The Imaginative Illumination of IF

If you haven’t treated yourself to the wonderful world of IF, you won’t regret it. The 2024 John Krasinski film (and no, I did use that correctly as he’s also director) is an instant classic!

It brings to life a concept most children live by and most adults have practically forgotten about: the imaginary friend.

In fact, while you probably think it’s called If because of the “what if” of it all… it’s also because IF stands for Imaginary Friend. And that’s what they call themselves, IF’s.

So, there are all manners of computer-animated creatures and creations that are showcased throughout the runtime, each owing their existence to one real child out there.

John Krasanski stars as a single father with his 12-year-old daughter Bea. He has to stay in the hospital for (apparently) a heart complication, so he arranges for his daughter to stay with his mother in Manhattan. That way, she’s close to him and can experience city life with her grandmother.

As she moves in, the vantage point is impressive from the top of a multi-story spiral staircase. We soon learn her grandmother lives in a historic brown-stone with anywhere from 3 to 6 apartments.

One night, the girl sees an unusual figure in the streets outside her grandma’s place. We’re brought along as the audience in an usual seek-and-find process as the shadowy un-human being slides in and out on the fringes.

Turns out, this being is Scarlett, a prominent IF that’s an anthropomorphic butterfly. Though her wings aren’t visible until later on.

The girl catches Scarlett on her front porch. She’s very surprised Bea can see her and runs inside and up the stairs. Bea runs after and sees the mysterious character run into one of the two apartments on the top floor.

A man’s voice tells her she’s mistaken when she asks through the door about the strange being she followed up there.

Turns out she’s not mistaken. She finds out within the next day or two that she can see all the IF’s and a mysterious man (played by Ryan Reynolds) can also see them… and has been trying to match them up with new kids as all their “original” kids have forgotten them.

Once a kid grows up, “something changes” and they can no longer see their IF. So this man, who we find out right near the end is named Cal, has been instructing these beings to find another child to connect with. But it’s not working out.

Bea had earlier said emphatically that she’s not a kid, but now offers to help them because she actually is.

So Cal and her go about the daunting task. They start with an inured boy in the same hospital as her father. But, despite having an active imagination and love of dragons, he can’t see a single one of the IF “candidates.”

Now they’re at a loss. During the evening, Bea asks her grandmother what she wanted to be when she was little. She has to push through her surprise to then reveal she wanted to be a dancer. She even did competitions, she tells her granddaughter, handing Bea a picture of herself from back then, dressed up for ballet.

Bea realizes Scarlett upstairs wears the same dress. She excuses herself and runs up there, announcing to Scarlett what she just figured out: “You’re my grandma’s IF!”

Scarlett confirms it’s true. But when Bea tries to get her to come down to their apartment, Cal and her let the girl know they’ve tried for years. Her grandmother is no different: she can’t see Scarlett.

Bea says, “Well, then we have to help her.” The two of them go down to the apartment and stealthily put a classical composer on the record player. It’s the same song her grandmother used to preform to.

They hide behind the couch as the woman comes into the room calling for Bea. After looking around to see no one there, her confusion turns to fancy as she starts flowing with the music.

She begins the dance she used to do as a girl, and Scarlett starts glowing a warm red. The being looks at Bea in amazement and stands up to follow along with the dance. Now her wings unfurl!

So, the mission shifts. Turns out, they weren’t supposed to find new kids after all… but reconnect with their original ones (now adults).

There’s a lot of heartwarming and hilarious moments along the way. One theme shines through, though… if we remember the wonder of our childhood, we can still see magic in the world.

I think that’s something we all need to learn, perhaps over and over again. If we could ever see our imaginary friends again… well… something had fundamentally changed for the better. 🌠🪄🦄🧚🏽‍♀️