Happy Place (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Happy Place is a 16-minute action comedy about Mikey, a tired student whose lucid dreams give him an unusual outlet for mounting frustration. As his dream life turns increasingly cartoonish, the short film places friendship, pressure and mental strain within a playful fantastical setup.

Happy Place is a 2026 action comedy short from the United Kingdom, written and directed by Chase Hornstein. The film follows a tired student whose lucid dreaming creates an unexpected way to release his frustrations.

With a runtime of 16 minutes, the story pairs a student-centered premise with exaggerated dream logic. Its tagline, “Peace and Quiet? In Your Dreams,” points to the contrast between the desire for relief and the increasingly chaotic form that relief takes.

Happy Place movie details

Story without spoilers

The film centers on Mikey, a tired student dealing with built-up frustration. After experiencing lucid dreams, he discovers that he can vent those feelings through increasingly cartoonish encounters involving his friends.

The premise keeps the action within a dream-driven space, where ordinary pressures can take on a more exaggerated form. The supplied story setup focuses on Mikey’s unusual ability and the way it affects the people around him, without revealing how the situation develops or concludes.

What to expect

Happy Place combines action and comedy with a lucid-dreaming premise. Viewers can expect a short, heightened story shaped by cartoonish dream imagery and a student protagonist under pressure. The reference to mental health in the film’s keywords also signals that frustration and emotional strain are part of its central setup, although the supplied information does not specify how those ideas are explored.

Cast and creative team

Chase Hornstein wrote and directed Happy Place. Dylan Swain plays Mikey, with Ryan Cunningham as Wren, Jack Dams as James, Lune Delettre Gros as Em and Ezequiel Vigo Fernandez as Professor.

• Dylan Swain as Mikey
• Ryan Cunningham as Wren
• Jack Dams as James
• Lune Delettre Gros as Em
• Ezequiel Vigo Fernandez as Professor

Release and production context

Happy Place is listed as a 2026 release with a release date of September 1, 2026. It is a 16-minute production from the United Kingdom. The supplied metadata does not list a spoken language or production company.

Happy Place official trailer

Watch the official trailer on YouTube

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Happy Place offers a compact action-comedy premise built around lucid dreaming, student frustration and cartoonish escapism. Its short runtime suggests a focused presentation of Mikey’s unusual situation, while the available details leave the film’s broader resolution and emotional treatment open to discovery.

Film data:
TMDB