Netflix's In Your Dreams introduces audiences to a brand-new lovable animal sidekick: Baloney Tony (voiced by Craig Robinson).
A stuffed giraffe, Baloney Tony is the beloved toy of young chaos agent Elliot (voiced by Elias Janssen). Like most stuffed animals after a few years of cuddles and playtime, he's certainly seen better days. He's missing an eye, his neck is floppy, and Elliot loves nothing more than to stuff his pouch full of baloney.
Elliot's sister Stevie (voiced by Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) despises Baloney Tony and the rancid meat inside him, so long before In Your Dreams even begins, she hides him under the family fridge. However, when Stevie and Elliot embark on a quest in their dreams, they're reunited with Baloney Tony. In the dream world, he can walk, he can talk, and he can fart lasers. What more could you want from a sidekick?
In a Say More interview with Mashable Entertainment Reporter Belen Edwards, In Your Dreams director Alex Woo revealed that he drew inspiration for Baloney Tony from his childhood.
"My aunt bought [my brother and I] these two teddy bears that were Santa-related, so they're called Santa Bears. My brother, he had a bloody nose one day, and he got some bloodstains on his Santa Bear near the tail, and so we ended up calling it 'Butthole Bear,'" Woo recalled. "Obviously, it was his stuffed animal, and so he loved it despite how gross it was. That was the inspiration for Baloney Tony, this idea that our stuffed animals, even though they can be gross and disgusting, they're still ours. There's something about our connection to them that, despite them having rancid meat odors, they bring us warmth and familiarity and they make us feel like we're at home."
From there, Woo taught us how to actually draw Baloney Tony, describing his design as being inspired by cheap stuffed animals you can get at state fairs or in arcade claw machines. You can draw along with Woo above to master the art of Baloney Tony.
To hear more about In Your Dreams, check out Woo's full Say More interview on YouTube, where Woo teaches us how to draw even more characters from the film.
In Your Dreams is now streaming on Netflix.
