Imagine That

PG for some mild language and brief questionable behavior

reviewed by Christopher Lyon

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The Story

Murphy plays Evan, a divorced, workaholic dad who can barely bring himself to focus on his young daughter Olivia (Yara Shahidi) during their weekends together. She entertains herself with her imagination and her goo-ga, a cherished security blanket.

When Olivia’s imaginary friends start making accurate stock picks, though, Evan becomes a believer in Olivia’s world and selfishly uses their time together to get ahead at work. But eventually it becomes clear that Olivia needs more from him than just business conversations with her and her magical friends.

Content Issues

Some mild language (including a few uses of God’s name for swearing) is the only obvious issue in this PG-rated family film. The story also involves Olivia’s supernatural “imaginary” world—something a wanna-be Native American business associate unsuccessfully tries to tap into using American Indian spirituality, his own young son, and large doses of Red Bull—but the real source of that power is never really addressed.

Worldview Talking Points

The workaholic parent story has been told many times before, so there’s nothing really new going on here. But “Imagine That” does include some real humor and some sweet moments between father and son.

The most obvious worldview message is the one directed at parents: “Care more about your family than you do about making money.” It’s rarely that simple, of course, but if your kids happen to see the film it might offer an opportunity to bring the issue up with them.

We hope a few of the following questions might lead to exactly that conversation.

• Did you like “Imagine That”? Why or why not?
• Do you remember having imaginary friends or a special blanket when you were younger? If so, do you think that was a good thing?
• In the movie, the dad is a workaholic. He wants to provide for his family, but he also just loves working. Do you ever feel like anyone in our family is a workaholic?
• The dad in the movie didn’t have enough time for his daughter. Do you ever feel like we don’t have enough time for you? Do you ever wish one or both of your parents wouldn’t work so much?
• If we could spend more time together, what are the kinds of things you’d like us to do?
• Do you understand why we have to work so many hours sometimes?
• What are some ways that we could make better use of the time we do have to spend together?
• What are some of the things we’ve done together in the last few months that you’ve really enjoyed?
• Do you feel like you ever get so obsessed with something that you just can’t get enough of it?
• When does an interest in something, even a good thing, become unhealthy?
• Jesus told His followers that it’s impossible to serve both God and money. (See Matthew 6:19-24.) How do you think we tend to do in our family at serving God first?
• One of the ways parents serve God is by making enough money for their families to live on. Another way we serve God is by spending time with our kids. How do you think parents should find the balance between work and family?
• What are some things in your life you wish you could keep a better balance in? Does it ever bother you to have to sacrifice one thing you care about to do another important thing? How do you choose?

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