STACK #239 September 2024

MOVIE FEATURE

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The fusion of animation with live action is common practice in modern movies, but this movie trick actually dates back to the silent era of film, with cartoons of the 1920s and ‘30s featuring animated characters interacting with the real world. The character of Koto the Clown was created by filmmaker Max Fleischer, while Walt Disney's early character of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was featured in a popular series called Alice Comedies . Disney continued to develop the format throughout the 1940s and crafted iconic films such as Saludos Amigos (1942), The Three Caballeros (1944), and the somewhat forgotten classic So Dear to My Heart (1949). Blending Wor lds

Audiences fell in love with John Krasinski in his breakout role as Jim Halpert in TV series The Office - but few could predict how he would go on to become such a multitalented dude. Words Gill Pringle F resh off the hit series, Krasinski co-wrote the script for Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land , later executive producing Casey

Vince Vaughn recorded the voice of a character that was ultimately left on the cutting room floor. DYK?

named Steve Carell,” he said, referring to his longtime friend and former The Office co-star. ” IF asks the important question: What if everything

Affleck to a 'Best Actor' Oscar in Kenneth Lonergan’s drama Manchester by the Sea . And then, not only did he write and conceive the idea for the 2018 horror drama, A Quiet Place, he also directed it, as well as co-starring with his wife Emily Blunt. That same year he starred and executive produced the hit Prime Video series, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan , now in its fourth season. And somehow he found time to cheer us all up during the pandemic by hosting his 2020 talk show, Some Good News - focussing only on the positive. But, of all his accomplishments, there is no film closer to Krasinski's heart than IF , a family-friendly live-action/animated story about a young girl named Bea who is going through a hard time and begins seeing everyone’s imaginary friends, who've been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up. Referred to as ”IFs” for short - these Imaginary Friends have been abandoned by the very kids they once helped. When Bea discovers that her neighbour, Cal, shares the

you believed as a kid was real? I hope you love watching it as much as I enjoyed making it,” said the multi-hyphenate director/writer, who also portrays Bea’s dad in the film, as well as voicing a character named Marshmallow. It’s a testament to Krasinski’s talent and all-round likeability that he was able to round up such an astonishing cast for IF , with the film featuring the voice talents of Phoebe Waller Bridge, Awkwafina, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Blake Lively, Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph, Christopher Meloni, Richard Jenkins, Amy Schumer, and Sam Rockwell, alongside Blunt. ”I know for a fact I will never get a better cast than this,” says Krasinski, who is no stranger to childhood fantasies as father to Hazel, nine, and Violet, seven, with Blunt. ”Imaginary friends are not just these

Director John Krasinski

same ability, they join forces to reunite the IFs with their former kids. ”This movie is extremely near and dear to my heart, a movie I wrote for my kids and it’s a movie that celebrates the power of imagination,” Krasinski, 44, told audiences at CinemaCon in April. ” IF stars a fresh-faced up-and-comer named Ryan Reynolds, and an even

adorable creatures, they are actually time capsules for our hopes, dreams, ambitions,” he adds. If young Bea can see people’s

abandoned imaginary friends, then it makes entire sense that a matchmaking service can help connect abandoned imaginary friends with new kids - otherwise, they’ll disappear... Think of The Sixth Sense, but with imaginary creatures instead of dead people.

fresher-faced, enormously talented, Cailey Fleming,” he quipped, ”And it’s supported by the all-star voice cast of my dreams - and also that guy

• IF is out Sep 11

Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming

58 SEPTEMBER 2024

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