Spirited Away animator Yoshiyuki Momose takes the reins in this dreamy and dark family fable, adapted from AF Harrold’s novel of the same name

Studio Ponoc – the Japanese animation studio founded by Studio Ghibli alumni, which gave us Mary and the Witch’s Flower – returns with a playful and heartwarming family film that pays tribute to children’s creativity. Adapted from AF Harrold’s 2014 children’s novel of the same name, The Imaginary tells the story of a three-year-old boy called Rudger, who regularly gets into wild adventures with giants and yetis and other fantastical creatures. And yet he can’t be seen by most people; he’s the imaginary friend of Amanda, a young girl who is seeking solace after the death of her father.

Directed by Spirited Away animator Yoshiyuki Momose, The Imaginary is brought to life by rich hand-drawn and painted illustrations; both the real-world British town Amanda lives in and the fantastical worlds she dreams up are shown in dreamy, granular detail. There are times when scenes are so beautifully textured that they look like watercolour paintings. For Rudger and Amanda, danger arrives in the form of Mr Bunting, a mysterious man in a red tropical button-up who hunts down imaginary friends. A Hawaiian shirt has never looked so sinister.