| Strange World | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Don Hall |
| Screenplay by | Qui Nguyen |
| Produced by | Roy Conli |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography |
|
| Edited by | Sarah K. Reimers |
| Music by | Henry Jackman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures[a] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 102 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $135–180 million[b] |
| Box office | $73.6 million[4][5] |
Strange World is a 2022 American animatedscience fictionadventure film produced byWalt Disney Animation Studios. The film follows a legendary family of explorers who must set aside their differences as they embark on a journey to a mysterious subterranean land inhabited by surreal lifeforms, in order to save the miracle plant Pando, which is their society's source of energy. It stars the voices ofJake Gyllenhaal,Dennis Quaid,Jaboukie Young-White,Gabrielle Union, andLucy Liu.
The film was directed byDon Hall, and written byQui Nguyen. Hall first conceivedStrange World in 2017. It drew inspiration frompulp magazines,Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864),Fantastic Voyage (1966),Jurassic Park (1993) andKing Kong (1933). To communicate non-verbally, several animators worked to create the movement of the character Splat. While the film is predominantly CGI, the film incorporates 2D animation from Randy Haycock, with additional 2D animation byEric Goldberg andMark Henn in certain scenes.Henry Jackman provided the musical score. The film introduced Disney's first openlyLGBTQ lead character, leading to the film being pulled from theatrical release in some regions.
Strange World premiered at theEl Capitan Theatre inHollywood, Los Angeles, on November 15, 2022, and was released in the United States on November 23, byWalt Disney Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics but was abox-office bomb, grossing $74 million, with a projected loss of $197 million for Disney.
In the land of Avalonia, which is surrounded by an endless wall of mountains, Jaeger Clade and his son, Searcher brave the wilderness to explore new worlds. While trying to traverse the mountains to find a way across it, Searcher discovers a green plant that gives off energy. He and the rest of the expedition team decide to return to Avalonia with the plant while Jaeger angrily continues his mission alone.
25 years later, Searcher has made a name for himself by introducing the miracle plant, dubbed Pando, as a fuel source for Avalonia. He and his wife Meridian are Pando farmers while their son Ethan has a crush on his friend Diazo and chafes at his father's expectation of becoming a farmer like him. One night, Callisto Mal, the president of Avalonia and one of Jeager's former expedition teammates, shows up in her airship, theVenture, to inform the Clades that Pando is losing its power and asks Searcher to help find the cause. He joins an expedition to travel into a giant sinkhole in which the roots of Pando have been located.
On the way down, Meridian tries catching up in hercrop-duster when Ethan and their three-legged dog Legend stows away on theVenture. TheVenture, attacked by redwyvern-like creatures, crash-lands in a subterranean world, where Searcher and Legend are separated from the group. They are attacked by a creature called a "Reaper", but are rescued by Jaeger who has been living underground all these years. He has been trying to cross the mountains from below, but is blocked by an acidic ocean and states his intention to board theVenture to attempt to cross it.
Meanwhile, Ethan sneaks away from theVenture to find Searcher. He befriends an amorphous blue creature, naming it Splat, before being reunited with Searcher, Legend, and Jaeger. They are attacked by more Reapers, but are rescued by Meridian and President Callisto and return to theVenture. Searcher insists on completing their mission, while Jaeger wants to continue journeying across the Strange World. Ethan becomes frustrated with them and their opposing worldviews. After another wild encounter, Searcher and Jaeger finally have a heart-to-heart talk and realize that they do respect each other's goals in life. They eventually find a cluster of Pando's roots, which is being attacked by the Strange World's creatures. When Searcher learns that Ethan wants to explore more of the Strange World, he blames Jaeger's influence on him. Ethan angrily jumps off theVenture and on to one of the Reapers, while Searcher follows him aboard a small flying vehicle. As they are reconciling, they realize that they have passed through the mountains to the ocean beyond where they see the eye of agiant turtle-like creature. The two realize that Avalonia is on the creature's back and that they have been traveling through its body, meaning that the Reapers and all the other creatures are its immune system.
Seeing that Pando is an infection attacking the creature's heart, they head back to inform the expedition team that Pando must be destroyed, but President Callisto has them locked up to prevent them from stopping the mission while Jaeger furiously sails off to see for himself. After Legend and Splat free the family, Searcher and Ethan head to the creature's heart to clear a path for the Reapers, while Meridian takes over the ship and convinces President Callisto to help. Jaeger returns and with his help, they break through Pando and the creatures appear and destroy it, bringing the heart back to life and saving the land.
One year later, Ethan and Diazo are in a relationship as they and their friends collect resources from the underground, and Avalonia shifts from Pando energy towind turbines. Jaeger visits his ex-wife Penelope, who has remarried during his absence, while his relationship with Searcher improves as they run the farm. The camera zooms away from Avalonia to show the giant turtle-like creature on an ocean-covered planet.
Additional voice cast forStrange World include Terri Douglas,Liza Del Mundo, Shondalia White, Melanie Minichino,Michael Ralph,Shane Sweet, Arthur Ortiz, andMatt Yang King.[12]
Non-speaking roles in the film include Legend, the Clades' three-leggedBernedoodle dog; Splat, the blue creature from the Strange World; the other Avalonia creatures; and Penelope Clade, Jaeger's ex-wife and Searcher's mother who retired from adventuring and remarried to a man named Sheldon. In the end credits, Legend and Splat are listed as playing "themselves".
Development onStrange World began in 2017, afterDon Hall finished co-directingMoana (2016). His frequent creative partnerChris Williams was also involved the project before leaving Disney in November 2018 to direct theNetflix Animation filmThe Sea Beast (2022). Hall pondered the origins of a generational family with the concept of "environmental overtones", which was described as "Indiana Jones meetsNational Lampoon's Vacation". Shortly after the announcement ofRaya and the Last Dragon (2021) at theD23 Expo in August 2019, a major redone happened, with the creative leadership on the film were being swapped, while some cast members were replaced.[13] Hall reteams withQui Nguyen, who serves as co-director and writer.[12] During a story meeting, Disney artistBurny Mattinson suggested adding a dog character for the Clades, which ultimately became the character Legend in the final film.[14] Overall, the budget ofStrange World was approximately between $135–180 million.[b]
Nguyen adds that filmmakers wanted to make sure that, at the end of the film, viewers "could go backward and — like watchingThe Sixth Sense — be able to track all those moments and go, 'They told us all along what this was, and only now have we realized we got that last puzzle piece.'"[15]
On June 6, 2022, following the release of the teaser trailer,Jake Gyllenhaal was announced as the voice of Searcher Clade.[6] Eleven days later, the rest of the main cast for the film was announced at France'sAnnecy Animation Festival, includingJaboukie Young-White as Ethan Clade,Gabrielle Union as Meridian Clade,Lucy Liu as Callisto Mal, andDennis Quaid as Jaeger Clade.[7] The inclusion of Young-White voicing agay character named Ethan marks Walt Disney Animation Studios' first openly LGBTQ main character.[8]
According to Hall,Strange World takes heavy influence frompulp magazines—popular fiction from the first half of the 20th century that was printed on inexpensive wood pulp papers, in addition to science fiction works such asJourney to the Center of the Earth,Fantastic Voyage andKing Kong.[9] He also said "[he] loved reading the old issues of pulps growing up. They were big adventures in which a group of explorers might discover a hidden world or ancient creatures. They've been a huge inspiration forStrange World."[16]
The miracle plant Pando is named aftera forest in Utah in America.[17] The land of Avalonia was given a "warm, nostalgic"color scheme to contrast with the titular strange world inside the creature, for which the filmmakers "avoided earth tones and leaned into reds and magentas." They also created a way for the character Splat to communicate non-verbally, similar to themagic carpet inAladdin.[9]
The production team for the film conducted research on climatologists, paleontologists and biologists, as well as a farmer, while filmmakers visited National Geographic for research, which is reflected not just in the film's setting, but in its inhabitants.[15]
The land of Avalonia is named after the island ofAvalon of Arthurian legend and presented as a utopic community.[18]
Henry Jackman was announced to compose the score for the film on September 5, 2022, marking his third collaboration with Don Hall, afterWinnie the Pooh andBig Hero 6, and his fifth overall feature-length scoring work with Walt Disney Animation Studios, which includes theWreck-It Ralph films.[19]Walt Disney Records released the score album on November 23, 2022, in addition to the song "They're The Clades!" performed by James Hayden, also having a reprised version of the tracks, the same day as the theatrical release.[20]
Strange World premiered at theEl Capitan Theatre inHollywood, Los Angeles, on November 15, 2022,[21] and was theatrically released in the United States on November 23, 2022.[22]
Strange World was not released theatrically in some regions. Due to Disney's opposition to French regulations regarding theatrical windows, the company announced thatStrange World would not see a theatrical release in France, and would instead go straight toDisney+.[23] A Russian release was pulled due to theongoing invasion of Ukraine.[24] The film was not released theatrically in many other countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia to avoid the likely censorship of the gay characters.[24]
This was the first film to feature the commemorative 100th anniversaryDisney logo in celebration ofthe company's centennial in 2023, created by Disney Studios Content andIndustrial Light & Magic, which was revealed at the 2022D23 Expo.Christophe Beck composed a new arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star", whileTim Davies conducted it.[25]
Following the project announcement, the first look concept art of the film was released on December 9, 2021.[22] Max Evry of/Film said the image "[looked] a lot likeAvatar, or at the very least thePandora section ofDisney World'sAnimal Kingdom."[26] The marketing campaign forStrange World began on June 6, 2022, with the release of a teaser trailer. Petrana Radulovic forPolygon felt it was "an homage to retro sci-fi flicks" and similar toRaya and the Last Dragon, it "definitely seems to lean more into the action than Disney's typical musical fantasies."[27] A new trailer was shown at the 2022D23 Expo and the official trailer was released on September 21, 2022,[28] followed by a cast reaction video a day later. Lex Briscuso of/Film says it "honestly looks like a breath of fresh air when it comes to animated family stories."[29] A "special look" trailer was released on October 19, 2022. Rafael Motamayor of/Film said "Though the upbeat song and the focus on laughs kind of sells this as a more formulaic Disney film in terms of tone, the prominent use of monsters and big action hopefully makes this more of an inventive film from the studio."[30] Two featurettes "Welcome to Strange World" and "100 Years of Amazing Characters", which showcased the characters of Splat and Legend, were released on November 3, 2022, and November 8, 2022, respectively.
Strange World began streaming on Disney+ on December 23, 2022.[31]
According to Flix Patrol,Strange World was the most streamed film on Disney+ upon its release on the streaming service.[32][33] AccordingWhip Media'sTV Time,Strange World was the 8th most streamed film across all platforms in the United States, during the week ending December 25, 2022,[34] and the 6th during the week of December 30, 2022.[35]Strange World was the 6th most popular film on Fandango’s transactional digital serviceVudu, during the week ending January 1, 2023.[36][37][38][39]
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment releasedStrange World onUltra HD Blu-ray,Blu-ray, andDVD on February 14, 2023.[40]
Strange World grossed $38 million in the United States and Canada, and $35.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $73.6 million.[4][5]Variety andDeadline Hollywood estimated the film would lose the studio $100–197 million,[3][41][42] which makes it one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time.
In the United States and Canada,Strange World was released alongsideGlass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery[43] andDevotion, as well as the wide expansions ofThe Fabelmans andBones and All, and was initially projected to gross $30–40 million from 4,174 theaters over its five-day opening weekend.[2][44] The film made $4.2 million on its first day (including $800,000 from Tuesday night previews), which led to less optimism about it meeting initial box office projections and could debut to as low as $23 million.[45] The film ended up debuting even lower than initial re-adjustments, making $11.9 million in its opening weekend (a five-day total of $18.6 million). Overall, it ranked in second place at the box office behind Disney's ownBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever.[46][47] Several publications labeled the film abox office bomb, withThe Hollywood Reporter saying was "the worst opening for a Disney Animation Thanksgiving title in modern times" andVariety calling it a "catastrophic result for Disney". The low box-office opening was attributed to negativeword-of-mouth, large budget overall, the lack of movie theater attendance, the expectation of its streaming release onDisney+ as the result ofCOVID-19 pandemic, rocky company politics, conservative backlash over inclusion of gay characters, critical reviews, a vague and unremarkable premise, and lackluster marketing compared to other Disney animated films.[c] Some analysts believe that then-Disney CEOBob Chapek's decision to sendPixar's,Soul,Luca andTurning Red, straight to Disney+ so that Disney could focus on building its streaming service caused consumer confusion for families. WhenBob Iger returned as Disney CEO prior its release, the distribution division - which was formerly led by Kareem Daniel - was quickly dismantled.[52]Strange World completed its theatrical run in the United States and Canada on February 2, 2023.[53]
Strange World was the most watched movie worldwide on Disney+ for the last week of 2022 and the first two weeks of 2023. It topped the Disney+ chart in almost every country where it was available.[54][55][56]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 72% of 169 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."[57]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[58] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those atPostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 82%, including an average four out of five stars.Strange World was the first film from Walt Disney Animation to earn lower than "A–" and is considered the lowest CinemaScore rating of all Disney animated films since 1991.[48][59]
Peter Debruge ofVariety wrote "it's the characters as much as the environment that make this vibrant,Journey to the Center of the Earth-style adventure movie colorful and diverse in all the best ways. Great as the people and places they explore may be, however, the relatively unimaginative story consigns this gorgeous toon to second-tier status ... instead of cracking the pantheon of Disney classics."[60] Lovia Gyarke ofThe Hollywood Reporter praised the visuals, writing it was "meticulously and wondrously rendered by theStrange World animators, who drew much of their inspiration from pulp magazines of the 30s and 40s. There's a painterly feel to the landscape, which, combined with the film's sci-fi bent, might trigger memories of Disney'sTreasure Planet."[61] Tracy Brown of theLos Angeles Times also praised the visuals as "vibrant, weird, visually stunning... From its lush palette to its cute and deadly flora and fauna, this strange, mysterious world is very much deserving of its status as the film's title character."[62]
Richard Roeper of theChicago Sun-Times wrote while the film is not in the same category as "Frozen,Zootopia andEncanto, it's a family-friendly fun fest with the expected ingredients of fast-paced action, ingenious visuals, terrific voice performances and, yes, some heaping spoonfuls of upbeat messaging about family ties, the importance of being true to oneself and how we should all take great measures to take care of not only each other but the world in which we live, no matter how STRANGE that world might be."[63] Brian Truitt ofUSA Today gave the film three stars out of four, statingStrange World is "an enjoyable piece of vibrant world building that steps away from the musical bent of recent non-Pixar efforts likeEncanto and theFrozen flicks."[64] Odie Henderson ofThe Boston Globe praised the film's environmental and father-son messages, as well as the "excellent voice-over work plus the score by Henry Jackman make the preachiness palatable and the film fun. The look of Avalonia's underworld is a lovely distraction; its garish and bright pinks, reds, and greens look lifted from the colored roofs of a suburban New Jersey neighborhood in the 1970s."[65]
ForThe Washington Post, Kristen Page-Kirby found "the story is too basic and the characters too slight forStrange World to pack a punch. The visual beauty of the film isn't enough. After all, pretty is as pretty does — and inStrange World, pretty doesn't do much."[66] Jacob Stoller ofPaste Magazine admitted that while the film "can be arresting—especially with its inventive setting and bulbous creatures—and its attempts at deconstructing the sweaty, macho-man ethos hawked by its inspiration are admirable. But with muddled themes and slight characters, remnants of the old dime magazines coordinate to bringStrange World down on the wrong side of familiar."[67] Cath Clarke ofThe Guardian felt the characters "aren't half-bad", but the "clunky script feels like it's been re-drafted and re-drafted to the point of incomprehension – blowing any chance of conveying a message. However well-meaning, it makes for a surprisingly dull watch."[68]
.svg)
_Dec_2024.jpg){kind=icon}
