“The Imaginary,” an upcoming hand-drawn animated fantasy film from Japan’s Studio Ponoc that will play in competition at this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival, is set to debut July 5 on Netflix. An Oscar-qualifying run is also planned.
“The Imaginary” is directed by Yoshiyuki Momose, whose credits as an animator include Studio Ponoc’s 2017 debut feature “Mary and the Witch’s Flower” and Studio Ghibli’s Academy Award winner “Spirited Away.” Studio Ponoc founder Yoshiaki Nishimura, the Oscar-nominated producer of Studio Ghibli’s “The Tale of The Princess Kaguya” and “When Marnie Was There,” is producing.
Based on the novel of the same name by A.F. Harrold and illustrated by Emily Gravett, “The Imaginary” is described as a fantasy that “portrays the depths of humanity and creativity through the eyes of young Amanda and her imaginary companion, Rudger. Their fantastical adventures launched from her attic, lead them to discover a magical world of creatures and places never before seen until a sinister force threatens to destroy their imaginary world and the friendship within it.”
The release is a part of a multi-film deal between Netflix and Studio Ponoc that was announced in January. Studio Ponoc was founded in Tokyo in 2015.
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Earlier this year, animated Netflix release “Nimona” earned an Oscar nomination. A year earlier the studio won its first animated feature Academy Award for “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.” Upcoming animated features from Netflix include “Orion and the Dark,” “Thelma the Unicorn,” “Ultraman: Rising,” “Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie,” “That Christmas,” “Spellbound,” “In Your Dreams” and “The Twits.”