We haven't gone to the movies as a family in a while. As an extended family, I mean. Family movie time was a big to-do a few years back. We'd have calls and texts back and forth to agree on a movie with my kids' tías (my husband's two sisters) and two primos, figure out where and when, then designate a movie ticket buyer so everything was centralized with one family member. Usually, we'd have to trek out to Long Island, the most central location for the whole family, where we'd make a big weekend out of it, with food, the inevitable family argument, and just fun.
Recently, this tradition stopped. We lost one of the kids' cousins to cancer earlier this year, so during this almost 2-year long battle, it was a more subdued time for the family as a whole. But a few weeks ago, my 9-year-old daughter, Sofia, reminded us of what a great time family movie weekends used to be. We decided that we'd make this spring the time to bring it back. And she had a suggestion: Paramount's new movie IF, which will hit theaters on May 17.
When my daughter saw the trailer for IF, she immediately showed it to me. Sofia, in her usual take-charge sort of way, had already decided that this would be the movie to watch with the family, her two tías, her cousin, her abuelos, and us. Even my 12-year-old son, Sebastian, agreed — and those two couldn't be more different!
What's not to love about a movie that shows us how powerful imagination can be and reminds us what it’s like to be a kid again? To top it off, the IFs, or Imaginary Friends, are adorable, funny, and relatable in so many ways. Sofia was immediately attracted to the main IF, Blue, the big purple character voiced by Steve Carrell, and Blossom, the little cartoony butterfly voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. And I won't lie, I was won over by Ryan Reynolds in the role of Cal, because, you know, he's been my celeb crush for years and we all know how funny he is (please don't tell my husband!). Cal lives upstairs from Bea, an adorably precocious little girl, played by Cailey Fleming, and they go on an epic adventure to connect forgotten IFs with new kids.
While I know the kids will enjoy the antics and comedy of the IF characters, I think we will really enjoy being reminded of what it was like to be a kid again, not to mention the famous voices lending their talent to the various IFs. Seriously, the cast of this movie is unbelievable — Steve Carrell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Matt Damon, George Clooney, Emily Blunt, Bradley Cooper, Blake Lively, even Jon Stewart.
Sofia, Sebastian, and 3-year-old Saide, my littlest one, whose first movie ever will be IF, are looking forward to doing our big family movie weekend in May! I hope that helps remind my kids that tapping into their imaginations is one of the most powerful tools they have and, honestly, I hope it reminds me of that too.
To get them ready, they’ve already started playing with the filters on Snapchat and drawing on the website to create their own IFs.
The kids have already been playing around with the anticipation of the movie since the AR lens and IF Magic Color Experience interactive drawing app and the filters were released earlier this month. Check out some of their creations and the cute filters they've been playing with!
(This is Saide's Blue coming to life with the IF Magic Color Experience!)
This really is the perfect movie for us to go back to theaters all together. I'm sure the entire family will enjoy it but more than anything it will be about being together, and leaving this difficult time behind us.
Be sure to get tickets today!
