a summation of all the philosophical concerns that have defined him as spokesperson for Gen-X.

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Kimberley Jones

Austin Chronicle

Mar 10, 2003

3.5/5

The pictures are gorgeous, and the words, well, if you listen hard enough, the words say exactly what one needs to hear: that is, to wake up and live.

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Susan Sontag

Artforum

May 2, 2024

A melancholy youth ambles almost wordlessly through deep America -- rendered in dancy graphics -- receiving counsel from a parade of uproariously soliloquizing, exquisitely goofy pundits.

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Chuck Klosterman

Akron Beacon Journal

Oct 27, 2023

4/4

My sleep is never this exciting. I wish I could dream like this.

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B. Ruby Rich

The Nation

Feb 25, 2020

Linklater and his animation collaborators have clearly had a lot of fun, morphing characters into their own conversational subjects, destabilizing their environs, throwing the material world into question.

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John G

@JFGnow Aug 24, 2026

Wanted to love this. Painfully watched entirety. Cinematic jibber jabber dancing around many different philosophical thoughts without ever reaching a destination. Too obtuse to be helpful.

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Akindeji H

@RT99010169 Jul 30, 2026

It spoke to me. It said "Your actions matter. Live while you are alive, because one day you will not wake up from your dream." It may not speak to everyone, but it was absolutely on time for me.

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Henry D

@Henry_Domke Jun 18, 2026

A totally enjoyable and creative art film, much better than I expected. Everything about it felt inventive and appealing. The animation was fresh and fluid, like a pleasant drug-state, constantly shifting in a way that fit the film’s dreamlike mood. The music was light and lively, and the dialogue was full of big philosophical questions, the kind of searching, late-night conversations that fit perfectly with a college experience. I especially enjoyed the way it kept toying with dream states, consciousness, and whether we are ever fully awake.

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Hristo D

@RT85083038 May 28, 2026

It is an interesting movie. Interesting concepts there, but it was missing something in there to hook me. Probably it was because it was animated. Overall, it is a nice watch, however if you are a person who doesn't like / cant connect to animations that well, it might be quite boring at times. Thinking about the movie - it was made in 2001, and back then AI and animations/visualisations weren't at the highest level, so actual animations were made frame by frame by real people. This is crazy when you think about it. How many human hours were invested into the making of this movie - 8-10 months.

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LayAban T

@LayaAban May 16, 2026

This movie is an experience, experience on the boarders of dream and illusion.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Mar 26, 2026

The worldwide gross is $3,176,880.00.

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Richard Linklater

Director

Wiley Wiggins

Main Character

Trevor Jack Brooks

Young Boy Playing Paper Game

Lorelei Linklater

Young Girl Playing Paper Game

Glover Gill

Accordion Player

Lara Hicks

Violin Player

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Synopsis

Transcending the boundaries of technology and imagination, "Waking Life" is a revolutionary breakthrough in film animation. In "Waking Life," Wiley Wiggins ("Dazed and Confused") travels through a series of encounters and observations in a world that may or may not be reality. It is this surreal existence, flourishing with endless ideas and possibilities, that ultimately leads to the question -- Are we sleep-walking through our waking state or wake-walking through our dreams?

Director: Richard Linklater
Producer: Anne Walker-McBay, Tommy Pallotta, Palmer West, Jonah Smith
Screenwriter: Richard Linklater
Distributor: Fox
Production Co: Independent Film Channel, Thousand Words, Detour Filmproduction, Fat Black Films
Rating: R (Some Violent Images|Language)
Genre: Drama, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 19, 2001, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.9M
Runtime: 1h 39m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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