Netflix has announced that it has acquired the global streaming rights for Studio Ponoc‘s The Imaginary anime film. The company will begin streaming the anime worldwide later this year. It began screening in Japanese theaters on December 15, 2023.
Netflix also confirmed that it has entered into a multi-film partnership with Ponoc to bring its upcoming animated features exclusively to its service. The streaming service announced a similar arrangement with Studio Colorido in April 2022.
Yoshiyuki Momose is directing The Imaginary, who previously worked on the 2019 Ni no Kuni anime film and as character designer on the Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom video game. Yoshiaki Nishimura is serving as the film’s producer.
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 Aurora
The anime film is based on A.F. Harrold and Emily Gravett‘s 2014 novel of the same name. It was originally meant to be released in the summer of 2022, but was delayed around March 2022.
Studio Ponoc describes the film’s synopsis 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: press release