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IF Ending Explained; What Happens To The IFs After Bea Leaves New York?
The emotional ending of IF allows for the possibility of a future reunion between Bea and Calvin.
IF is a heartwarming movie about a young girl who discovers that she is able to see imaginary friends. As her father prepares for surgery, Bea works with neighbor Cal-who is also able to see IFs-to try and find new homes and kids for them. It is an exploration into the world of IFs and their connection with the greater world in John Krasinski's family film follow-up to A Quiet Place.
The movie IF first reveals new homes for IF's colorful characters outside a retirement home founded by an old IF. The actual meaning, however, is emotional and based on themes of self-actualization and joy. The film has within its folds the underlying meaning of imagination in crisis and even hides its biggest twist. By their nature, the emotional and thematic ending leaves the door open for a possible sequel.
What happens after Bea left?
Bea's influence on the other IFs in IF has already had a positive impact: some are already going back to the original people of IFs. For example, Bea's Grandmother can see Blossom and other minor characters like Unicorn and Ally reunite with their original people. That is the precise positivity that Bea's influence has upon the IFs.
The ending of the film suggests that retired IFs continue returning to their people rather than being placed with new children. The much-clarified Benjamin is an owner of his own dragon IF and shows in that last scene, their 'salvation' in being reunited with the original kids, even if only for a moment as seen through the joy Blue had in giving Jeremy that second of self confidence.
Cal was one of Bea's IF's
In IF, Bea hugs her friend,Cal,as if she will never see him again because she is leaving town with her father. Her father has surgery and it all works out well, even though there is a little scare for a while. Then Bea and her dad leave, but in the process of packing into the car, one drawing gets lost-an important drawing that shows herself and both of her parents, as well as her imaginary friend Calvin, played by Ryan Reynolds.
Only now realizing the true nature of their relationship, Bea rushes back upstairs and finally is able to jog her memory enough to where she can see Cal once more. Now attired in far more colorful, befitting a clown-like set of clothing, Cal meets Bea with a balloon flower, and the two share an embrace to close out the film. That is a greatly warming moment; really reflective of the overall themes of the film, it explains a lot about small aspects of Cal's part in the film.
The movie rips Bea and Cal, but the themes hint that imaginary friends might play an important role when they grow older. During moments of trouble or stress, IFs comfort, as Calvin returns to reassure Bea. Still in the city is Bea's grandmother, and at times of stress, this is shown to be how vital the imaginary friend has become.
Is there a possibility of a sequel?
IF concludes on a more open-ended note when the emotional arcs of Bea, Calvin, and all IFs are brought to a close. Events could then be brought full circle with Bea returning to New York City to visit the grandmother, reunited with Calvin and the other IFs at the retirement home. However, it's a lot of the subtler details in the world of IF that would make a sequel appealing, like what happens to aging IFs and if they actually disappear, like Blue is afraid of people forgetting him.
Calvin believing that IFs are ageless and do not die gives a lot of room for their life to be questioned. A sequel on the mortality of IFs could lead to the discussion of Lewis with Louis Gossett Jr. having passed. An upper high school setting, using Bea's experience with IFs and how she can continue to help them, would pose a great setting in which IF can further develop its themes, those centering on keeping imagination even while growing up.
IF is a film that reinstates the power of imagination and positivity in the face of hardship. Bea, who had earlier on been cast aside by her mother's and father's deteriorating health, gets reintroduced by Calvin and other IFs, reinstating in her a belief that imagination remains a potent tool despite the loss of a childish side.
The ending emphasizes avoiding, forgetting, and moving on from childhood imaginations, for which even adults need them. The movie provides insights into the persisting power of the IFs and how not to lose them, pointing out the sweet moral that IFs provide a powerful central message. It brings back Bea's Grandmother Blossom and Blue along with Jeremy.
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