Summary

• Join Bea and Cal in helping imaginary friends find purpose in IF, a heartwarming film directed by John Krasinski.
• Discover the magic of live-action and animation in IF, featuring a star-studded cast led by Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming.
• Through IF, Krasinski reminds us to embrace our inner child and imagination, especially during challenging times like the pandemic.

IF follows Bea, a young girl who, after facing a traumatic experience, gains the ability to see the imaginary friends that have been left behind as the children who counted on them grew up. Bea is shocked to learn that Cal, her neighbor, can also see imaginary friends, known as IFs. The pair team up in order to help the IFs rediscover their purpose and reunite with their former kids.

John Krasinski helmed IF wearing many hats as a writer, director, producer, and actor in this passion project. Krasinski put together a phenomenal cast with Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming leading the live-action cast, while Steve Carell, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and countless others make up the powerhouse voice cast. The combination of live action and animation in IF is reminiscent of beloved classics like Mary Poppins or Who Framed Roger Rabbit, with a message that is needed now more than ever as people need to be reminded to rediscover their joy and imagination.

Screen Rant interviewed writer, director, and one of the stars of IF, John Krasinski. He explained what inspired him to make this movie for his kids and how it ended up being for his own inner child as well. Krasinski also praised Reynolds' performance and shared one of his own imaginary friends from childhood.

Ryan Reynolds' Approach To Comedy "Was Very Dick Van Dyke" In IF

While IF was inspired by Krasinski's desire to make a movie for his children, it ended up connecting him to his own inner child. He explained how IF reminded him of why it is good to tap into one's imagination and brought memories of his own childhood imaginary friend back to the surface.

John Krasinski: I know I've been talking a lot about how I made the movie for my kids, but the truth is, halfway through the process, I went, "Oh my God, am I making this for me?" Because the truth is, what you realize are these rules that we feel have been put upon us growing up are not actually really there. We're putting it on ourselves.

What I mean by that is we can still be silly. We can still have these dreams, hopes, and ambitions and use that in this real world as we grow up. The real world and the imaginative world can coexist. That's what I learned going forward. But I did have an imaginary friend growing up named Sam Braith because when I was eight years old, I wanted braces because I thought they were the coolest things ever.

Turns out they're not, but it was for a second there. But I used to walk to the video store with Sam, and we used to be in action movies, comedy movies, horror movies, before I even watched horror movies. We just ran away from werewolves.

But you know what's funny is halfway through one of the interviews I realized, oh my God, what if Sam directed this movie? That it wasn't me at all. Through this process, my inner child came out so much that it was able to direct the movie for me. So I don't know. I give Sam a lot of credit.

Krasinski also praised Reynolds' performance, explaining how his comedic chops are well documented, but the heartfelt element truly shined through in IF. Krasinski also discussed how leaning into both elements can bring out magic similar to Gene Wilder in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

John Krasinski: I think there's something about Ryan that I've gotten to know him as a friend. So not only is he one of the funniest people around, I've known that since Two Guys And A Girl And A Pizza Place. When you hang out with him, you get to see him as a father, as a husband, as a friend.

And he's got this deep, deep well of heart and warmth. I thought if I could capture a fraction of that and put it in this movie, how special would that be? He gave me way more than I even dreamed of. But it's that thing I think that makes certain movies indelible, you know what I mean? The Gene Wilder character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

It is this beauty of being able to be funny and incredibly heartfelt at the same time. It's pure magic. He was able to pull that off here. I actually thought some of his comedy was very Dick Van Dyke. It was very old-school. It was very throwback, some of the physical comedy he was doing, and I was just psyched to be in the front row for it.

How The Pandemic Inspired The Heart of IF's Message

Krasinski revealed that the ending was something he struggled with for IF until the pandemic hit and he watched his children begin to grow up as the realities of the world seeped in. IF is meant to remind both children and adults not to grow up too fast and lose track of their inner child, their imagination, and their belief. He also praised Flemming's performance as Bea.

John Krasinski: The entire thing of this was inspired by my kids. I always wanted to do a movie for my kids, but I wasn't sure which path to take. I knew that imaginary friends would be a cool world to live in, but I didn't know how or what I wanted to do with it. I used to watch my daughters go into this imaginative world, this magical world that we aren't invited into. But it wasn't until the pandemic that I found my end to the movie because I saw their light starting to go out.

I saw them doing fewer and fewer imaginative games, and they started to let the real world in and they asked big questions like, Are we going to be okay? And I thought, hang on. This is the definition of growing up - that moment where you think you have to leave your childhood behind to become an adult and it's not true.

So I said, what if I write a movie that says that to my kids, that they know that magical world they created will always be there for them, and that's what the movie is. And so, as far as my relationship with Bea, man, those scenes were so special because I got to watch that girl work. She is not only one of the best performances I've ever seen, but she's also pulling off a magic trick because it's almost like she's not acting.

She's living believably through these circumstances, and I got to say, she is all of us in the audience. If you're a kid, she's the kid that you want be because she gets to dance on stage with all these IFs and if you're an adult, she's the invite to go back to your childhood. She's having that conversation of, should I or should I not grow up? I feel like as adults, we should all be saying, should I or should I not grow up today? So it was just an amazing thing to watch her work.

About IF

IF is about a girl who discovers that she can see everyone's imaginary friends — and what she does with that superpower — as she embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids.

Check out our other IF interview with Cailey Fleming.

IF hits theaters on May 17.

Source: Screen Rant Plus