The City of Lost Children

Krank, an intellectually gifted and sinister being, is created by a scientist who disappears shortly thereafter. His unique condition of never dreaming causes him to age rapidly, leading to his reclusive life on an oil rig filled with bizarre inventions.

A cyborg cult known as the Cyclops begins abducting children from a nearby port city. Their goal is to extract the dreams of these children using a device engineered by Krank, who seeks to understand and experience dreams.

Among the kidnapped children is Denrée, the adopted younger brother of One, a carnival muscleman. His abduction sparks a series of events that pushes One into action, as he vows to rescue him.

After a brutal incident leaves the carnival manager wounded, One is coerced by a gang of juvenile delinquents led by conjoined twins known as the Octopus to perform a robbery. The heist initially seems successful until One's distraction leads to disaster.

During the heist, One's attention shifts to Denrée's abductors, leading to the loss of the safe in the harbor. This failure intensifies One's determination to reclaim his brother from the clutches of the Cyclops.

Determined to rescue Denrée, One joins forces with Miette, a spirited orphan girl. They make valiant attempts to infiltrate the Cyclops's stronghold, yet their plans come crashing down as they end up captured themselves.

The Octopus coerces Marcello, a circus artist, to retrieve One. Using trained fleas to create chaos, he successfully executes a rescue plan, enabling One to escape, albeit temporarily from his predicament.

In a turn of events, Miette sinks into the harbor but is rescued by a diver suffering from amnesia. This moment is pivotal as it leads Miette on a quest to reunite with One and Marcello.

After finding Miette alive, Marcello feels a deep sense of guilt that leads to his reluctant decision to let One join her. This sets the stage for their continued fight against the Octopus and the Cyclops.

The Octopus uses Marcello's stolen fleas to incite violence in One against Miette. This confrontation is exacerbated by Miette's tears, triggering a dramatic sequence culminating in a ship crashing into the pier.

Back at Krank’s oil rig, Irvin manipulates one of the clones to send out a distress signal encapsulated in a dream. This act awakens memories in the diver, who realizes his past as the scientist's creation and the oil rig's original purpose.

In a perilous move, Miette enters the dreamscape to negotiate for Denrée's freedom. Knowing the risks involved, she cleverly offers to serve as a source of inspiration for Krank's dreams, spinning an intricate web of deception.

Miette confronts Krank within the dream world, where she must outwit him to save Denrée. Her resilience pays off as she manages to turn the dream into a loop, leading to a catastrophic breakdown in Krank's psyche.

As One and Miette successfully release the captive children, the deranged diver prepares to blow up the oil rig. His internal turmoil leads him to seek redemption in a final act of chaos.

Just as the diver seeks salvation, a seabird accidentally triggers the explosives, resulting in a massive explosion that destroys the oil rig. This finale marks the tragic end for both the diver and Krank’s twisted creation.