Imaginary friends and entities seem to be all over the 2024 movie calendar, and Netflix is about to get in on the fun, too, by releasing Studio Ponoc’s animated fantasy The Imaginary to U.S. audiences. Not to be confused with the Blumhouse horror Imaginary or John Krasinski’s imaginary friend flick IF, The Imaginary was adapted from a novel and centers around Amanda and her friendship with the invisible entity she created — her Imaginary — named Rudger. The film, which was released in Japanese theaters in December, will be available to stream with a Netflix subscription on July 5, so let’s see what critics have to say.
In The Imaginary, Amanda manufactures Rudger as a coping mechanism following her father’s death. The two embark on great journeys together within the confines of Amanda’s mind, until their friendship is threatened by the sinister Mr. Bunting and his own Imaginary, as well as other forces. In CinemaBlend’s review of The Imaginary, Mike Reyes says to have tissues handy for both happy and sad tears, as this movie is one of the best animated films of the year so far. He rates it 4.5 stars out of 5, and says:
We’re not told to put on our blinders and wait for the emotional wallop waiting at the end of The Imaginary, but rather the audience is conditioned to accept that fate every step of the way. As a result, the peril and the pathos shine equally bright, which more than likely explains why the more outrageous adventures throughout hold their worth. For a movie that seems to have a limitless imagination, The Imaginary never forgets to pair that with empathy and emotional intelligence, making it one of the best animated films this year has to offer so far.
John Nguyen of Nerd Reactor also gives it 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling it “emotional and adventurous.” While it explores many of the same themes as IF, Nguyen finds The Imaginary to be the more engaging and heartfelt experience, as it concocts characters the audience wants to root for while simultaneously tugging the heartstrings. The critic continues:
With Momose and Studio Ponoc working on the film, the film has that Studio Ghibli touch. To elevate the film even further, the hand-drawn animation features a lot of shadows, highlights and color, giving it a painterly aesthetic. The Imaginary has a lot of heart and adventure and dives deep into loss and love compellingly. The English dub is top-notch, the animation is imaginative, vivid, and detailed, and the characters are endearing. It’s one of the best-animated films of the year.
Peter Debruge of Variety says with a screenplay from Studio Ghibli’s former lead producer Yoshiaki Nishimura and another Ghibli veteran in director Yoshiyuki Momose, The Imaginary is about as close as you can get to the famed animation studio without bringing Hayao Miyazaki himself on. That serves as both a comfort and a limitation, Debruge says, writing:
It should be no surprise that a movie called The Imaginary all but erupts with whimsical ideas, and on that front, this fanciful offering works. But it falls short in other fundamental ways, from the voice work (Studio Ponoc produces its own English-language dubs, but only Atwell breathes real personality into her performance) to the anime characters’ limited range of expressions. Too often, cookie-cutter faces freeze, unblinking and inscrutable but for their flapping mouths. Adapting a pre-existing novel gave Nishimura and Momose a solid starting point, but next time out, they’d do well to lean more on their own imaginations.
Anthony McGlynn of Dextero, however, says the movie evokes Studio Ghibli in all the right ways and could make a good double-feature for those seeing Pixar’s Inside Out 2 in theaters. The critic rates The Imaginary 4 out of 5 stars and says:
Childlike curiosity and wonder permeates The Imaginary, evident from the colours of Amanda’s bedroom right through to the glorious song-and-dance of the society of Imaginaries Rudger finds. Studio Ponoc and director Yoshiyuki Momose treat the concept as an excuse to lower their own inhibitions, taking any chance to include more brightness and movement.
Tom O’Brien of Next Best Picture rates it a 7 out of 10, praising the way The Imaginary differs from other similar movies in choosing to focus on the made-up friends themselves rather than their creators. That ups the emotional stakes, the critic says, writing:
Part of the reason why The Imaginary works as well as it does is that director Momose and screenwriter Nishimura understand that if you’re going to take on world-building in your film, the rules and consequences of your world have to make apparent a necessity that recently tripped up IF, for example. By making Rudger the protagonist, we are constantly reminded of the stakes involved with his quest, of what he can and can’t do, and how easily he can disappear — all consequences that allow us to become invested in his success even more.
The Imaginary has been Certified Fresh by Rotten Tomatoes, with a 94% critics rating, and it sounds like they mostly agree this is one worth checking out, as long as you’re ready for an emotional hit to the gut. The Studio Ponoc film drops Friday, July 5, on Netflix, one of the best streaming services to subscribe to.
