Animation veteran Alex Woo knew exactly how to personalize “In Your Dreams,” his feature directing debut.

“As a kid” Woo recalled in a phone interview, “I was obsessed with animation — it just never occurred to me you could do it for a living.

“At 17 I went to this summer school program to get ready for college life. My parents made me go and I was so upset! Because I just started dating my high school girlfriend and I wanted to spend my summer with her.

“But they forced me to go and to get back I dropped the two classes they’d signed me up for and took a figure drawing class.

“I ended up doing so well, at the end the teacher said, ‘You should really think about pursuing the arts for a living. Because you’re really talented.’

“I just had no concept of what you could do as an artist. He said, ‘There’s so many great professions for artists: architect, designer, filmmaker. You can work in animation’ — and when he said ‘animation’ it was like a light bulb just went off in my head.

“I love that it’s such an amazing, versatile, collaborative medium. Now I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life.”

Woo, 44 and a Pixar veteran, tells a story that’s up close and very personal from his childhood. One that uses how kids can find in dreams life lessons.

At 12, Stevie (voiced by Jodie Hoang-Rappaport) is a popular straight A student who is upset to discover her parents might split up. She confides in her younger brother (and roommate) 8-year-old Elliot (Elias Janssen) with a dream scheme she’s discovered about the Sandman, a mythical creature reputed to be able to make dreams come true.

“What inspired this was when I was a kid, my mom left for a little while. She ended up coming back and my parents have been married almost 50 years now.

“But their marriage was far from perfect. When they considered separating, I tried to help keep them together. So, in many ways, I’m Stevie.

“I have one younger brother who Elliot is very much based on. As the elder sibling I was always the obnoxiously overbearing perfectionist. My brother was more the laid back, charming, carefree kid. Always the most popular kid in school. And still, to this day, he’s one of the most popular people I know.

“I think it’s because he takes life as it comes, just goes with the flow. I’m much more with the need to control everything.

“So, much of this movie is about my journey of learning to appreciate his approach to life.”

“In Your Dreams” streams on Netflix Nov. 14

Craig Robinson as Baloney Tony in “In Your Dreams.” (Photo Netflix)