ANI-MOVIES, *The Imaginary

Having nothing to do with the recently released horror movie with a similar title, The Imaginary is the second full-length anime movie by Studio Ponoc since Mary And The Witch's Flower which was written by former Ghibli producer Yoshiaki Nishimura. Similar to current Pakistan movie of The Glassworker, this film took a major influence from the Studio Ghibli's history of films, specifically Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away, even though the world this story takes place in gives off stronger vibes of something you would see out of Pixar. The Imaginary is largely hand-drawn animation, so it took a considerable amount of time to complete, which is why Ponoc worked on it for over six years to complete it along with a release date delayed by six months. In what seems to be the middle of an "imaginary friends renaissance", this film actually sticks the landing as is directed by another former Ghibli alumni, Yoshiyuki Momose.

Amanda is a little girl who copes with the loss of her father by creating her imaginary friend Rudger who is a young boy that only she can see or hear. Imaginaries as they are called are subject to some physical laws, so they can't go through walls like a ghost, and they only exist if a child believes in them. An enigmatic stranger called Mr. Bunting uses his old gloomy imaginary friend that looks like Samara from The Ring to hunt down other Imaginaries and feed off them to prolong his life. Bunting gets a whiff of Rudger's potency and plans to consume him. He tracks down Rudger which causes Amanda to get hit by a car sending her to the hospital, leaving Rudger to fend for himself. Luckily, our lone hero gets found by the strange talking cat Zinzan who leads him to a nearby library that doubles as a home for imaginary friends where they are safe and act as substitutes for children who don't have one of their own. Rudger is introduced to other Imaginaries who help him find his place among the others, but he still worries about Amanda, so he becomes the stand-in Imaginary for Amanda's friend who envisions him as a girl leading to some hilarious but innocent gender-bending. Rudger now has to find Amanda still alive in a local hospital while inside a girl's body, all while avoiding the nosey Mr. Bunting.

The Imaginary is done for the most part in very light pastel colors but is not afraid to get dark when it needs to. The entire movie is reminiscent of the grim fantasy films of the 80s, enjoyable enough for the whole family and entertaining enough for kids. Studio Ponoc's animation takes a serious step up for their second feature anime movie from nearly a decade ago. There are entire scenes that blend dramatic changes in tone going from something out of a daydream and quickly shifting into a nightmare which can lead to a slight case of narrative whiplash. The other problem is that the inner lore regarding the world rules of the Imaginaries keeps changing making it difficult to keep up with the story's narrative. The Imaginary has some flaws in its overall presentation, even though its message of having faith in oneself makes it an indelible mark for a studio carrying on the classic Ghibli tradition.