There was a fair amount of controversy over how Strange World was marketed- or the lack thereof, with most of Disney’s time invested into pushing Wakanda Forever, Avatar with their 20th Century wing, and the new streaming shows this season. Shame that it got lost in the shuffle, because while I don’t think this reaches the heights of the most recent 2010s Disney Renaissance, this science fiction tale directed by Don Hall and penned by Raya & the Last Dragon writer Qui Nguyen is still a fun feature from the studio with a pleasant cast in the center that keeps it watchable.
If you’re a fan of the 1930s “amazing stories” style of writing, you might get something out of the Clade family’s adventure to save their world of Avalonia. Jake Gyllenhall is Searcher Clade, a farmer of an energy source plant called Pando, and he’s tasked by planet leader Callisto Mal (Lucy Liu) with finding out why Pando is losing its power. Gabrielle Union plays his pilot wife Meridian, with Jaboukie Young-White as their son Ethan who tags along the spaceship to help.
They encounter Searcher’s father, the legendary adventurer Jaeger Clade along the way, who left his party during an exhibition years ago because he insisted on pressing on to explore Avalonia’s mountains, and he’s returned sporting a “Robin Williams in the Jumanji ‘What Year Is It?’ meme” beard and hair.
The tension between Jaeger and Searcher serves as the key source of drama amongst their efforts to keep Avalonia alive, because as has been common with some recent Disney features (such as Wreck It Ralph 2), Strange World lacks a shameless mustache twirling villain in the mold of a Jafar or Ursula. And yeah, I understand many fans do miss that classic hammy Disney bad guy (Tamatoa from Moana was a notable exception as of late).
But there’s a part in the movie where the characters are almost straight up talking to the audience, telling those who are expecting or hoping for that kind of antagonist “nope, it’s not going down that way”. So at the most you’ll get characters picking a poor decision in hopes of solving their problem.
These kinds of pulp science fiction adventure, including some notable films from Disney like the Rocketeer, Atlantis and Treasure Planet, and Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland have always had an uphill climb in theaters in recent years, often becoming cult classics and developing fandoms only after they suffered box office disappointments. Roy Conli was the producer for Treasure Planet and Big Hero 6 and he’s on board again for Strange World, a project that doesn’t have the more proven superhero hook (or a character as squeezable as Baymax) for advertising to latch onto.
The titular “strange world” of Avalonia is the focus of the marketing, and the Clades in their own right are an endearing family. I thought Ethan’s crush on a boy named Daizo was adorable and I’d love to see some shorts starting them in the future. But the planet, while stunning visually in general, isn’t very cuddly in that familiar Disney way. There aren’t any cute talking animals (or snowmen), just alien monsters with lots of tentacles and teeth.
Splat is the cutest alien here with charming mannerisms, and the hope I can tell was for kids to want to hug a Splat plush the way Ethan hugs him. But- and I say this as someone who likes both these characters, he still looks like blue snot. Like Lilo and Stitch, part of why I see this movie becoming more popular in the future is because of how different it does feel from the studio’s usual output in that sense.
All that aside, is the story any good? For me, it kinda falls in the upper middle end of recent WDAS features, a bit cliched in some of the family conflicts and not as much tension or emotion as I’d have liked, but I liked the cast overall and was fine with the performances if not blown away. I’ve seen some comparisons between this film to the Rescuers, which confused me because it feels quite different IMO from the 1977 movie. Maybe people meant that Ethan is kinda like Cody from the 1990 Rescuers sequel? They’d get along together with both being exploring kids who are kind to the wildlife. Actually, much of Strange World’s character development kept giving me vibes of a Goofy Movie, except inverted.
Searcher’s major fear is that Ethan will become a clone of Jaegar and neglect his family obligations for adventuring, right down to nervously fantasizing about his son growing a thick mustache and gruff voice- very similar to Max Goof’s nightmare that he’ll wind up as clumsy as his pops. It’s not a beat-for-beat copy of that mid-1990s classic, but the sense of fearing that one can’t relate to a family member anymore is still present.
Meridian and Searcher are certainly likable and caring parents, but I’m not sure if these roles really give Gyllenhall and Union quite enough to sink their teeth into. It’s really whenever the grandfather and grandson (along with Splat) are onscreen doing stuff that the movie comes to life and the energy levels go up.
I wouldn’t say the slower parts totally upend the movie, but I’ve talked about certain Disney films and other kids’ works likely finding more appeal with an adult audience. Now granted, there’s tons of stuff in Strange World that your children will love, but plot-wise it seems especially more suited for an older audience at times to connect with. I don’t know if it’s going to be considered a hidden classic, only time can answer that question, but I certainly had fun with it even if it isn’t perfect. What were your thoughts on it? Let us know your thoughts if you’ve seen it at FAN on Twitter and Facebook!