‘Strange World’ Movie Review: Disney Father-Son Adventure Mixes Nostalgia With a Modern Message
Disney and filmmaker Don Hall return with another familial tale after movies such as Big Hero 6 and Raya and the Last Dragon. Strange World takes audiences on a new lively adventure filled with reality-defying creatures and environments. Hall joined forces with writer/co-director Qui Nguyen to build a compassionate father-son journey, but with an added message on environmentalism.
‘Strange World’ goes on a father-son journey
The legendary Clade family is famous for their bravery and passion for crusades thanks to patriarch Jaeger (voiced by Dennis Quaid). He believes that the lands of Avalonia have a future on the other side of the treacherous mountain range, where no other human has ever gone. However, Jaeger’s son, Searcher (voiced by Jake Gyllenhaal), is a non-adventurer who sees a future in a plant called pando with the potential for development.
The young son grows into adulthood and now has a family of his own with his wife, Meridian (voiced by Gabrielle Union), and son, Ethan (voiced by Jaboukie Young-White). Searcher lives his life as a farmer, but he must return back to adventuring with a familiar face in Callisto Mal (voiced by Lucy Liu) when the energy of pando mysteriously starts to vanish. They must fight for their lives when the path takes them to a strange, terrifying world full of dangers.
Building a legacy for the future
Nguyen swiftly transports the viewer back to the world of pulp magazines in Strange World, but also echoes films such as Journey to the Center of the Earth and Atlantis. However, the innate differences between Jaeger and Searcher are center stage, inserting a monumental wedge between them. Meanwhile, Searcher tries to provide everything for Ethan that he never received as a teenager, but the apple doesn’t always fall so far from the tree.
There isn’t a conventional antagonist here, allowing the peril that the protagonists face in an unknown world and their complicated relationships with one another to breathe. Jaeger and Searcher are both concerned about their own mortality, worried about the legacy that they’ll leave behind. Nguyen’s screenplay taps into a sentimental message on environmentalism, as the characters debate the best course of action for saving their world for future generations.
Jaeger and Searcher bring entirely different skills to the table that pit an explorer against a farmer. Regardless of their familial squabble, they both earned respect in their own ways. However, the father and son have differing notions of heroism and machoism, as they have their individual passions and methods of parenthood. Nguyen and Hall navigate this father-son adventure with care, providing peaks and valleys.
‘Strange World’ provides modest entertainment with a worthwhile message
Strange World boasts the clean, vivid animation that audiences expect from Disney. However, the peculiar environments give Hall and his creative team the space to flex their imagination. Unusual creature design incorporates an abundance of blobs and vaguely familiar animals whose uses weave into the narrative’s footsteps. A bright, strange color palette contorts this world to feel truly alien. Editor Sarah K. Reimers experiments with the film’s pulp influences, incorporating an energetic flow that even brings the occasional jump scare.
Hall and Nguyen stay true to their movie’s title, but they work to make it representative of the world we’re familiar with. This cast of characters is wonderfully diverse with solid voice acting across the board. Strange World instills natural LGBTQ inclusion with Ethan and his endearing teenage crush, but it feels much less tacked on than in some previous attempts from Disney.
There’s some cause for concern when it comes to who this movie is aimed at. It’s a tad too long for younger crowds and its multi-generational characters will connect more with older audiences. The pulp influences are for adults, but the humor is largely targeting children. It tries to appeal to all ages, although it runs the risk of not entirely connecting with anyone, as a result.
Strange World is a tenderhearted exploration of the relationship between fathers and sons, but it doesn’t stand out amongst this year’s animated heavy hitters. Nevertheless, its heart is in the right place and it undoubtedly entertains, despite a slightly bloated runtime.
Strange World adventures into theaters on Nov. 23.
