The Wizard of Oz had a profound impact on children’s cinema. Released in 1939, it whisked audiences away to the whimsical land of Oz with its lovable characters, memorable songs, and incredible performances. Despite its behind-the-scenes challenges, the film revolutionized filmmaking and remains influential. “If,” like many subsequent family films that merge fantasy worlds with reality, aims to capture that same enchantment, drawing inspiration from the magic woven by Dorothy and her ruby slippers.

If

“IF” is a whimsical fantasy comedy directed by John Krasinski. It follows the story of a young girl who discovers she can see everyone’s imaginary friends—left behind by their grown-up owners. Joining forces with a quirky group of these imaginary pals, she embarks on a quest to find them new companions, leading to a series of perilous escapades.

If Review

John Krasinski (The Office) is a talented guy, and he clearly wrote IF from a place of love, but if anything, the film shows how one can be too close to a project to be objective. As sweet as the film’s tone and intent may be, it’s a plodding tale with lofty intentions and subpar and muddled execution, trying to tell too many stories at once without fully developing any of them.

Although its performers are mostly talented, the overrated Phoebe Waller-Bridge notwithstanding, the film’s completely underdeveloped premise and characters and lack of focus make it impossible to fully embrace either the narrative or any individual, real or imagined. The result is that “big” reveals land with a feather touch, and the “big” action sequences are emotionless, busy, and loud without any impact.

With a star-studded voice cast including everyone from Bradley Cooper and Brad Pitt to Bill Hader and Louis Gossett Jr., one would think that at least the fun-looking imaginary characters would give audiences something with which to bond emotionally. Yet, except for Christopher Meloni‘s (Law and Order: Special Victim’s Unit) Cosmo, the vocal performances ranged from uninspired to as lifeless as the computers in which the animation was generated.

Unaided by ho-hum performances and a score that is so over the top with sugary delusions of grandeur that it would give Willy Wonka a cavity, IF is a mostly failed experiment that no number of cute creature designs or Ryan Reynolds puppy dog eyes can salvage. Small children will probably find it entertaining, but I wouldn’t take my kids to it (see below).

SIDENOTE: Arguably, the strangest thing about IF is the five to ten-minute BEHIND THE SCENES featurette that precedes it. As it heaps on loads of spoilerish footage, it reeks of a desperate attempt to set the film’s tone and give audience members the warm-and-fuzzies before subjecting them to the upcoming slog.

PARENTAL NOTES

Important Information for Parents

Our Parental Notes flag the material parents may want to know about before pressing play, including profanity, blasphemy, adult content, extreme violence, frightening intensity, hyper-stimulating sequences, and other family-content concerns.

UNLOCK PARENTAL NOTES.Profanity, blasphemy, adult content, extreme violence, hyper-stimulating intensity, and more.›

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