The original action-adventure journeys deep into an uncharted and treacherous land where fantastical creatures await the legendary Clades, a family of explorers whose differences threaten to topple their latest — and by far — most crucial mission.
Plot[]
“Welcome, explorers, to Avalonia. A modest civilization trapped behind an impassable ring of never-ending mountains, whose citizens strive to do their best, despite their humble means. Believing the key to their future lies beyond these mountains, many have tried to get past them. All have failed. But hope has arrived as Avalonia's greatest explorers the Clades, have now set their sights on pulling off the impossible. Meet Jaeger Clade!”
―Opening narrator
Jaeger Clade and his son, Searcher are adventurers who brave the wilderness to explore new worlds. While trying to traverse a mountain that surrounds the land of Avalonia, Searcher discovers a plant that gives off energy. Jaeger insists on continuing the expedition, but Searcher and the rest of the expedition team believe that the new plant, dubbed Pando, is good enough, and Jaeger angrily continues his mission alone. 25 years later, Searcher has made a name for himself by cultivating Pando and turning it into a fuel resource for Avalonia. He is married to fellow harvester Meridian and they have a son named Ethan, who gets embarrassed whenever Searcher tries talking to his crush, Diazo. They also have a three legged dog named Legend who hangs out with Ethan. Jaeger has still been out exploring and hasn't returned yet, a statue was made in honor of his journeys. While delivering in another Pando supply Searcher and Ethan park by Jaeger's statue. Ethan then asks Searcher what his grandpa was like (Searcher never really talked about him), deciding he should know, Searcher states in complete honesty that Jaeger never cared about his family, only conquering the mountains.
One day, Callisto Mal, the leader of Avalonia, arrives at the Clades' home in a giant flying ship called the Venture. She informs the Clades that the Pando is losing its power and that they need Searcher to help find the cause. He joins a new expedition team and they travel into a giant sinkhole where giant roots of Pando have been located. Searcher tells his wife and son about his mission and will be leaving that night. Ethan immediately jumps at the chance to explore and insists he comes along but Searcher (who is secretly worried Ethan will become like Jaeger), tells Ethan he has to stay on the farm. Despite Ethan’s insistence, Searcher is firm in his decision and forbids his son from coming, a furious Ethan storms upstairs. Meridian assures Searcher that he just needs time but he’ll be alright. Searcher along with the rest of the crew board the ship and head below the surface to find answers. On the way down though, Meridian tries catching up in her crop duster after Ethan and their dog Legend have snuck aboard the ship. They are attacked by wyvern-like creatures and continue going down until they break through sensitive crust and end up in a subterranean world. During the crash, Searcher and Legend are separated from the group.
While chasing off a creature he later nicknames "Splat", Searcher and Legend are rescued by Jaeger, who has been living underground all these years. He reveals that he has tried taking advantage of traversing under the mountain, but is blocked off by an acidic ocean that he is unable to cross. He decides to help look for the Venture as a means to cross it. Meanwhile, the group tries to prepare the ship, but Ethan sneaks away to find Searcher. He then finds a tunnel he cowardly runs in and discovers Splat, who tries taking him to his father. They end up getting attacked by creatures called Reapers, but reunite with Searcher and Jaeger. They are soon rescued by Meridian and Callisto, who outrun the creatures and return to the Venture.
Searcher insists on completing their mission while Jaeger wants to continue journeying across the Strange World. Callisto agrees to help fix the ship so that they can continue traveling. During this time, Ethan realizes that Searcher and Jaeger do not see eye-to-eye and he becomes frustrated with the two of them and their opposing views. After another wild encounter, Searcher and Jaeger finally have a heart-to-heart talk with one another and realize that they do respect each other's goals in life. They finally encounter a root cluster of where the Pando is as it is being attacked by the creatures. Believing that the Pando is fighting back, they decide to try and help it.
Searcher and Jaeger have another argument that ends with Ethan angrily storming off. Searcher follows him aboard a small flying vehicle, but as they are making up, they realize that they are floating above an ocean and in front of a giant eye with a mountain on top of it. The two realize that Avalonia has been on the back of a giant sea turtle and that they have been traveling inside its body, meaning that the Pando is an illness that is slowly killing it. They head back to inform everyone about it, but they are in disbelief with an infuriated Jaeger leaving to see for himself and Callisto and her team locking up the Clades to prevent them from stopping their mission. Luckily, Legend and Splat release the family.
Searcher and Ethan head to the root cluster, which is actually the heart, while Meridian takes over the ship and finally convinces Callisto to stop the mission. Jaeger, after having a change of heart, returns and they break through the Pando. Creatures suddenly appear and bring the heart back to life, saving the land, but losing the Pando power source. Searcher and Ethan show everyone the giant creature, which is actually a turtle. One year later, Ethan is in a relationship with Diazo as they and their friends collect resources from the Strange World, Avalonia has shifted from Pando energy to wind turbines, Jaeger revisits his ex-wife who has remarried, and Searcher and Jaeger's relationship has improved.
On April 3, 2020, an animated feature was announced for a late 2022 release.[1] On May 31, 2021, auditions began for the role of Ethan with production set to commence on July 1.[2] In August, information on the film, alongside its working title, Searcher Clade was revealed.[3] On December 8, 2021, the official logo for the film, with the updated title of Strange World, was published on Disney's press platform.[4] A day later, the film was formally announced by Disney, along with the reveal of some concept art.[5] On June 6, 2022, a teaser trailer for the film was released along with the reveal of Jake Gyllenhaal as the voice of the main protagonist, Searcher Clade.[6] Eleven days later on June 17, the rest of the main cast for the film was announced at France's Annecy Animation Festival with Jaboukie Young-White as Ethan Clade, Gabrielle Union as Meridian Clade, Lucy Liu as Callisto Mal, and Dennis Quaid as Jaeger Clade.[7]
Marketing[]
The teaser trailer was released on June 6, 2022. The official trailer was released on September 21, 2022.
Reception[]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 72% of 163 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's consensus reads, "Strange World is a Disney milestone in terms of representation – but as a storytelling experience, this dazzlingly animated adventure offers little audiences haven't already seen."[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[9] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 82%, including an average four out of five stars.[10]Strange World was the first film from Walt Disney Animation to earn lower than "A-" to "A+" and is considered the lowest CinemaScore rating of all Disney animated films since 1991.[11] Due to its low audience receptions, it became one of the four lowest-scoring Disney canon films after The Black Cauldron, Home on the Range and Chicken Little.
The film, received $28.7 million on opening weekend, starkly contrasting its $180 million budget. According to analysts, projections have it lose as much as $147 million for Disney.
This is the most recent film in the Disney Animated Canon to be helmed by a single director, with the last film being Wreck-It Ralph ten years prior in 2012.
This is the second Disney Animated Canon film to be released on November 23, after Moana.
The Venture Ship during Encanto credits
On December 8, 2021, the official title was revealed to be Strange World after previously going under the working title of Searcher Clade.[4]
The Venture ship from the film appeared as an Easter egg during the end credits of Encanto, similar to the Ralph Easter egg during Moana's end credits and the butterflies from Encanto during Raya and the Last Dragon's end credits.
The Backson from Winnie the Pooh (which Don Hall also directed) appears in the end credits, as does Star from the upcoming Wish.
During the final shot of the comic book at the end of the film, a document with Atlantean language can be seen.
This is the first film in the Disney Animated Canon to be produced in a 2:39:1 aspect ratio since Raya and the Last Dragon.
The film was originally set for a theatrical release in France, but it was later moved to a Disney+ release as an original film due to Disney's opposition of the country's regulations on film release windows.[12] Locally, this makes it the first film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios to go directly to streaming.
One type of creature in this film is obviously based on a type of extinct panarthropod known as Hallucigenia.
Disney's decision to not release the film in Nepal and Vietnam may seem unusual, as both countries are not known to censor LGBT content and are becoming more tolerant of homosexuality,[15][16] with the former ruling in favor of same-sex marriage in 2023.[17]
According to a recent assumption, reference points for the story include slight and imaginable inspiration from Jules Verne and H. G. Wells stories.[18]
In addition, this is the first Disney Animated Canon film to feature the full 2022 Disney logo as a closing logo.
For the international versions, this is the first Disney Animated Canon film to feature the short 2022 Disney logo as a closing logo after international dubbing credits.
This film marks the fourth Disney Animated Canon film to not have post-credits scene after all the end credits have rolled, since Zootopia, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Encanto.
This is the second Disney Animated Canon film to be rated PG for action/peril and some thematic elements by the MPA after Frozen II.
This is the first Disney Animated Canon film in 4 years to have the Walt Disney Animation Studios' Steamboat Willie theme play in the opening logo since Ralph Breaks the Internet.
It's also their second animated film to utilize the shortened version of the Walt Disney Animation Studios logo after Wreck-It Ralph.
Both two films are the first Disney Animated Canon films to use the new logo, while Wreck-it Ralph is the first Disney Animated Canon film to use the modified 2011 logo, and Strange World is the first Disney Animated Canon film to use the 2022 logo.
However, Wreck-it Ralph used a completely modified WDAS logo in 8-bit, while Strange World just used the second half of original WDAS logo.
This is the first Disney Animated Canon film to have a CinemaScore lower than "A-". It received a "B" score.
Films released before Beauty and the Beast do not count, as those films never received any CinemaScore rank.
This is the second Disney Animated Canon film to stream on Disney+ just 30 days after its theatrical release after Encanto.
The theme of the movie is based on these three concepts: Age of Exploration, Age of Discovery, and Age of Renewable Energy.
To date, it is the first Walt Disney Animation Studios film to become a financial failure since 2011's Winnie the Pooh.
The film averts the classic Disney trope of having one or both parents be dead, with a fake out involving Searcher revealing that his mother is still alive, but is seeing someone else following Jaeger's disappearance.
When the Venture loses control and plunges down into the sinkhole, the sound of the alarm that goes off as it does so is the same sound used by the titular robot from WALL-E whenever he sees a sandstorm coming towards him. This also occurs when Meridian deliberately lets go of the ship's controls after Callisto Mal tells her to do so.
Additionally, the Venture's anchor has a strikingly similar design to one of WALL-E's hands.
When the Venture is about fall off the cliff after crash landing into the strange world, Meridian shouts "Not today!", which is the exact same line Buzz Lightyear uttered after he and Woody were launched in the air by Sid's rocket, "The Big One", in Toy Story.
One of Penny's lost dog posters from Bolt can be seen after Callisto Mal burst in to stop Meridian from taking the Venture.
This was the last Disney film Burny Mattinson worked on before his death three months later.
