Studio Ponoc Outdoes John Krasinski in the Sweet Anime The Imaginary

Amidst all of its lush 2-D animation and fantastical dreamworld imagery, The Imaginary can also take pride in having absolutely scooped budding auteur John Krasinski. In the U.S., it may look like the opposite; Krasinski’s family fantasy IF opened back in May, while The Imaginary is taking its very similar premise to Netflix (following a limited theatrical run) a month-and-a-half later. But the latter was released in Japan in 2023, and moreover, The Imaginary runs further and faster with its family-friendly concept.

The third release from Studio Ponoc, a Japanese animation studio formed by former Studio Ghibli staffers, The Imaginary is a little twinklier and more straightforward than its Ghibli cousins, with some dreamscapes that look suspiciously Lisa Frank-y. But it has more legitimate imagination than the sweaty whimsy of IF. The Imaginary follows the recently forged but tight friendship between Amanda (voiced in the English dub by Evie Kiszel) and Rudger (Louie Rudge-Buchanan), a little boy who happens to be visible only to Amanda, his creator. Amanda, like many of the characters in IF, seems a little old for imaginary friends, but The Imaginary makes Rudger both more tactile and more ephemeral, a product of both imaginary play and personal coping mechanism. Understanding the struggles of her recently widowed mother Lizzie (Hayley Atwell), Amanda tries her best to stay strong in a difficult situation, and makes up Rudger as a playmate who will share her particular vows, including a promise to never cry.

Like the creatures in IF, Rudger turns out to have a life of his own, though he does maintain a delicate tether to the material world; once a child starts to forget their imaginary friend, the friend will start to disintegrate into a kind of stardust, though the process is not always immediate. The invisible, imaginary, but not-yet-disappeared population gathers at a local library, where they can sign up to serve as temporary playmates for various lonely children. (What qualifies them for this service, rather than returning to the ether, feels a little muddled.) Rudger doesn’t seem to be in danger of disappearing – Amanda treasures him – until his real-world girl suffers an accident and loses consciousness. The disappearing process could be further accelerated if Rudger is caught by Mr. Bunting (Jeremy Swift), who can appear in the human world (Rudger remains steadfastly invisible to Lizzie and others) and seeks to consume imaginaries, with the help of his Emily the Strange-ish assistant.