The Imaginary writer and producer, Yoshiaki Nishimura, discusses partnering with Netflix, adapting the book, and more.
The Imaginary is a powerful family-friendly film that delivers important messages of never giving up on your creativity and the power of imagination. It also has heavy themes of grief, and how people deal with it in different ways. Following a young girl named Amanda and her imaginary friend, Rudger, The Imaginary welcomes viewers into a beautiful, and sometimes scary, world.
We spoke with The Imaginary writer and producer, Yoshiaki Nishimura, about adapting the book by the same name from author A. F. Harrold into a feature film. He discusses what it is like partnering with Netflix, first-of-its-kind lighting techniques used to bring the animation to life, and what he hopes viewers take away.
The Imaginary starts streaming on Netflix on July 5th, 2024.
Yoshiaki Nishimura Talks The Imaginary
Tessa Smith: What was it like partnering with Netflix to bring The Imaginary to televisions all around the world?
Yoshiaki Nishimura: It’s an amazing experience. Distributing to 180 countries, I’m psyched for many audiences to see it. As a filmmaker, I would like to create a piece that touches children deeply. I am glad that I can deliver my piece to audiences around the world.
Tessa Smith: What was it about the book that made you know it was going to make a great movie?
Yoshiaki Nishimura: The original book was very light and happy and exciting, and a little scary. So what was interesting to me was that the main character was a boy that was imagined by someone. This is something that maybe all parents are aware of, but in reality a child has one secret world of their own. The fact that I could create and depict their secret world, I got so excited.
Tessa Smith: Did you have a secret world when you were a kid?
Yoshiaki Nishimura: I did. I have a daughter, I have a son, and they built their own worlds. Sometimes they would draw, and sometimes they would write about it, and it is something that grown-ups can never even imagine. It’s not logical. It’s nonsensical, but it is a very attractive world they have created.
I wanted to make sure that I could do the best to utilize these amazing worlds that these children create on their own, that I could bring life to. When grown-ups come together and try to do filmmaking, then we become too logical. The challenge was whether we can really create this wonderful nonsensical part of the imagination that children have.
Tessa Smith: Mr. Bunting is creepy, but not too scary for younger kids. Can you talk about finding that balance of his design?
Yoshiaki Nishimura: That was very difficult. The book had scary parts. Mr. Bunting is scary, but the girl next to him is really, really scary. It’s almost like Japanese horror, almost like Wednesday from The Adams Family. Something like that, actually kids want to sneak peek something scary like this. I included something like this not because I wanted to make them really scared like in horror movies.
When children grow up they see many different scary things, and as an animation filmmaker, I wanted to make sure that the children would gain a strength to overcome these obstacles, and scariness, and fear. Because I thought this way, I was able to find the right balance, because it wasn’t about scaring them, it was more about making sure they know they can overcome these things.
Tessa Smith: The Imaginary uses a first-of-its-kind lighting technique. Can you talk about that?
Yoshiaki Nishimura: The style of Japanese animation has not changed in decades. After I finished the first feature film, Mary and the Witch’s Flower, I said to myself if I have to create animation for the next many years using the same style of animation, that is not very appealing.
I found this French company called Les Films Du Poisson Rouge and their technique in lights, shading, and texture. The Imaginary has 140,000 drawings, and if we tried to do it by hand, it would take two or three times more with the shadows and the lighting if we did not use this technology. I feel that because we used it, that added a compellingness to the visuals and we were able to create this emotional effect using this technology.
Tessa Smith: The library is the headquarters for the imaginaries. Since imagination comes from books, can you talk about the significance of that?
Yoshiaki Nishimura: When I was writing the script, I had to think of where does this imagination come from, how is it created? Imagination is something we imagine through the world that we live in. I had a friend as a child, he lived in a house where the first floor was a book store and the second story was his house. I really wanted to live in his house. The first floor was a treasure full of books. Sometimes his father would scold us, “Hey, the book is missing. Where is it?” and we had it.
For me, imagination gives me so much when I am creating. They all come from books. I thought it might not be interesting if I say imagination comes from books, so why don’t I make a town with books. I think that is why I was able to create that town of happiness, and happy people who are a part of that town.
Tessa Smith: What do you hope that families take away from The Imaginary?
Yoshiaki Nishimura: Anything. I thnk when children watch this piece, they will relate to Rudger and Amanda the most. And maybe, grown-ups will relate to Lizzie the most. In Japan, there were so many people who could really relate to Mr. Bunting. In animation, the story so often carries through, focusing on one character. The majority of the Studio Ponoc staff is from Studio Ghibli.
What is very attractive about this story is that when you see it as a child, you see it one way, but when you grow-up, you see it in different ways. One thing that I would like for people to take away is that imagination allows you to see fun and exciting things, but there is another imagination besides this fun and happy imagination. It is something you may not be able to see with your eyes, but it is the power to imagine the feeling of the people who are around you.
Tessa Smith: What would you say your biggest challenge was when making The Imaginary?
Yoshiaki Nishimura: Creating one film for us is a big challenge. The story, lighting, shading, is very unique. For this piece, we were dealing with something invisible. What I thought was challenging was using something invisible and can we really convey and communicate to children that it is something unseen. From a grown-ups perspective, it might be something silly or trivial, but I wanted to show that there is a very important one truth in that silliness. Parents in the world are aware of that, and I think people that remember their childhood, in their heart they will understand
The Imaginary comes to Netflix on July 5th, 2024, and you do not want to miss it. Be sure to have tissues handy when you watch.
NEXT: The Imaginary Review: Embrace Your Inner Creativity
About The Imaginary
Studio Ponoc’s The Imaginary portrays the depths of humanity and creativity through the eyes of young Amanda and her imaginary companion, Rudger, a boy no one can see imagined by Amanda to share her thrilling make-believe adventures. But when Rudger, suddenly alone, arrives at The Town of Imaginaries, where forgotten Imaginaries live and find work, he faces a mysterious threat.
Directed by renowned animator Yoshiyuki Momose (Spirited Away), The Imaginary is an unforgettable adventure of love, loss, and the healing power of imagination.
The Imaginary comes to Netflix on July 5th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.