Strange World review

STRANGE WORLD: 

NOT DISNEY’S STRONGEST WORK, BUT THEIR NOD TO CLASSIC ADVENTURE FILMS IS ENJOYABLE ENOUGH! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

DISNEY

Searcher and Ethan Clade in Disney’s Strange World

 

            A family ends up in a strange new world in…Strange World, the latest animated feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios. The film is directed by Don Hall (Winnie the Pooh (2011), Big Hero 6, Raya and the Last Dragon) and is pretty much a sendup of classic film serials, pulp magazines, and adventure films even right down to having a teaser trailer done in the style of a 1950s adventure movie trailer. 

            Honestly, the trailer alone was enough to get me into the theater to watch it and yeah, the film gave exactly what it advertised, a fun little animated adventure that pays homage to films and media from that era. As far as campy adventure movies go, it does the job well, but compared to the game-changing features Disney released last year like Raya and the Last Dragon and Encanto, it does feel like a step backwards. 

            The film follows father and son adventurer duo, Jaeger (voiced by Dennis Quaid-The Parent Trap (1998), Any Given Sunday, The Rookie) and Searcher Clade (voiced by Jake Gyllenhaal-Prisoners, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Ambulance) who brave the wilderness and explore new worlds. On one of their expeditions, Searcher discovers a plant that can give off green energy known as the Pando, Jaeger insists on finishing the journey, but Searcher and the rest of the explorers believe that discovering the Pando is good enough, thus causing a falling-out between Jaeger and Searcher. 

25 years later, Searcher is now a farmer and family man who harvests the Pando as a fuel source with his son Ethan (voiced by Jaboukie Young-White-Ralph Breaks the Internet, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, C’mon C’mon) and wife Meridian (voiced by Gabrielle Union-Bring It On, Cadillac Records, The Inspection). 

However, when a mysterious threat starts destroying Pando crops, the family reunites with Searcher’s long lost father Jaeger and must put aside their differences as they embark on a journey to a mysterious land inhabited by surreal lifeforms in order to save the Pando from losing its power. They are joined up by one of Jaeger’s former expedition teammates and leader of the operation Callisto Mal (voiced by Lucy Liu-Charlie’s Angels 1 and 2, Kill Bill: Volume 1, Kung Fu Panda trilogy), the family dog Legend, and a mischievous albeit marketable creature known as Splat on their adventure to save both the Pando and the world. 

The film also features the voices of Karan Soni (Safety Not Guaranteed, Deadpool 1 and 2, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu) as Caspian, Disney regular Alan Tudyk (Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) as Duffle, Abraham Benrubi (ER, Without a Paddle, Robot Chicken) as Lonnie Redshirt, Nik Dodani (Atypical, Escape Room,Dear Evan Hansen) as Kardez, and Francesca Reale (Haters Back Off, Stranger Things, Do Revenge) as Azimuth. 

Overall, Strange World may not be one of Disney’s best animated features, but if you grew up with a lot of classic adventure films like Journey to the Center of the Earth, Fantastic Voyage, or the TV series Land of the Lost or just simply looking for something fun and imaginative to take the kids to, this might do the trick. The strange world itself is visually breathtaking and filled with unique creatures and environments to the point of sensory overload. 

This may not be the most intellectual argument, but the visuals and titular strange world make this movie worth watching on the big screen because it is such a creative and otherworldly world filled with imagination that just leaps off the screen. You can tell the animators must have been having a ball putting this unusual imagery together and it is a very commendable effort. 

However, where the film succeeds in animation and world-building, it doesn’t really excel at story or characters. The plot is essentially a throwback to classic adventure movies from the 50s and is about as complex as one while the characters, despite having some excellent voices behind them and a few standout traits aren’t all that interesting. 

 You got the loving and hardworking father who wishes for his son to follow in his footsteps while the son wants to go his own path (Haven’t heard that before?), the dad doesn’t get along with his own estranged father, but throughout the film they find a way to reconcile. Honestly, the only piece of character development that I found really unique is Ethan being Disney Animation’s first openly LGBTQ+ teenaged character which is handled very effectively, but it doesn’t quite change the fact most of the characters are stereotypes of adventure movie characters or in most of the side characters’ case, underdeveloped. 

I know, this review is all over the place, but I wouldn’t call it a Disney misfire, I’ll gladly take this over something like Home on the Range or Chicken Little any day. But compared to these recent Disney landmarks like Frozen, Zootopia, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Encanto, it lacks the compelling narrative and emotional weight of those films. 

I guess it doesn’t surprise me too much that Strange World isn’t bringing in the box-office profits Disneywanted, but maybe it’ll go the same route as The Black Cauldron, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Treasure Planet as a Disney film that underperformed but gained a strong cult following over the years, anything is possible. If you’re familiar with classic adventure movies or just looking for harmless fun for the kids, Strange World isn’t a bad journey to embark on.