Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Best / Worst of the Decade
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
xx
Adjustment Bureau, The
53
Alice in Wonderland
47
A-Team, The
84
Avatar![]()
63
Babies
34
Back-up Plan, The
53
Book of Eli, The
22
Bounty Hunter, The
30
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
xx
Chain Letter
39
Clash of the Titans
31
Cop Out
55
Crazies, The
56
Date Night
51
Death at a Funeral
72
Despicable Me
56
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
56
Dinner for Schmucks
51
Eat Pray Love
45
Expendables, The
23
Furry Vengeance
65
Get Him to the Greek
61
Green Zone
30
Grown Ups
63
Hot Tub Time Machine
74
How to Train Your Dragon
79
IMAX: Hubble 3D
74
Inception
57
Iron Man 2
33
Jonah Hex
52
Just Wright
61
Karate Kid, The
66
Kick-Ass
21
Killers
46
Knight and Day
20
Last Airbender, The
xx
Last Exorcism, The
33
Last Song, the
31
Letters to God
50
Letters to Juliet
43
MacGruber
30
Marmaduke
35
Nightmare on Elm Street, A
75
Oceans
64
Other Guys, The
38
Our Family Wedding
47
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
xx
Piranha 3-D
51
Predators
50
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
56
Ramona and Beezus
40
Remember Me
53
Robin Hood
65
Salt
67
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
27
Sex and the City 2
46
She's Out of My League
58
Shrek Forever After
63
Shutter Island
46
Sorcerer's Apprentice, The
66
Splice
45
Step Up 3D
xx
Takers
92
Toy Story 3![]()
58
Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The
44
Twilight Saga: New Moon, The
43
Why Did I Get Married Too
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
52
[Rec] 2
xx
12th & Delaware
xx
180° South
90
45365![]()
55
8: The Mormon Proposition
xx
Accidents Happen
62
After the Cup: The Sons of Sakhnin United
36
After.Life
73
Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector, The
55
Agora
82
Ajami![]()
77
Alamar
78
Anton Chekhov's The Duel
63
Around a Small Mountain
57
Audrey the Trainwreck
xx
Badmaash Company
xx
Barking Water
75
Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
62
Behind the Burly Q
63
Best Worst Movie
31
Black Waters of Echo's Pond, The
35
Boogie Woogie
64
Breath Made Visible: Anna Halprin
xx
Brotherhood
24
Burzynski
51
Butcher's Son, The
xx
Ca$h
67
Cairo Time
59
Cartel, The
68
Casino Jack and the United States of Money
37
Charlie St. Cloud
xx
Cheech & Chong's Hey Watch This
48
Chloe
66
City Island
52
City of Your Final Destination, The
56
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
58
Concert, The
xx
Contenders, The
xx
Convention
71
Countdown to Zero
83
Crazy Heart![]()
51
Creation
xx
Cremaster Cycle, The
73
Cropsey
73
Cyrus
74
Daddy Longlegs
64
Disappearance of Alice Creed, The
73
Dogtooth
50
Don McKay
66
Double Take
47
Dry Land, The
67
Eclipse, The
85
Exit Through the Gift Shop![]()
56
Extra Man, The
75
Farewell
76
Father of My Children, The
30
Finding Bliss
38
Flipped
52
Formosa Betrayed
60
Fresh
xx
Fruit Fly
53
Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema
43
George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead
76
Get Low
68
Ghost Bird
77
Ghost Writer, The
68
Girl on the Train, The
66
Girl Who Played with Fire, The
xx
Gone with the Pope
40
Good Heart, The
69
Good, The Bad, The Weird, The
49
Great Directors
45
Greatest, The
76
Greenberg
59
Handsome Harry
24
Happiness Runs
73
Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Suess
55
Harry Brown
80
Have You Heard From Johannesburg?: Apartheid and the Club of the West
57
Here and There
xx
Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger
51
Holy Rollers
54
Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel
32
Human Centipede (First Sequence), The
79
I Am Love
91
I Was Born, But...![]()
33
In My Sleep
60
Infidel, The
67
It Came From Kuchar
74
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
79
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
57
John Rabe
55
Joneses, The
55
Juche Idea, The
65
Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D
86
Kids Are All Right, The![]()
53
Killer Inside Me, The
53
Killing Kasztner
44
Kimjongilia
xx
Kings of the Evening
68
Kisses
62
Kites: The Remix
47
La Mission
xx
Last Letters from Monte Rosa
xx
Law, The
63
Lbs.
xx
Le amiche
58
Leaves of Grass
87
Lebanon![]()
72
Let It Rain
70
Life During Wartime
41
Lightkeepers, The
76
Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders
37
Living Wake, The
66
Looking for Eric
72
Lottery, The
37
Love Ranch
86
Mademoiselle Chambon![]()
xx
Malice in Wonderland
46
Mercy
78
Messenger, The
47
Metropia
62
Micmacs
75
Mid-August Lunch
60
Middle Men
54
Misfortunates, The
64
Mother and Child
75
Mugabe and the White African
35
Multiple Sarcasms
65
Mundo Alas
xx
My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
50
My Name is Khan
41
Nature of Existence, The
71
Neshoba: The Price of Freedom
xx
Nightfall
71
No One Knows About Persian Cats
59
Nobody’s Perfect
72
Oath, The
xx
Ocean of Pearls
65
Ondine
59
Only When I Dance
58
OSS 117: Lost in Rio
xx
Oxford Murders, The
37
Paper Man
63
Parking Lot Movie, The
68
Patrik Age 1.5
40
People I've Slept With, The
42
Perfect Game, The
47
Perrier's Bounty
48
Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies
78
Please Give
31
Pornography: A Thriller
41
Princess Kaiulani
90
Prophet, A![]()
xx
Raajneeti
67
Raavan
78
Racing Dreams
xx
Ramchand Pakistani
xx
Red Birds
63
Reel Injun
85
Restrepo![]()
xx
Road, Movie
45
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead
xx
Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage
43
Salt of This Sea
81
Secret in Their Eyes, The![]()
81
Secret of Kells, The![]()
73
See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary
57
Severe Clear
57
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
52
Shine of Rainbows, A
48
Sicilian Girl, The
77
Single Man, A
68
Smash His Camera
69
Solitary Man
45
South of the Border
56
Spoken Word
47
Spring Fever
75
Square, The
22
Standing Ovation
75
Stonewall Uprising
53
Tales from the Script
74
Terribly Happy
78
Teza
75
That Evening Sun
xx
They Came to Play
49
Thorn in the Heart, The
xx
Thru the Moebius Strip
60
TiMER
64
Tirador
15
To Age or Not to Age
52
Touching Home
33
Trash Humpers
59
Trotsky, The
xx
Trust Us, This Is All Made Up
24
Twelve
56
Two in the Wave
62
Valhalla Rising
85
Vincere![]()
xx
Visionaries
54
Wah Do Dem
70
Warlords, The
56
What's the Matter with Kansas?
55
When You're Strange: A Film About The Doors
68
Whiz Kids
52
Who Do You Love
35
Who Killed Nancy
64
Wild Grass
xx
Wild Hunt, The
56
Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest, The
69
Winnebago Man
90
Winter's Bone![]()
68
Women Without Men
xx
World on a Wire
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Imagine That

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 23 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 14 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy | Drama | Fantasy
Written by:
Ed Solomon
Chris Matheson
Directed by: Karey Kirkpatrick
Release Date:
Theatrical: June 12, 2009
DVD: November 24, 2009
Running Time: minutes, Color
Origin: USA | Germany
Summary
RATING: PG for some mild language and brief questionable behavior
Starring Eddie Murphy, Thomas Haden Church, Yara Shahidi, Nicole Ari Parker, Ronny Cox, and Martin Sheen
A successful financial executive has more time for his blackberry than his seven-year-old daughter, but when he has a crisis of confidence and his career starts going down the drain, however, he finds the solution to all his problems in his daughter’s imaginary world. (Paramount Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Over the Hedge
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
TV Guide Perry Seibert
By no means a landmark, but it is a remarkably pleasant surprise -- so few movies aimed for the whole family show an understanding of why it's actually healthy to pretend.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Mr. Murphy rises to every occasion, not only with the crisp wit that has long been his hallmark, but with restraint and tenderness that serve him well.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
Eddie Murphy strikes the right balance between silliness and pathos in this screwball family comedy.
Read Full Review >Washington Post John Anderson
It's refreshing that in effects-happy Hollywood, Evan and Olivia only imagine their travels, rather than run a gantlet of computerized hallucinations. This may turn out to be one of the more endearing aspects of Imagine That to its younger audiences.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
The result is a much more playable film than recent efforts, though Murphy will have to share the applause with young Yara Shahidi.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
All in all, Imagine That is an amiable detour from its star's usual scatological skronk. Kids will empathize, parents will breathe a sigh of relief.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Gary Goldstein
Despite an overly broad third act, one can't fault the film's message of family unity, underscored by a memorable use of the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love."
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
While Imagine That falls short of its feel-good aim, its feel-nice vibe is a good Father's Day diversion for Dads and their spawn.
Read Full Review >New Orleans Times-Picayune Mike Scott
Twenty-five years ago, it would have been impossible to imagine that Imagine That would see Eddie Murphy and The Beatles coming together to create family entertainment, but I'll be darned if it doesn't work.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Joe Neumaier
For the first time since "The Nutty Professor," Eddie Murphy successfully mixes his adult and kid-film personas -- imagine that.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Nick Pinkerton
Imagine That does manage to get a crowd tearing up on cue for its emotional climax; as much as it works, it's through the personal charm of Murphy and Shahidi.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
There's something sweet about the way that Murphy throws himself into this piffle. Thomas Haden Church does too.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
Eddie Murphy in another mediocre family comedy? Imagine that.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
An Eddie Murphy comedy that's actually endearing.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
Though Imagine That's message is benign, its adult focus is off-base, and every move feels too familiar, formulaic and telegraphed.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Amy Binacolli
The plot turns distasteful and shrill before its tidy resolution at the close.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Though he commits to a lot of embarrassing silliness, Murphy projects so little genuine warmth that his transformation barely registers.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Watching Imagine That, I was beset by a feeling of intense depression. Is this what Eddie Murphy has become?
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
Cutesy? My pain was acutesy as the entire plot yawned before me.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 5.3 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jay H gave it a5:
Way too cute for my taste. Eddie Murphy does try, but with material as sappy as this it doesn’t do much good. It is filled with cliches, I lost interest about halfway through. I was not impressed.
Donna W gave it a5:
Funny, light-hearted but predictable outcome. Vanessa Williams performance is pretty lackluster.
kg m gave it a4:
Thomas Haden Church is brilliant as Johnny Whitefeather—especially in the first 10-15 minutes. Yara Shahidi is adorable and Eddie Murphy holds down the fort. The story certainly isn’t very deep, and the lesson isn’t much more than trite but at least the filmmaker keeps it clean and family oriented. The one significant flaw is in her daughter’s imaginary world Murphy can never see into it (that’s fine) but we never get to see his daughter’s vision and that really hurts the potential beauty and poignancy of this flick.
Lester E gave it an8:
Our family enjoyed the movie, funny and charming. I think more people should keep an open mind. I think Eddie Murphy is getting a bad rap since his last few movies bombed.
Chad S gave it a2:
[***SELF-POLICING SPOILER ALERT***] Olivia(Yara Shahidi) is daddy's little executive. Although the film pretends otherwise, there's a strong possibility that she's the one with the shrewd business mind. The audience never sees Olivia's imaginary friends. Unlike Disney's "The Barefoot Executive" where the audience sees the network television programming chimp that Steven Post(Kurt Russell) exploits for his own personal gain. Since you can compensate a lower primate with bananas, there's nothing particularly unethical about the opportunistic mailboy taking all the credit for Raffles' media savviness. But your own flesh and blood? Evan(Eddie Murphy) has no scruples. The financial executive never considers the possibility that Olivia might be a child prodigy. If he did, another Lennon-esque title, "Gimme Some Truth", would emerge out from the film's subtext and cannibalize the bizarre children's movie's premise about a cabal of princesses who crunch numbers. "Imagine That" knows less about its demographics than the concurrent "Land of the Lost". In "Drop Dead Fred", Phoebe Cates saw her imaginary friend, whereas the little girl in "Opal Dream"(based on the novel "Pobby and Dingan" by Ben Rice) doesn't. Both films knew its respective audiences. Meanwhile, "Imagine That" has Eddie Murphy mugging for the camera, to little comedic effect, before thrusting his business portfolios at the thin air. Blanket, my ass. Olivia is at that tender age where children don't want to beat their parents. That's why she takes no credit for her father's success.
Fred W gave it a0:
You will have to imagine that Eddie Murphy is still funny if you want to get a laugh out of this movie.
Paul S gave it a0:
Imagine that Eddie Murphy is still funny, becuase he sure ain't in this movie.
