#Upcoming The Imaginary Movie Gets Delay

Studio Ponoc has announced a delay for upcoming movie The Imaginary. The anime film was originally announced in December 2021 with a Summer 2022 Japanese release date, and it is now unknown when it will be released.

“As our talented artists and animators continue our tradition of splendidly beautiful hand-drawn animation and hand-painted backgrounds, we are carefully exploring new and innovative ways to tell our stories,” a news update on the Studio Ponoc website said. “It’s a tricky and careful balance and we think The Imaginary deserves it… and that you, our audience, will love the results. These new challenges – and a few pandemic-hurdles – have resulted in the studio postponing our release in Japan. We remain hard at work, making great progress.”

The Imaginary is based on the 2014 novel by A. F. Harrold with illustrations from Emily Gravett. Ponoc describes the movie 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.

The movie’s director is Yoshiyuki Momose, who previously helmed the 2019 Ni no Kuni movie and has credits ranging from character design on the Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom video game to key animation on Studio Ghibli films like Porco Rosso, Pom Poko and Whisper of the Heart. The other currently announced staff member for The Imaginary is producer Yoshiaki Nishimura, who founded Ponoc and previously produced the studio’s debut film Mary and The Witch’s Flower and the Modest Heroes: Ponoc Short Films Theatre, Volume 1 anthology (Momose directed the anthology’s “Life Ain’t Gonna Lose” short). Like Momose, Nishimura was previously affiliated with Studio Ghibli, with producer credits on films like The Tale of The Princess Kaguya and When Marnie Was There.

Source: Studio Ponoc website