Imagine That (2009)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Karey Kirkpatrick

Writers (WGA):

Ed Solomon (written by) &
Chris Matheson (written by)

Release Date:

12 June 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

What if your daughter's imagination... Was the secret to your success?

Plot:

A financial executive who can't stop his career downspiral is invited into his daughter's imaginary world, where solutions to his problems await. |

Plot Keywords:

Investment Deal | Home Invasion | Private School | Pancake | Husband Wife Relationship

Cast

Eddie Murphy	...	Evan Danielson
Thomas Haden Church	...	Johnny Whitefeather
Yara Shahidi	...	Olivia Danielson
Ronny Cox	...	Tom Stevens
Stephen Rannazzisi	...	Noah Kulick
Nicole Ari Parker	...	Tricia Danielson
DeRay Davis	...	John Strother
Vanessa Williams	...	Lori Strother
Martin Sheen	...	Dante D'Enzo
Lauren Weedman	...	Rose
Timm Sharp	...	Tod
Daniel Polo	...	Indigo Whitefeather
Stephen Root	...	Fred Franklin
Richard Schiff	...	Carl Simons
Marin Hinkle	...	Ms. Davis

Also Known As:

Imagine that - Die Kraft der Fantasie (Germany)
Me & Olivia (USA) (working title)
NowhereLand (USA) (working title)
Zuhause ist der Zauber los (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild language and brief questionable behavior.

Runtime:

USA:107 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #44207) | Ireland:PG | Singapore:PG | Peru:PT | Mexico:A | Sweden:Btl | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

Denver, Colorado, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Olivia sings her solo "All You Need is Love" with the children's choir, her close-up shows that during one stanza of the song, she is giggling with her tongue stationery, while her voice track is belting out the lyrics.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009) (TV)

Imagine That Movie Review from The Massie Twins

Eddie Murphy frequently goes as overboard as Jim Carrey or Robin Williams, but Imagine That manages to have just the right amount of silly. It's a family friendly movie that fortunately presents equal doses of immaturity and seriousness, making the event more evenly entertaining than one might expect from seeing the obnoxiously childish trailer. Performances on a whole are sincere (subdued for Murphy) and convincing; unlike similarly plotted stories like Disney's The Game Plan, Imagine That never gets to the point of annoying, which is becoming a more and more difficult feat for formulaic yet effective children's features.

Focused, driven, and always in control, Evan Danielson (Eddie Murphy) is a financial wizard, organizing and leading his many clients in the direction of monetary prosperity. This doesn't leave much time for his seven-year-old daughter Olivia (Yara Shahidi), who is socially detached and dependent on her security blanket (named Goo-Gaa) that transports her to an imaginary world with princesses and dragons. It's all in her mind, but when Evan plays along, Olivia's invisible friends miraculously produce accurate advice on stocks, investments and insider tips. Suddenly he's immersed in his daughter's invented fantasy, forcing himself to redefine his relationship with Olivia and the meaning of true success.

"I imagine it was a lot of fun to watch," Evan remarks after undergoing his inevitable early-movie mental breakdown. That might be a slightly generous statement in regards to the entire film, which maintains a worthwhile level of lighthearted humor and father-daughter relationship-mending drama. It isn't overly preachy even though at times it's sickly sweet; Murphy's likable Evan is a man who wanted kids but probably shouldn't have had one, especially considering his relatable lack of time and subsequent failure to connect with his daughter. Learning to be a better parent through success and defeat with initial manipulation followed by quality bonding, the process is understandably generic - the blueprints for this family flick aren't original but definitely more watchable than similar exploits that can't seem to include any mature bits for older crowds (such as the parental audience assumed to be present with children).

Supporting character actor Ronny Cox plays a role comparable to his famous villain turns in Robocop and Total Recall and Thomas Haden Church steals many scenes as Johnny Whitefeather, a competitive financial executive who exaggeratingly mocks Native American culture with creatively hilarious quotes and unorthodox meditative methods for gaining stock market knowledge ("It's not the paint that makes the warrior," he advises Evan, along with constant references to the "dream sparrow," insulting "little elk" nicknames and other funny Indian riffs). He's quite convincingly phony. There's nothing artificial about the film as a whole, however, which makes Imagine That quality family amusement, even if it doesn't exude total originality.

- Mike Massie