The Sci-Fi Classic That Inspired Nolan’s Masterpiece is About to Stop Streaming

There is a brilliant sci-fi classic that reportedly influenced Christopher Nolan that is about to leave streaming, and fans need to hurry if they want to see it before it’s gone. While Nolan has never openly spoken about it, this movie was an inspiration for the director’s sci-fi masterpiece Inception. That 2010 Best Picture nominee is a movie about a group of “extractors” who are hired to conduct corporate espionage by using dream-sharing technology to hack into the target’s subconscious and steal classified and private information for rival corporations. The movie was a massive hit and was even added to the United States National Film Registry in the class of 2025 by the Library of Congress.

One movie that has been widely circulated as having been an influence on Nolan when he made Inception was the animated film Paprika. While Nolan has never confirmed it, several critics have noted the heavy inspiration from the 2006 animated film in Inception. Paprika has been available to stream on Tubi, but it is leaving the service soon and isn’t set to show up anywhere else right now.

How Did Paprika Influence Inception?

Paprika is a Japanese animated movie that is a surrealist sci-fi psychological thriller. In this movie, an unknown dream terrorist causes nightmares by stealing a device that allows others to share their dreams. He then battles a dream detective named Paprika, who shares a mind with a research psychologist named Dr. Atsuko Chiba. Paprika has a Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an 87% critics’ score and an 88% audience score. The critical consensus reads, “Following its own brand of logic, Paprika is an eye-opening mind trip that is difficult to follow but never fails to dazzle.”

That sounds a lot like Inception, and the similarities go deeper than that. While it is unfair to say that Inception is based on the ideas of Paprika, it is clear that the two movies delve into the same themes concerning dreaming and the mindscape. Paprika follows therapists trying to find the stolen technology that allows them to enter their patients’ dreams. The dream terrorist (Inui) has stolen it and is haunting the entire population of Japan. It is up to Paprika to stop the destruction by jumping from one dream to another.

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Inception is different, while using similar dream technology. In Nolan’s movie, a team uses tech to hop from one dream to another as they try to steal ideas from the subconscious. They then start to explore dreams within dreams, which is what creates the “inception.” Both movies use jumping from one dream to another, but the motives are different, and the themes also differ. Paprika is about saving the world, and Inception is a heist movie. That said, both movies capture the idea of the unconscious mind and utilize unconventional storytelling that bends reality.

Both Paprika and Inception are masterpieces, and both deserve a loyal fandom. However, while Inception has remained mostly available on one streaming service or another since its release, Paprika is often harder to find. It is currently on Tubi, but its home page says it is “Leaving Soon,” so if anyone wants to see this animated masterpiece, time is running out.

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