THE IMAGINARY - Studio Ponoc's The Imaginary will premiere on Netflix later this year. Cr: Netflix © 2024 Ponoc
Courtney Howard // Film Critic
THE IMAGINARY
Rated PG, 1 hour and 48 minutes
Directed by: Yoshiyuki Momose
Starring: Louie Rudge-Buchanan, Evie Kiszel, Hayley Atwell, Sky Katz, Jeremy Swift, Kal Penn, LeVar Burton, Roger Craig Smith, Courtenay Taylor
THE IMAGINARY has a greater understanding of why children create imaginary friends than the recently released IF. It knows that kids concoct those invisible confidantes as psychological tools to cope with everything from conversational problem solving to overcoming challenging, abstract concepts like loneliness and grief. And, though not entirely perfect in its execution, the narrative contains far fewer blights when it comes to its creative choices. Director Yoshiyuki Momose’s animated feature, centered on a young imaginary boy who faces an evil threat, acts as a soothing salve with its immersive world-building, wildly beguiling animation and meaningful message.
Blonde mop-headed adventurer Rudger (voiced by Louie Rudge-Buchanan) may appear to be an adolescent boy, but he’s actually only 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days old. He’s a figment of young Amanda Shuffleup’s (Evie Kiszel) imagination – a new bestie for otherworldly adventures within the comfort of her attic playroom after the drudgery of elementary school. Their illusionary escapes include everything from a bird flying over expansive landscapes to a green musk-ox driven sleigh ride through a winter wonderland. Amanda’s energy and imaginings are boundless, distracting her a bit too much from the rules of real life much to her mom Lizzie’s (Hayley Atwell) chagrin.
Amanda’s life isn’t all happy. Not only is her family’s bookshop struggling to stay in business, she’s reluctant to address a recent problem that’s plaguing them, which has led to arguments with her concerned, caring mother. Her life turns upside down when bespectacled, big-nosed Mr. Bunting (Jeremy Swift) and his silent hench-imaginary – a cursed school girl looking like the scary spirit from JU-ON dressed like Wednesday Addams – show up to capture and eat Rudger. However, whilst fleeing the persistent pair’s advances, Amanda is hit by a car, separating her from a frightened Rudger. As he figures out if his human charge is still alive, his journey takes him to exciting new places filled with other imaginary friends, like the wise alley cat ZinZan (Kal Penn), intrepid tween Emily (Sky Katz), doofy pink hippo Snowflake (Roger Craig Smith) and silly skeleton Cruncher-of-Bones (Courtenay Taylor).
Adapted from A.F. Harrold’s award-winning novel of the same name, Momose and writer Yoshiaki Nishimura deliver a sweet-spirited story that feels equally as enlightened as it is entertaining. While the basics of this tale of a young boy attempting to reunite with his friend while battling against dark forces seems straight-forward, there are gobs of profundity found in its metaphors and allegories. Heartening sentiments about love, loss and the growing pains of adolescence and adulthood are thoroughly explored and easily digestible for audiences. Similar to Miyazaki films of its ilk, the picture’s world-building is exceptional. The ever-changing Imaginary Towns and the litany of the wacky, weird creatures that inhabit them are ultra-imaginative and inspired. Big action set pieces like the confrontations with Mr. Bunting and kid-powered spaceship pursuit (which utilizes “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” in an adorable way) serve up spectacle and wonderment.
That said, scenarios can get a little scary for youngsters as it deals with complex issues parents may not want to broach yet with their kids. Superficially, it’s kinda seedy that a grown man wants to eat a young boy. It’s also never really clear why creepy Mr. Bunting has to eat Rudger versus any other imaginary in order to survive. His henchgal’s motivations are as murky as her gray skin tone. A few informational reveals aren’t as potent as they could be given they’re not very well-disguised, specifically anything dealing with Amanda’s father and the Old Dog (LeVar Burton) Rudger meets. Yet those character elements provide the best connective emotional impact, especially in the dénouement.
In the cinematic pantheon of imaginary besties, Rudger ranks a few steps below the looming legends in HARVEY, PETITE MAMAN and INSIDE OUT and far above the annoying titular creation in DROP DEAD FRED and those of his ilk in IF.
Grade: B
THE IMAGINARY begins streaming on Netflix on July 5.
Critic’s note: Netflix allows subscribers to access both the subtitled and English dubbed versions via the menu options. Having seen both in their entirety, I highly recommend the English dubbed version.
