Studio Ponoc returns with its first feature film in six years, and The Imaginary is worth the wait. A beautiful, enchanting about a child named Amanda and her make-believe best friend Rudger, celebrates innocence, empathy, and imagination in the face of life’s struggles. Based on the novel by A.
F. Harrold, the film uses the book as a way to demonstrate the power of animation itself. Yoshiyuki Momose is director, while Studio Ponoc founder Yoshiaki Nishimura produced and supplied the screenplay.
A former Studio Ghibli producer, Yoshiaki brings some of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata’s whimsy and magic. Not just in Studio Ghibli’s shadow But The Imaginary is more than just a tribute act. It has dark, existential undertones that contrast the gorgeous visuals, and Yoshiaki told us about reconciling those ideals – and some unexpected influences.
“I felt a need to depict an element of the truth within this film, because we don’t all live in this happy, magical, perfect world,” Yoshiaki told Dexerto. “Children are observing what the world is, and how adults are taking on those challenges, what they are doing to protect them and be there for them, and I wanted to depict that, as well as give clues on how they could overcome the challenges themselves.” Fundamental to what makes The Imaginary so engrossing is the standard of filmmaking from Studio Ponoc.
Breathtaking set pieces litter the Netflix movie, with a light show in a library full of Imaginaries (the in-unive.