IF is a comical fantasy about a 12-year-old girl whose mother died, and father is going to have a heart operation, who meets a man in her grandmother’s building who’s trying to help imaginary friends like a large blue furry fellow, a small circus mouse, a unicorn with a butterscotch belly, and others find new children. Beautifully shot and performed, IF is a celebration of imagination, creativity, love, and family and has a surprising number of heartfelt, dramatic moments among all the fun and comedy in its story, but the story meanders a little bit and the movie has a gratuitous number of light profanities, so caution is advised.

The movie opens with an introduction to scenes from 12-year-old Bea’s early life. Scenes with her parents show them encouraging Bea to use her imagination. Sadly, Bea loses her mother to an unknown illness.

Cut to the present day. Sadly, Bea’s father is staying at a hospital to prepare for heart surgery. Meanwhile, Bea is staying with her grandmother at her building, whom she hasn’t visited for years. 

One day, Bea finds a cartoon insect named Blossom and a large furry blue creature named Blue lurking around the building. They are friends of a man named Cal. Blossom, Blue and Cal take Bea to a retirement home for imaginary friends that’s hidden under Coney Island. Th IFs have their own rooms and participate in painting classes and group therapy sessions. There, Cal encourages Bea to use her imagination to transform the retirement home, and her creativity surprises even Cal. She even imagines an elaborate dance routine on a stage with Tina Turner singing, just as she did when she wore a Tina Turner wig as a young child and sang for her parents.

Bea wants to help Cal find new children for Blue, Blossom and the other unattached imaginary friends in the retirement home. The other creatures include a talking ice cube in a glass of water, an elderly teddy bear, a marshmallow on fire, a small circus mouse, and a unicorn with a butterscotch belly. Bea and Cal try to hook up one of the friends to Ben, a young boy in the hospital where her father is staying, but Ben is unable to see any of the IFs.

Frustrated, Bea wonders if she can’t help Blossom and Blue re-establish connections to the adult versions of their own children, starting with her grandmother, who had Blosso m as her Imaginary Friend. Bea’s efforts lead to some surprises.

Meanwhile, Bea’s father is set to have his heart surgery. Will he survive?

IF is beautifully shot and performed. It also has some fun adventures and humorous situations, with lots of creativity in its visual effects. However, what’s most surprising about the movie are its heartfelt dramatic moments, which are emotionally powerful and will definitely elicit some tears.

Ultimately, IF is a celebration of imagination, creativity, love, and family. The movie promotes the view that adults should maintain a youthful attitude and not abandon the imagination and love they had as children. The movie implies that the death of her mother has deprived Bea of those things. As she regains them, Bea’s connection with her grandmother and father becomes stronger. Also, as the imaginary friends regain their connections to the adult versions of their child creators, a visible inner light warms their spirits. As Jesus urges his disciples in Mark 10:15, “Receive the Kingdom of God like a child.”

IF is relatively family friendly. However, it’s marred by four light obscenities and 15 light profanities. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older pre-teenage children. Also, the movie’s serious emotional scenes may not appeal to children and other moviegoers looking merely for lots of adventure and laughs.