IF Movie Parent Review by the Elf. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Watch the IF Movie
Movie: IF (Click here to rent/buy once available)
Rating: PG
Genre: Family, Drama, Comedy
Length: 1 hr. 44 mins
Age suggested: 8+
Release Date: May 17th, 2024
Warnings: Medical trauma, parental trauma or death, small jump scares, childhood trauma.
Short IF Movie Summary
Cal has a mission. To connect IFs (imaginary friends) with new children after their children had grown up and forgotten them. But nothing that Cal has tried is working. Then Bea comes along. Can she help connect the IFs with new kids? Will Bea (Elizabeth) be able to admit that she’s still a kid, even at 12?
At it’s core this movie is about processing really hard things. Ryan Reynolds calls it ‘a live action Pixar movie’. And I feel like that is very accurate. This is NOT the comedy that the previews make it look like. It’s a wonderful and beautiful family drama with a small dash of fantasy and comedy thrown in.
Continue reading for our IF Movie Parent Review
*********SPOILER WARNING***********
SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT
10 Fun or Interesting Things About the IF Movie.
1- The voice acting talent in this movie! Wow! The imaginary friends are voiced by an incredible list of talented people. Just to name a few: Awkwafina voiced the bubble, George Clonney voiced the astronaut, Bradley Cooper voiced the icecube… There are too many to list and I would just be copying and pasting from IMBD- so check out the full list right here.
2- It’s a family project! Not only is there an amazing list of voice talent- but it’s fun to see how they connect. John Krazinski wrote, directed, and acted in the movie. Emily Blunt, his wife, voiced the Unicorn IF. Steve Carell voiced Blue and played his costar, that acted like a father figure, in The Office. Ryan Reynolds stars in the movie and Blake Lively, his wife, voices the Octopuss IF.
3- What was the box in the little boys hospital room in the IF Movie? It’s a Tonies box!! They’re audio book boxes with characters. Check it out here. We really enjoy ours and use it during play time and as a part of a bedtime routine.
4- What movie is playing in the background in the IF movie? The black and white movie playing in the background at the grandmothers house is Harvey. A film about an imaginary rabbit. Find it here.
5- John Krasinski talked in several interviews for the movie (my favorite was on the Office Ladies podcast!) about writing this movie for his kids during the pandemic. It was neat to hear how involved the kids got to be during the process, from the mock ups of the characters to the mock ups of the toys.
6- Cailey Fleming and Alan Kim did wonderful jobs portraying the kids in the movie. And one really neat moment is when Bea gifts Benjamin a clay dragon that she made him. Fast forward to the end of the movie and we see that Benjamin created his IF based on that dragon that he was gifted.
7- It’s amazing to think about how the actors interact with the IF’s when they were animated later on. So what they were interacting with was just green screens, stuffed animals, and their own imaginations. Ryan Reynold’s comedy with the IF’s was fantastic. Cailey Fleming did an amazing job and pulled off an amazing dance routine with imaginary characters. Bobby Moynihan also did an amazing job with the comedy aspect.
8- John Krasinski wrote, directed, and acted in the movie. He portrayed Bea’s dad in the movie and the marshmallow IF.
9- The lead actress is 17! She played a preteen so well. Cailey Fleming is most known for her role as Judith in The Walking Dead.
10- This one is sad, but a beautiful memorium acknowledgement. There’s a montage with the bears at the end of the movie that honors Louis Gossett Jr. who passed away after voicing the bear IF Lewis.
What age group is the IF movie best for?!
IF Movie Parent Review
In a similar stroke as Toy Story 4, the IF movie is a surprisingly serious kids movie about letting go, growing up, saying goodbye, but still embracing childlike wonder. We think that the IF movie is best for an audience that’s 8+. This is NOT the comedy that the previews make it look like.
The IF movie is a drama that also has some comedy and fantasy. But there are a lot of long scenes and a lot of heavy moments that might make younger viewers feel bored or uncomfortably wiggly.
It is a beautiful movie. I loved the reminder for kids that it’s more than OK to embrace childhood. But there’s also the reminder for adults that we need to re-embrace that childhood awe. It’s a fantastic film.
The professional reviews are very negative, but that is typical for family based movies with star power. The audience reviews will flip it I’m sure. The IF movie is a beautiful, emotional, roller coaster of a movie about joy and processing.
It is ideal for almost tweens, tweens, and their parents. And anyone who embraces being young at heart!!
It is not ideal for family separation, parental loss, or big goodbyes- unless you can process it and bring tissues!! I saw it the day of pre-k graduation and don’t recommend doing that. And I have a child who processed the loss of a sibling with an imaginary friend, so that was tough. There was a lot of ugly crying in the theater and I was one of them.
Note for Guardians/Adoptive/Foster Parents
The IF movie can be a healing experience if you have the time to process it together. But it also could just pour salt on a primal wound. The movie is about a child processing the death of her mother and her father being in the hospital. She lives with her grandmother during this process. And at the end of the movie she goes back to the physical spaces she visited with her mom.
Personally, I have a kiddo who processed some family loss with an imaginary friend and while I do think this would be a good movie to watch with her. I would not watch it with her in a theater and not until she’s at least 10. These are all things to consider before taking kiddos who have experienced any parental loss to see it.
IF Movie Discussion Questions
1) Which IF made you laugh the most?
2) Which IF did you relate to the most? Which character?
3) Have you ever had an IF?
4) What helps you process difficult times?
3 Lessons from the IF Movie
1) Grown ups need child like wonder and moments of joy filled levity. And we still need someone to tell us it’s going to be OK.
2) We grow up so quickly. It’s more than OK to enjoy childhood.
3) Helping other people during their difficult times can help us process our own. Just like Bea helps Benjamin and the IF’s.
Favorite IF Movie Quotes
“Sometimes life doesn’t have to be fun. ‘You’re right but that doesn’t stop us from trying.’”
“You have to stop! ‘Never’”
“You’re never really alone. I thought that was obvious by now.”
“UGH! My eyes can taste it!”
“All kids need imaginary friends especially when they grow up!”
“Nothing you love can ever be forgotten… You can always go back”
“Grandma, can I ask you a question? What did you want to be when you were a kid?”
“I need to throw up. Or I need some food. Definitely something.”
“I just can’t do it again… Say goodbye”
“It’s a story about a little girl that was so sad and so scared that she did everything she could to block the world out.”
“I always remind myself to take a breathe and ask myself WHAT IF?”
Down The Hobbit Hole Blog and this IF Movie Parent Review use affiliate links. We only link products we think you’ll like and you are never charged extra for them. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. All images used in this post were either original designs from Canva or used from media kits We also use cookies to gather analytics and present advertisements. Find our other reviews with discussion questions here.