Sparkles, colors, beads, and feather boas, these are a few of any young girl's favorite things. Add a princess costume to the mix, and you've got hours of imagination-fueled fun. As every little princess knows, there is a brave king to protect her and watch over the land. It is the night of the Princess Ball and everyone will be attending. The King marches into the grand ballroom, not wearing a beautifully colorful and ornate wardrobe to compliment his power and stature, but wearing clunky, noisy, and heavy armor, covering him from head to toe. This is not a proper outfit to wear to a ball at all! And the princess knows it. The king in this story represents how Eddie Murphy is used in the movie Bedtime Stories. He is such a king of comedy, but the movie holds him back. Let me backtrack first and give a quick synopsis of the movie.
            Eddie Murphy plays a financial executive, the man with a money plan. He is always at the top of his game, even if it means sacrificing time with his seven-year-old daughter, Olivia (Yara Shahidi). When the stress of balancing his crucial week at work and time with his daughter becomes too much, he stumbles upon a solution to his work problems: his daughter's imaginary princess friends. These princesses know exactly what will happen in the market, even if it is put in junior laymen's terms. As his work becomes harder and harder, the bond between him and his daughter becomes more and more strained. He becomes dependent on the princesses for his success instead of remembering how his financial knowledge got him there in the first place. It is up to him to right all the wrongs and save the day!
            Yes, this movie is predictable, but would you have a children's story any other way? Referencing back to the King metaphor, Murphy is so good at what he does (making people laugh, which I know, we all forgot he could do that after seeing Norbit) and has a magical air of comedy about him with everything he does. The movie takes away from that by adding in more scenes about stocks and bonds than about the humor and silliness of Eddie. The movie itself becomes the heavy and clunky armor which does not allow him to fully show off his kingly stature.
            With that said, the scenes where Eddie is allowed to take off the armor and don his royal attire, he is wonderful! The bond between him and little Yara was undeniable. Their scenes together were so believable and touching. The comedy in it was laugh out loud at points, and for a children's movie, I was surprised at the overall lack of slapstick, which is very common in child-focused movies. No matter, it did not need it!
            The movie is rated PG for mild language and brief questionable behavior. The rating for this film is fair, because they do say the words... poopy, butt, and fart (okay, you can stop giggling now). This movie is great and safe clean fun.
            I give Imagine That 3 out of 5 purple blankets. This movie is a great daddy- daughter film, especially with Father's day coming right around the corner. It's the kind of film where she will want to put on a princess dress to go see. Maybe dad will dress up too, just not in clunky armor; it's hard to eat popcorn in.