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The Imaginary

PG Now Playing 1h 48m Fantasy Adventure Anime TRAILER for The Imaginary: Trailer 1 List The Imaginary: Trailer 1 The Imaginary: Trailer 1 2:02 View more videos
91% Tomatometer 76 Reviews 85% Audience Score Fewer than 50 Ratings Rudger is a boy no one can see, imagined by Amanda to share her thrilling make-believe adventures. But when Rudger, suddenly alone, arrives at The Town of Imaginaries, where forgotten Imaginaries live and find work, he faces a mysterious threat. Read More Read Less Now in Theaters Now Playing Buy Tickets

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The Imaginary

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The Imaginary

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Critics Consensus

A visually splendid and emotionally resonant anime film that appeals to the child in everyone, The Imaginary is a flight of fancy that audiences won't mind getting swept up in.

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Critics Reviews

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Philip De Semlyen Time Out With no Ghibli film in the offing, The Imaginary is an often delightful way to fill the anime gap. Rated: 3/5 Jul 11, 2024 Full Review Brandon Yu New York Times The movie falters periodically under the weight of its own dream logic, which can be hard to follow or flimsily constructed as the story gains momentum. But it’s mostly easy to move past those flaws in a work of such rich magical realism and heart. Jul 8, 2024 Full Review Carlos Aguilar RogerEbert.com A single frame of “The Imaginary” can outshine the mass-produced, visually uninspired animation in some of the American offerings targeting the same demographic. Rated: 3/4 Jul 7, 2024 Full Review Andy Klein FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles) It's a good film, but not a great film. It's longer than it needs to be. Jul 13, 2024 Full Review Hoai-Tran Bui Inverse An enchanting, but lightweight, fantasy adventure. Jul 10, 2024 Full Review Siddhant Adlakha The Daily Beast Just as it approaches poignant moments, it swerves in too many muddled, plot-heavy directions to stick the emotional landing. Jul 9, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jeremy M A very beautifully visualized movie, and a fantastic adaptation of the book that it was based on. It's gorgeous in every way, and takes you places that you may not have thought possible. It's rich material and fine storytelling for multiple generations. There is enough reinforcement of how this world works that my 6 year old was able to understand what was at stake throughout, and it was done efficiently that I didn't feel like I was being walked through everything--there's enough exposure before explanation that you're given the chance to figure things out yourself, which is probably when it hits most emotionally. I really enjoyed the music. It wasn't just something backing the dialogue and animation, but a much more active participant, revisiting themes and driving through the final scenes. I was able to catch this in a theater, and was also impressed by the multichannel mix. I'll miss that at home. Highly recommend, and I wish it had a larger theatrical release as it is the most emotionally powerful animated film this year. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/14/24 Full Review Nick T A beautiful movie to watch if you’re anime fan. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/11/24 Full Review MIghty T What a wonderful family movie great writing and fantastic characterisation Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/08/24 Full Review S. G Too long. Drags. The evil characters are too scary for kids. Also, why is the cat scary? He should be in his own movie, he doesn't work here. It should have been more like "My Father's Dragon (2022 film)". Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/07/24 Full Review I am L My Pikachu ( Hikari ) & My Rioul ( Taichi ): IMAGINATION NEVER DIES 😻+😼 Me: you said it my dear closest alies of mine especially as you guys are part of my family too🥹+🤩 My Rioul ( Taichi ): And who knows what adventures of 2024 are yet to come🙂‍↕️+😼 Story: 7.7/10 Animation: 10/10 Characters: 7.2/10 Overall: 8.9/10✨ My Pikachu ( Hikari ): Happy Soon to be summer solstice 😉+😸 Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/07/24 Full Review Ayoola. O A visually splendid display of emotions diplored in a most fascinating & enjoyable animie style. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/06/24 Full Review Read all reviews
The Imaginary

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The Imaginary

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The Imaginary

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Movie Info

Synopsis Rudger is a boy no one can see, imagined by Amanda to share her thrilling make-believe adventures. But when Rudger, suddenly alone, arrives at The Town of Imaginaries, where forgotten Imaginaries live and find work, he faces a mysterious threat.
Director
Yoshiyuki Momose
Producer
Yoshiaki Nishimura
Screenwriter
Yoshiaki Nishimura
Distributor
Netflix
Production Co
Studio Ponoc
Rating
PG (Thematic Elements|Peril|Some Violence|Scary Images)
Genre
Fantasy, Adventure, Anime
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 28, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 5, 2024
Runtime
1h 48m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Digital 2.39:1
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