8 Best Movies About Imaginary Friends That You Should Watching Update 04/2024

Movies About Imaginary Friends

As children, we had no actual responsibilities, no credit card debts, and the freedom to imagine our own worlds. In the same way, many of us had at least one “invisible mate” when we were young, didn’t we?

Psychologists, on the other hand, argue that guys are more likely to create male buddies than female ones. When you’re a kid, this may seem harmless, but as you get older, spending time with a “imaginary friend” could land you a spot in a psychiatric facility.

Films that feature characters that are both fictional and real have long been popular in Hollywood. Hence, we present to you our selection of the best fictional companions in cinema. Also, there are some spoilers in here.

1. Fred in Drop Dead Fred (1991)

Fred in Drop Dead Fred (1991)

The late comic Ric Mayall was the ideal choice for the role of Fred, the dark fantasy comedy’s imaginary friend who causes all kinds of havoc.

Lizzie’s green-jacketed buddy, he goes everywhere with her (80sdream girl Phoebe Cates). When Fred was a kid, she put him in a jack-in-the-box and locked him away, but now he’s back in her adult life, causing even more problems for her by sinking a friend’s houseboat and spreading mayhem.

But all is not lost, since the disastrous events may finally lead to Lizzie conquering her repressed feelings and confronting her cheating husband and her abusive mother, there may be a method to this madness all out. Fred did a great job.

2. Harvey in Harvey (1950)

James Stewart plays the humble Elwood in this endearing comedy.

Possibly the most pleasant person you will ever meet is P Dowd. Due to Harvey, the giant invisible rabbit Elwood has a reputation as a peculiar individual. Or a Pooka, which is a Celtic mythological goblin that can take on any form.

Because Elwood likes to drink, most of the town’s residents are on board with his antics. When Elwood’s sister Veta and niece conspire to have him committed, things get rough for him and Harvey. Instead of getting Harvey committed, the plot goes horribly wrong when Veta confesses to the chief psychiatrist that she has seen Harvey in the past.

One of Harvey’s powers revealed in the film is the ability to travel back in time with whomever he chooses. So even though everyone thinks you’re crazy for having him as a partner, he’s a useful invisible companion.

3. Lloyd the bartender in The Shining (1980)

Lloyd the bartender in The Shining (1980)

All of us could use a decent bartender in our lives, someone to give us wise advise and a shoulder to cry on when things go rough. That’s what Lloyd, the bartender from The Shining, is all about.

As Jack Torrence’s (Jack Nicholson) go-to guy, he serves as a sounding board. In the secluded hotel, where he had moved his family in order to care for the property over the winter and cure his writer’s block, the hotel begins to absorb him, and his son Danny begins to suffer ever increasing horrible visions. It’s not scary that Danny has an invisible friend named Tony with whom he communicates frequently.

Despite the fact that he is rapidly losing his mind, Jack Torrence cherishes the time he spends with Lloyd, the man behind the bar in the vast ballroom. This isn’t, however, the fault of Lloyd; he’s simply doing his job, and doing it well. According to Jack’s narration in the movie,

The finest of them all was you, without a doubt.” From Timbuktu to Portland, Maine, the best bartender in the world. or Portland, Oregon as well.”

4. Frank the rabbit in Donnie Darko (2001)

Donnie Darko, a brilliant film from 2001, has numerous allusions to Harvey. Though this film’s giant bunny is a little more terrifying.

Donnie, our protagonist, sleepwalks out of his house one night during the 1988 presidential election and encounters Frank, who introduces him to a group of problematic teenagers.

when he meets Frank, a towering demonic-looking rabbit, who predicts the end of the world within the next 28 days. Upon his return, he discovers that a jet engine has impacted his bedroom. All of this raises concerns about parallel universes, alternate histories, and the state of one’s mental health.

Throughout the film, Frank is shown manipulating Donnie to help him correct warped global timelines, although of course he may simply be a huge crazy bunny in his head? The answer to that question is, “No one knows.”

5. Eric Cantona in Looking for Eric (2009)

Eric Cantona in Looking for Eric (2009)

On this list, Eric Cantona, the famed French footballing enigma, is the only notable imaginary friend. An ex-The Fall bassist, Eric Bishop (Steve Evets), is a football-obsessed postman in trouble.

His hero Eric Cantona appears to him in a hallucinatory form in his living room after a short meditation session with fellow postmen and a weed-smoking session with some of his stepson’s marijuana. To rekindle his love for ex-wife and fend off the leader of drug cartel, footballer aids him.

Eric’s wisdom is something we could all use from time to time.

6. Captain Howdy in The Exorcist (1973)

We’ve all seen that cult classic horror film, right? With Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil, the movie The Exorcist follows 12-year-old Regan as she battles an evil presence inside her body. Captain Howdy is the term she uses to refer to the demon she encounters.

As a result of Regan playing with a Ouija board and making touch with a reportedly invisible companion, Chris (Ellen Burstyn) takes her daughter to a psychiatrist. Priests, not medicines, are the solution to their mounting problem.

Capt. Howdy’s one-second appearance in the film was included by director William Friedkin to frighten the audience.

This Captain is not someone we’d want to hang out with, as you can tell from the image below.

7. Elvis Presley in True Romance (1993)

Elvis Presley in True Romance (1993)

Christian Slater plays Clarence Worley’s (Christian Slater’s) fictional love interest in the wonderful True Romance, which takes the horror factor out of the picture. As a result of the Presley estate’s refusal to allow the use of any of Elvis’ songs, Clarence’s idol, Elvis (played by Val Kilmer), is referred to as “Mentor” in film credits.

And he does mentor, albeit with some unconventional advise. Gold lamé suit jackets and passionate advise can be seen lurking around the edges of a few scenes. He persuades Clarence that shooting Gary Oldman in the face will “make the world a better place” in one crucial conversation. Thank you very much, Big E, if that’s the case.

8. Tyler Durden in Fight Club (1999)

Assuming you’re reading this and haven’t seen Fight Club, you’ve either been living in a bubble or haven’t been paying attention. Or perhaps you’ve never been interested. In any case, it’s good, so you should check it out. In any event, there will be a slew of spoilers.

Ed Norton (billed as The Narrator) is a despondent salesperson who meets Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) on a plane. In the course of the film, there are numerous hints that Tyler is nothing more than the product of our narrator’s imagination.

He tries to convince Ed Norton’s character to be more honest with himself about his life by acting as an anarchist imaginary friend. The narrator moves into Durden’s palatial hovel after Tyler ‘helps’ him blow up his flat.

Once they’d done that, they moved on to the development of an underground fight club where men could unleash their natural instincts by beating other men up. Members of the club swiftly become agents of chaos as they attempt to bring down the system from the inside.