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The Imaginary

AnimeAdventureDrama

Rudger is a boy no one can see, imagined by Amanda to share her thrilling make-believe adventures. When Rudger arrives alone at The Town of Imaginaries, where forgotten Imaginaries live and find work, he faces a mysterious threat.

Year

2024

Duration

1h 45m

IMDb

6.8

Hero Poster

Cast

KT

Kokoro Terada

Rudger

Rio Suzuki

Amanda

Sakura Andô

Lizzie

Cast

KT

Kokoro Terada

Rudger

Rio Suzuki

Amanda

Sakura Andô

Lizzie

Riisa Naka

Emily

Takayuki Yamada

Jinzan

AT

Atsuko Takahata

Downbeat Grandma

Issei Ogata

Mr. Bunting

Akira Terao

Old Dog

Hana Sugisaki

Aurora

TI

Teiyû Ichiryûsai

Honneko Garigari

MK

Mitsuaki Kanuka

Koyuki

Ikue Ôtani

Doron

KH

Kokoro Hirasawa

Julia

EK

Eito Kawahara

John

Trailer

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Comments

10 Comments

Henry DesaguAug 17, 2024

The Imaginary is proof that animation is by far the best medium to tell a story like this. Everything runs on imagination and childlike wonder here and the film has more than enough visual beauty, inventive character designs and wonderful adventures to be worthy of its title. It's colourful, emotional and briefly disturbing in ways that all greatest animated films achieve, even if it's not at their level. Rio Suzuki and Kokoro Terada have all the required energy and childlike innocence, mixed with determination and affecting sadness to lead this with ease. Issey Ogata is surprisingly creepy with an uncomfortable presence that easily matches his character's most disturbing actions and on the other end of the spectrum, everyone else does a great job of being as adorable as the imaginary friends they voice. Yoshiyuki Momose's direction is endlessly inventive from the very beginning and can handle the bigger tonal shifts in a way that prevents them from feeling jarring. The animation in general is absolutely breathtaking, relishing the opportunity to deliver so much exciting, colourful spectacle. Kenji Tamai's score has the sweeping emotion required to really tug at the heartstrings when necessary.

Ouiam :)Aug 14, 2024

After watching this movie, it just had a special place in my heart. The music, the world-building, the emotions between the imaginary friends and their owners, AND THE ANIMATION, truly brought out the life and the sense of imagination at its purest form it's, just truly magical...I almost felt like an inspired child. At the end of the movie Amanda said let's go on our last adventure then Rudger starts fading...It was truly emotional for me, I just wish things didn't go out that way I wish everyone could get a happy ending, but I guess not. Spectacular and heart-felt movie for me, I truly love movies that bring this out of me, thank you Studio Ponoc.

𝙀𝙡𝙞Aug 7, 2024

Studio Ponoc is a studio that have some of the staff from Ghibli studio. The films that they made prior to "The Imaginary" have the essence of the magic that encapsulate the spirit of Ghibli. It's like a love child of Ghibli, growing up and make their own steps. The Imaginary is a testament of that fact. The ratings doesn't do justice to the quality this film exudes: Top tier animation, beautiful sceneries, touching story, and magical sentiment throughout. I watched from start to finish and I cannot think of one thing to complain about this film. Granted, i wasn't expecting anything to top the masterpiece Ghibli delivers over the years prior to watching this, but trust me, just turn off your judgmental brain, let the imagination runs wild, and have fun watching this beautiful film.

lørd dävîdAug 1, 2024

I love this movie

Carla BastosJul 16, 2024

This sure seems like it belongs in the same universe as Happy! That Imaginary blue donkey. Which was dark, but amazing. This too. Is dark and amazing. Same plot as Happy too, pretty much. Just a couple of things keep it from being perfect. THe boy talking at the beginning is super annoying. Just repeating the same line over and over again. 2. Its dark. Very Dark for an animated film. And the worst thing about this movie is the ending. After all that...reconnecting with BingBon and everything and the characters talk about how this will be their final adventure? But why. This practically ruins the entire rest of the film. It doesnt make any sense within the context of the movie. It just happens for no reason. Reminds me a lot of Happy, paprika, Studio Ghiibli.

AzangaJul 14, 2024

Beautiful film, until the ending. The core message of the film and the emotional payoff is broken. Despite the emotional events with the main character's loss of her father, subsequent creation of an imaginary friend, and their risks of losing one another to a metaphorical "devouring worm" of despair, there is no change to the repressive mantra which created their despair and avoidance - "Never Cry." The characters survive a deadly encounter, but remain unchanged and repeat the harmful mantra as they flee back to imaginary land. My 10 year old even caught it. She was into the film until the ending, and exclaimed "What the heck was that ending?!"

Lilly KoriJul 9, 2024

I just watched a new anime kid's movie on Netflix called The Imaginary. It's about a little girl and her imaginary friend who are threatened by someone who has lived for hundreds of years by devouring children's imaginary friends. I think kid's movies can be broken into two types. There are Miyazaki's films, which are the best. They were made because they had to be made. They were a compulsive expression of the artistic mind behind them and are not restricted to a juvenile viewing public. Then there are kid's movies that were made simply to be a kid's movie and make a buck from the kid audience. They range from utter trash like The Goonies to okay movies like The Imaginary. It has some good ideas in it and I guess it is worth a watch.

Anita GordonJul 9, 2024

I gonna say, this is my first review in IMDb. The background and view of the story is amazing. Limited by the discription of protagnist, some supporting characters are some sort of plate. I was really touched by Emily and long for more stories of her and the "reality Girl?" should be added more details (my problems?). The face of her when looking mum and A and her final behavior is quite deep and inspiring. Good painting style espeacially in the fantasy parts. I don't like too much motto in lines, that's why I said for adults NO.1; NO.2 the movie offers a new perspective for adults to understand children and the set of mum's dog is beneficial; NO.3 it occurs to me some plots in a horror movie, I have forgetten the title, and COCO about the memory of ancestos, which is also about forget.

Mother of memesJul 7, 2024

I heard about this movie a couple of days ago and I decided to give it a watch, knowing nothing about the plot and I will say that this movie was amazing. Positives for The Imaginary (2024): First of all, being that this is an anime fantasy movie, you know that the animation in this movie is going to look gorgeous especially given that it's hand-drawn animation and this type of animation is my personal favorite. I loved how the world of Imaginaries was being visualized in this movie and in a year where there have been three movies about imaginary friends with Blumhouse's Imaginary and IF, this movie stands out as being the best out of these three movies. I loved all of the characters in the movie and I cared about the journey that these Imaginaries go on. Honestly, watching this movie made me feel like a kid again and all of the emotions that come with that are phenomenal. Mixed for The Imaginary (2024): The way that the plot plays out is very predictable and you know exactly how the conflict is going to be resolved by the end of the runtime, but thankfully I was enjoying my time of being emersed in this world. Overall, The Imaginary (2024) is one of the most splendid animated movies that I've watched in a while and that's saying a lot given that I'm an adult. However, I still continue to get a kick out of watching animated movies and that's not going to change for me at all.

msika😍💯Jul 6, 2024

Never in my ever loving platform of Netflix like a animated movie made by studio Ponoc that is not related to studio eight wonder of the world Ghibli, bringing a mixture of Ponyo, Princess Monoke, anything Pixar made. Magnificent made cause of lost of innocence once we re youngling, meeting the trouble making las Amanda that ve imaginari young adventurer lad call Rudger that go out on many ventures from snow hills to the Cameron underwater, change all when accident happens making our lad feeling afraid for the disappearance, until discovering whole new worlds of all imaginari go, awesome premise even the villain a immortal big red nose Mr. Bunting accompanied by her Emily the strange knockoff trying to eat him. The animation like said at beginning is amazing vivid scenery n explosive transformation that really won't stop like the library scene where they all go once forgotten, where every night the library take em to any tourist place Rome to even the Himalleyas. Then hospital chase scene that where's they went Ponyo mode, seeing Mr. Bumting as torpedo remind of some Flesher bro Popeyes cartoons. British voice acting was very, forget it ye know when they speak is modest let leave to that. So conclude Netflix outdone with their anime movies of all kind my fav till is A Whisker Away, but they won't stop making awesome family films. This is well experimented. Wanna see some more from this studio, like said the imagination don't know limits. Smily face.