Paprika

2006 90 min ★ 7.8 Animation, Science Fiction, Thriller

Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a research psychologist who uses a device called the DC Mini to enter her patients' dreams, wherein she adopts the alter-ego "Paprika". When the device is stolen, she must stop rogue elements from merging the dream and waking worlds.

▶ Watch Trailer

Cast

Megumi Hayashibara

Paprika / Atsuko Chiba (voice)

Tohru Emori

Seijiro Inui (voice)

Katsunosuke Hori

Torataro Shima (voice)

Toru Furuya

Kosaku Tokita (voice)

Akio Otsuka

Toshimi Konakawa (voice)

Koichi Yamadera

Morio Osanai (voice)

Hideyuki Tanaka

Guy (voice)

Satoshi Kon

Jinnai (voice)

Yasutaka Tsutsui

Kuga (voice)

Satomi Korogi

Japanese Doll (voice)

Details

Director

Satoshi Kon

Screenplay

Satoshi Kon

Tagline

"This is your brain on anime."

Status

Released

Original Language

JA

Budget

$2,600,000

Revenue

$946,590

Production

Madhouse, Sony Pictures

Reviews

T

The Movie Diorama

January 16, 2020

★ 8/10

Paprika sprinkles its spicy originality across a sprawling vibrant fever dream. Dreams are windows to the imaginative capacity of the subconscious. Manipulating memories to fabricate worlds unbounded by the physical laws of reality. An endless wave of colours and possibilities, requiring no legitimacy for their existence. In psychology, dreams are a method for interrogating the mentality of its su...

A

Alunauwie

January 1, 2026

★ 8/10

Paprika explores a surreal world where dreams and reality collide after the dream-entering device DC Mini is stolen, unleashing chaos that erodes the boundaries between the two realms. Through striking visual contrasts—nightmarish logic, vibrant dream parades, and fractured reality—the film reveals buried trauma, guilt, and ego within each character. Ultimately, it presents dreams not as an escape...