What if your imaginary friends that you’ve forgotten never really left? Where do they go after you’ve forgotten them?
From the mind of renowned animator Yoshiyuki Momose (Spirited Away) and Studio Ponoc, The Imaginary tells the story of a time when children’s imaginations ran wild with creativity and wonder – told through the eyes of Amanda (English dub: Evie Kiszel / Japanese: Rio Suzuki) and her imaginary companion, Rudger (English dub: Louie Rudge-Buchanan / Japanese: Kokoro Terada).
When a mysterious entity threatens Amanda, Rudger finds himself alone, fearing that he may disappear and be forgotten. He finds himself in The Town of Imaginaries, where forgotten Imaginaries live and work. But the threat follows him, and he must find a way to defeat it and return to Amanda.
Bringing the characters to life, the hand-drawn animation of The Imaginary is elevated by its first-of-its-kind techniques of light and shadow. The English-dubbed cast is a star-studded ensemble, including Hayley Atwell, Sky Katz, Jeremy Swift, Kal Penn, LeVar Burton, Jane Singer, Ruby Barnhill, Roger Craig Smith, Courtenay Taylor, and Miles Nibbe. The Japanese voice talent is equally impressive, featuring Sakura Ando, Riisa Naka, Takayuki Yamada, Atsuko Takahata, Issei Ogata, Akira Terao, Hana Sugisaki, Teiyu Ichiryusai, Ikue Otani, Mitsuaki Kanuka, Kokoro Hirasawa, and Eito Kawahara. The film was written and produced by Yoshiaki Nishimura.
The Imaginary is set to release on Netflix on July 5, 2024.
Check out the trailer below:
Studio Ponoc is the animation studio founded in 2015 by former Studio Ghibli producer Yoshiaki Nishimura (nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for The Tale of The Princess Kaguya and When Marnie Was There). The name “Studio Ponoc” comes from the Croatian word “ponoć,” which means “midnight” or the beginning of a new day, reflecting founder Nishimura’s goal of a new start for animation created in Japan. The studio produced and released worldwide director Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s Mary and The Witch’s Flower in summer 2017 as its first animated feature film and created a new production label – “Ponoc Short Films Theatre” – in 2018, releasing Modest Heroes: Ponoc Short Films Theatre, Volume 1, the first anthology of short animated films from Studio Ponoc, a grand fantasy adventure, a moving human drama of love, and an action spectacle. In 2021, the studio created Tomorrow’s Leaves, the world’s first animated short film inspired by the Olympic values. The studio is currently producing several animated feature films.