Hold onto your seats, kids and kids-at-heart: the unbelievably fantastic Ryan Reynolds and his talented young co-star Cailey Fleming are stepping into the impossible with director John KrasinskiΒ ‘s Imaginary Friends (IF) movie, now on circuit in South Africa!
Twelve-year-old Bea (Fleming) is a quiet, reserved child who has already lost her mom to cancer and is terrified about losing her dad (KrasinskiΒ ) too, as he faces a cardiac crisis in a New York hospital. With no time to play or dream, Bea is initially hesitant to believe her eyes and mind when she encounters the mysterious, grumpy Cal (Reynolds) and his motley crew of IFs: Blue (Steve Carell), Blossom (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) , Lewis (Louis Gossett Jr.) and more. When she discovers that all IFs are in danger of being forgotten without having a child of their own to inspire and love, Bea sets about trying to match them with worthy kids. Along the way, she rediscovers things she’s forgotten and the power of her own big, beautiful imagination.
My Superfans Thoughts on IF:
KrasinskiΒ and Reynolds have managed to perfect that rare gold standard in Hollywood: they’re the sensitive, hilarious, hardworking actors who successfully straddle the lines between being action heroes (KrasinskiΒ in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Prime Video and Reynolds as the Merc with a filthy mouth Deadpool), romantic leads, comedic geniuses and guaranteed box office records. They are also a duo who have crossed the threshold into being superb filmmakers who relate to their audiences and create content they want to see onscreen.

For those reasons alone, IF is the kind of family movie I wish I had growing up in the 90s. I too was a young 11/12 year old who lost a parent and had to grow up pretty quickly. To cope, I didn’t just have AN imaginary friend – I made up an entire second family who were crazy about me. I regaled my home room class with the wonderous tales of adventures with my second family, including a too-good-to-be-true twin delivery I assisted with, every morning. It was all going swimmingly, until my teachers mentioned said second family to my mom π
My point being: childhood post-traumatic stress syndrome is a very real condition that kids of all ages and different generations deal with and IF, with KrasinskiΒ ‘s signature sensitive style of filming and writing and a cast of well-suited actors, makes this one of the most important movies for the youth of today. It’s right up there with Disney’s Encanto and Red Panda in addressing the challenges of growing up and family relations that a TikTok video or Roblox game just cannot deal with in the same way.

Krasinski and Reynolds are pretty much big kids themselves , and the fact that they are both dads to constantly growing broods of kids (Reynolds is on his fourth daughter!) , helps them to accurately portray the magical, wild imaginations of children. Does an invisible IF make sense? Nope, but hey, Kevin is representing his kind onscreen. Are we reminded that even Grandma was a kid at one point too? Yep, and it is as shocking to Bea as it was to my younger sister when she realized the same thing about our grandmother. There is a a forgotten kid and their IF inside of all of us and this movie allows her to rediscover them once again.
The seamless chemistry and interaction between the actors and live action animated characters brings to mind Jessica Rabbit and the original Space Jam. Blue’s huge personality and lovability is classic Carell which plays off perfectly against Reynolds’ witty sarcasm and dark resignation to his character’s fate.

The eventual reveal of who Reynolds’ Cal is in relation to Bea isn’t overly inventive but it does bring the emotional depth of this beautifully written movie to the fore. I sobbed and I don’t mind admitting that. Here’s to all IFs finding their kids and living their best imaginative lives.
Overall, IF is THE best family movie to catch at a cinema near you!
Editorβs Note: Superfans was hosted as a media guest at The Labia in Cape Town by United International Pictures (UIP).