There’s no understating how the concept of imaginary friends has found itself firmly in recent films because we’ve had films like IF and Imaginary essentially explore two sides of the same coin. IF explores the ideas of friendship and finding joy in the midst of tragedy through childlike wonder while Imaginary flips that concept upside down and asks what if there’s something darker to uncover.
However, for The Imaginary, it manages to take pieces from both movies and puts its best foot forward in what’s only Yoshiaki Nishimura’s second produced film following his departure from Studio Ghibli.
The Imaginary is based on A.F. Harrold’s book of the same name, following the perspective of Rudger, an imaginary friend who has fun adventures with his human friend Amanda, who’s facing her own troubles alongside her mother Lizzie. They’re both dealing with the aftermath of an incident that forces Rudger to be alone. However, he’s able to find himself within a community made of imaginaries just like himself even though there’s someone dangerous hunting those like him down: the eerie, Gargamel-like Mr. Bunting.
From a visual standpoint, director Yoshiyuki Momose, Yoshiaki Nishimura and Studio Ponoc have created such eye-catching environments ranging from the human world that feels straight out of Kiki’s Delivery Service or Whisper of the Heart to the wild and colorful realities made up by the kids in the film.
Each imaginated set piece has its own spark of life like there’s one set piece where Rudger and his companions are on the moon in the middle of a sci-fi action shootout and another near the beginning of the film where Amanda imagines this winter wonderland with Rudger and they all just pop out in so many creative ways.
The biggest thing that I really seemed to enjoy in this film was how Momose, Nishimura and the vocal cast really brought all of these characters to life. The designs of the abstract imaginary characters are just so cute in their own special ways such as the hippo friend, Snowflake, that follows Rudger around and a small skeleton character that almost reminds me of the Kodama from Princess Monoke, only saying one word to convey what he’s actually saying. They make up the film’s more comedic moments, which are sprinkled here and there to keep a more lighthearted tone.
However, Mr. Bunting also seems to take a bit of that spotlight. Both dubs of the film provide a set of unique vocal performances, but I stuck closely to the English dub for this one. I was a little put off by Jeremy Swift’s voice as Bunting, who actually reminded me of Tony, the clock teacher from Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, but the character itself made for a good antagonist. He’s an old man who’s been feeding on imaginaries for hundreds of years thanks to the help of his own silent imaginary friend, who he corrupted in order to gain more power.
Speaking of imaginary friends, the film creates the system of the imaginary world in a way similar to IF, yet uses it to propel its personalized narrative higher. Humans create these entities out of their coping in the midst of crisis and once they grow up, the imaginaries settle into the Library, a community to keep them safe and find new human friends. As such, it serves as a great emotional element that’s utilized to the fullest here.
This film blends its happy, go-lucky tone with a poignant, mature thematic undertaking that beautifully balances the tonal and emotional darkness of imaginary friends. These imaginaries are meant to help us get through our childhoods and through those pains as seen with Rudger being there for Amanda in her time of need. However, we eventually grow up and return to what’s reality or hold on to them for too long that it drives us to take that dream away from others. For the imaginaries, it’s a case of whether or not they’ll be able to find a home after their human friend grows up or forget and wither away in the end, adding onto the complex layers of this film.
In Amanda’s case, her close connection to Rudger explores this deeply as she’s essentially using him as a way to cope through an event that has changed her and her mother’s life even though her mother is coping with it through different means as an adult. Momose’s direction helps to further deepen the familial dynamics of the film as Rudger and Amanda’s relationship actually felt more alive than other similar relationships in such films.
I really loved how this film is able to take such an idea and expand upon it, especially in its first two acts. However, at certain points, the film can feel like it’s trying to quickly decide whether or not it wants to be joyful or terrifying, which especially shows by near the final third as Rudger and company have to get to Amanda after another incident caused by Bunting. It definitely felt like there were some shifts, both visually and musically, that had to be taken here and there to equally balance out the two different tones that were being applied.
It might also feel like, with recently released related films, it is not necessarily treading into new territory. However, it rather provides its own perspective in a way that only a medium like animation could bring to life by exploring the idea through visual means. Thanks to the creative liberties of animation, the film actually has more of an advantage by presenting these worlds and these characters through a story that young viewers can enjoy while older audiences can nostalgically appreciate.
Overall, The Imaginary succeeds in carrying out its inspired narrative with some strong emotional beats and wonderful visuals. Yoshiaki Nishimura and Studio Ponoc have shown, through this film, that they have what it takes to be the next big thing to Ghibli even if they still have a few ways to go.
The Imaginary releases in theaters on June 28 and on Netflix on July 5.
