L'immaginario

Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald

Kids' movies about imaginary friends might be a dime a dozen, but The Imaginary has several characteristics that make it special.

Artwork

The animation and artwork are exemplary and gorgeous. Both urban and rural environments are rendered using beautiful drawings and traditional techniques, even when rapidly evolving fantastical events are being portrayed. Remember the parade scene in Paprika? Be prepared for some similar imagery.

Story

The story in this PG rated film starts out feeling recognizable. A young girl in a troubled home with an overactive imagination not only has an imaginary friend, but she also constructs amazingly illustrated worlds into which she and her friend escape. But soon we see a darker side of her imaginary world.

Characters

We eventually see that the problems she experiences in her imaginary world must be addressed by her imaginary friend and his newfound allies. The number of characters rapidly expands including-remember this is a Japanese film-a talking cat.

Crossover

While the crossover between real and imaginary worlds is handled initially via a fairly standard Alice In Wonderland style portal, eventually the relationship between the two worlds becomes complicated as danger emerges into the real world and an accident occurs that has repercussions in the imaginary world.

Rating

This is a PG rated film. I would think carefully about how very young children will handle it. The death of a parent is referenced early on but that is a standard Disney plot point. There are some scary scenes that will frighten really young kids accustomed only to formulaic manufactured animated TV series.

My six-year-old granddaughter, already an experienced Miyazaki fan and lover of films like Bubble, Suzume, and My Oni Girl, liked it very much.

Someone with a preference for a Minions-style humor might not appreciate it. The dialogue is very well written. English voice acting is solid. Plot points are revealed in ways that assume the viewer is paying close attention.

Review copyright 2024 by Dennis D. McDonald, www ddmcd com.

Giving this an 8/10 rating

New film from Studio Ponic, which is and adaptation of an english fantasy novel. This film covers ground that has been stepped on by 'Imaginary Friends', which is still out in the cinema, so you can do this as a double bill if you want, both films are very good and quite dream like, but this more so as it's animated, giggling it a very different feel, the story is different, but the themes is both films are the same.

In this film, the power of the mind is very well explored into dark territory, as the evil in this, is evil, and is quite scary, and you will go-'what the hell is this',, and the film has these comments in it, and some quite joyful scenes, and the characters, real or not, a very well defined and worth sicking with.

I managed to see this in the cinema, and as always, this is the best way for an very well crafted animation, you will get the most out of it.

I was really looking forward to watching this with my kids after I saw the trailer but the end result was very disappointing for me. It had the surface charm of a Studio Ghibli flick, which we are huge fans of. What could have been a work of art sadly falls short for one very distracting reason. The story, art design, characters, world, etc. Are all fantastic and it would be a visual treat were it not for the jarring camera movements, jittering, and blurriness that are prevalent throughout the movie, especially during high action sequences. Made it very difficult for me to stay focused through the whole thing and nearly caused motion sickness in parts.

Studio Ponic ain't no Studio Ghibli for sure but it's visual atmosphere and interesting concept does wave away a mighty blast and engagement for children and families. Filled with amazing animation, character designs, and colorful structures, the concept about children's imagination and the allegory surrounding them is interesting and while it's writing is convoluted, it's ambitious direction holds up and carries away with magic and some spark.

The characters and settings are interesting but I found myself being more invested with the supporting characters rather than the main lead and I wish the movie had a bit more focus on the supporting characters instead. Alongside with some great voice performances, dialogue, and pacing.

All in all, this isn't going to be the same as Ghibli but I am looking forward to see what Ponic offers next.

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.