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Michele D’Auria, Italian writer and director, has created a short animated film about the days of Soichiro Honda’s life, leading up to his founding of the Honda Motor Company.

While it’s probably safe to say that the dream-like elements of this gorgeous film are exaggerated for the sake of dramatic effect – unless Mr Honda hit the bottle before going to bed – The Power of Dreams is a beautifully animated piece set to a moving, emotional score that does more than its part to put you in the moment.

Young Soichiro and his best friend, who narrates, ride bikes in the gorgeous Japanese countryside. Soichiro likes to help his father in the workshop and fix bikes for the local people. One night, our young hero falls asleep at his drawing board and the pictures literally come off the page. Crayon, pencil and pen drawings leap up and begin to show the story of the corporation Soichiro has yet to establish. Motorcycles and cars go zooming by, and eventually ultra-modern robots work in a factory populated by happy people, including a woman with a truly fabulous haircut (I’d like to know her stylist). The people of Soichiro’s future shuffle his papers and wake him with a new idea that will change his life. Basically, he straps a small motor onto a bicycle, and a legend is born.

What’s great is that this little piece of animated magic isn’t just for those cartoon addicts in the backseat. It’s a beautifully drawn tale with a dreamy soundtrack. The story is voiced in English by Ken Belton, and if I could I’d get him to narrate my life with his fabulous resonance.