Have you ever had a pretend friend who seems to appear out of nowhere? Or Maybe you’ve even used an invisible friend as a scapegoat for something you don’t want to account for? If this resonates, you might find Imaginary Friends (IF) intriguing.
A movie about invisible characters that can only be seen by their owners, or by gifted people, the comedy adventure movie premieres today (17 May 2024) at Ster-Kinekor Cinemas.
IF takes you to an imaginary world filled with different characters who befriend humans – until they grow up and stop thinking about them. Cailey Fleming stars as Bea, a girl who can see imaginary friends and has recently moved in with her grandmother to her old childhood home, after experiencing difficulties and her father (John Krasinski) being hospitalised. Bea discovers that her old childhood friend and neighbour, Cal, (Ryan Reynolds) has an imaginary friend living in the same building.
The plot centres on Cal discovering that Bea has superpowers to see other people’s imaginary friends and introduces her to an incredible world full of astonishing characters seeking new friends.
“Are any of them scary?” asks Bea. Cal answers: “Worse, desperate.”
Together, Cal and Bea formulate an agency to link these imaginary friends with new children, and ensure they have companions. Despite encountering some difficulties, they eventually succeed and manage to connect each child with an imaginary friend.
The movie has a lot of heartwarming moments. It also encapsulates humour, creativity and wonderful adventurous visuals. Nevertheless it highlights the pivotal role that fictional characters play in children’s social interactions.
IF is written, produced, and directed by John Krasinski.The cast include the voices of Steve Carell as Blue, Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Blossom and Louis Gossett Jr as Lewis..
*Angelique Mogotlane is a Content Manager and writer for Gadget.co.za. Follow her on Twitter @Angelique135i.