Dreams in the Attic (lost unaired television film; 2000)

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The film's poster.

Status: Lost

Dreams in the Attic is a live-action unaired television film made in 2000. It was written by Carolyn Johnston and directed by Bob Willems. This film is also notable for being one of the final film roles of actress Shelley Duvall.^[1]

Plot Summary

Eccentric Aunt Nellie (Shelley Duvall) has a magical trunk in her attic at the costume shop that she owns. Costumes that are placed in the trunk possess the ability to fulfill the "dreams" of those that wear them.

Cancellation and Availabillity

The film was made in 1999, and was pitched to Disney Channel for a release presumably in 2000 or 2001. Disney Channel later rejected the film, and release plans were cancelled. No known copies has ever resurfaced of the film, and only the trailer was released. IMDB has what appears to be a sequel called The Costume Shop, and even has the main cast listed as reprising their roles, with the addition of Shelley Duvall, despite retiring in 2002 (Duvall returned to acting in 2023 with The Forest Hills. After that, she passed away the following year in 2024). Stephen Baldwin is listed as the lead, playing Older Kyle (James Holzier's character) and Sara Gaston as Older Jessica (Haylie Duff's character). With Gaston being Older Jessica and Baldwin being Older Kyle, this implies that there would have been flashback scenes with the cast of Dreams in the Attic. There is a movie poster with a 2013 release date, and a behind the scenes photo of Gaston and Baldwin. However, just like Dreams in the Attic, as of 2024, nothing has been released since then.