The Imaginary
By Jennifer Green,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Animated film about imaginary friends has intense scenes.
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The Imaginary
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What's the Story?
In THE IMAGINARY, Amanda (Rio Suzuki) is an only child to a single mother, widowed when Amanda's father passed away. Amanda has a vivid imagination and plays alone in her room all day with her imaginary friend, Rudger (Kokoro Terada). Nobody else can see Rudger, except for a creepy man, Mr. Bunting, who can smell Rudger from miles away and wants to consume him. Mr. Bunting seems to live off the souls of imaginary friends, who eventually disappear on their own once they are forgotten by the growing children who imagined them. When Amanda is in an accident, Rudger gets caught up in a hideout of forgotten imaginaries and must determine whether it's worth risking his life on the outside, where Mr. Bunting is after him, to find Amanda again.
Is It Any Good?
The highs and lows of this film evoke surprisingly strong emotions, though this same quality could make it too much for younger audiences. This is a shame, because The Imaginary's main message seems to be that we should delight in the human capacity for imagination, most natural to children. There are also some spectacular and inspiring scenes here, such as the creation of imagined worlds built of library books, or the way "imaginaries" drop into random children's play dreams.
This certainly isn't the first film to be constructed around children's vivid imaginations, but the creators go overboard in creating such a frightening villain. He creepily inhales the living force out of the imaginaries, and when he sucks up his own ghoulish child sidekick, he spits out her fumes and exclaims they taste rotten. It's too much.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the idea of imaginary friends, like Amanda's friend Rudger in The Imaginary. Did you have an imaginary friend as a child? Do you remember that friend now? Talk to the adults in your life about their own experiences.
What did you make of the character of Mr. Bunting? Did you find him scary? What age viewers do you think this film was made for? What age do you think is an appropriate one to watch it?
How does Rudger show courage in his belief that Amanda is still alive and his determination to go to her and help her live, despite the risk to himself? How would the story have changed if Rudger had accepted Amanda's death?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: July 5, 2024
- Cast: Kokoro Terada , Rio Suzuki , Riisa Naka
- Director: Yoshiyuki Momose
- Inclusion Information: Female actors, Asian actors
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy , Adventures , Book Characters , Cats, Dogs, and Mice , Friendship
- Character Strengths: Courage
- Run time: 105 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG
- MPAA explanation: scary images, peril, thematic elements and some violence
- Last updated: July 2, 2024
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