A new trailer and visual have been released for the upcoming anime feature film The Imaginary. The film will premiere theatrically in Japan on December 15, 2023 and globally sometime in 2024.
The trailer highlights some exciting scenes from the film, while the latest visual showcases the imaginary friend character, Rudger.
The film’s main theme song “Nothing’s Impossible” was also revealed in the trailer, which is performed by musical duo A Great Big World, featuring singer Rachel Platten.
Yoshiyuki Momose is directing the film, who directed the 2019 Ni no Kuni anime film and served as character designer on the Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom video game. Momose previously worked on several Studio Ghibli films such as Porco Rosso, Pom Poko, Whisper of the Heart, and Princess Mononoke. Studio Ponoc is the animation production company.
Yoshiaki Nishimura is serving as the film’s producer, having previously produced Mary and The Witch’s Flower and the first volume of Modest Heroes: Ponoc Short Films Theatre.
Meanwhile, the main voice cast includes:
- • Kokoro Terada as Rudger
- • Rio Suzuki as Amanda
- • Sakura Andou as Lizzie
- • Riisa Naka as Emily
- • Takayuki Yamada as Zinzan
- • Atsuko Takahata as Granny Downbeat
- • Issey Ogata as Mr. Bunting
- • Akira Terao as The Old Dog
- • Hana Sugisaki as the Aurora’s voice
The Imaginary is based on A.F. Harrold and Emily Gravett‘s 2014 novel of the same name. The film was originally meant to be released in the summer of 2022, but was delayed for some time around March 2022.
Studio Ponoc describes the film as:
The main character of The Imaginary is Rudger. Born from a young girl’s imagination, Rudger is a boy no one can see who lives in a world where imaginations can live and be eaten by others. The Imaginary is an extraordinarily touching and beautiful hand-drawn fantasy film in which Rudger and his new friends in “The Imaginaries Town” embark on an adventure no one can see at the risk of the futures and fates of those they love.
Source: Studio Ponoc Official Anime Twitter, The Imaginary Official Website
