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Nov 23, 2022 · Stubborn explorer Jaeger Clade ( Dennis Quaid) abandons his insecure son, Searcher Clade ( Jake Gyllenhaal ). Searcher wants his dad to follow his lead for once, and, in this case, pay attention to a mysterious green plant that he calls Pando, but Jaeger dismisses both Searcher and Pando.
Nov 23, 2022 · 72% Tomatometer 169 Reviews 66% Audience Score 1,000+ Verified Ratings Walt Disney Animation Studios' original action-packed adventure "Strange World" introduces a legendary family of explorers...
- (169)
- Don Hall, Qui Nguyen
- PG
- Kids & Family, Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy, Animation, Action
Sci-fi adventure/tender family drama has scares, peril. Read Common Sense Media's Strange World review, age rating, and parents guide.
- Don Hall, Qui Nguyen
- Sandie Angulo Chen
- Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
- Somehow, it took Disney 13 years to riff on Avatar.
- What's the best kids' movie with environmentalist themes?
- Disney+ Spotlight: November 2022
- Verdict
By Siddhant Adlakha
Posted: Nov 21, 2022 5:00 pm
Strange World hits theaters on Nov. 23, 2022.
Disney’s Strange World is an occasionally touching father-son story set against half-baked world-building. It has enough imaginative flourishes to keep it interesting, even if its scattershot construction both forces it to wrap up quickly, and prevents its environmentalist messaging from fully landing, or fully connecting with its existing emotional core.
At the very least, the film retroactively puts the nail in the coffin for the “Avatar had no cultural footprint” arguments, albeit at the last possible second before Avatar: The Way of Water debuts, given how directly inspired by James Cameron’s space saga its designs appear to be. However, its spirit is equally owed to pulp magazines and novels from the mid-20th century. It opens with this inspiration front-and-center, catching up on the ongoing adventures of explorer Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid) and his teenage son, Searcher (Jake Gyllenhaal), via the pages and covers of old stories turned into moving tableaus. Their printed texture makes for one of the more eye-popping intros to a recent Disney film, though unfortunately, Strange World makes a swift return to the homogenous computer-animated house style that has dominated American animation for the last decade.
In this brief prologue, the film establishes the disconnect between the gruff, rotund Jaeger and his meek son, Searcher, who doesn’t feel entirely comfortable in his father’s shadow. En route to mysterious, snowy mountain tops, which Jaeger hopes to scale as a means to ensure some nebulous “legacy,” Searcher discovers a new bioluminescent plant called “Pando” — a tribute to Cameron’s Pandora, perhaps? — whose round, green saplings give off electricity, thus opening up the potential for a brand-new energy source that could modernize their civilization, Avalonia. Jaeger wants to push forward, into the unknown, and wants his son to follow him, but the more agriculturally and scientifically minded Searcher wants to press pause, and explore the tangible resource right in front of him. Their disagreement is too fundamental to be overcome right there, so Searcher returns home a hero as Jaeger disappears into the mountains, as a myth, and never returns.
Still, while the movie’s meanings end up muddled (and at times, end up quite funny when the frame pulls back to reveal the bigger picture of this world, and its connection to existing cosmic philosophies), its heart remains in the right place. What’s more, Gyllenhaal proves to be the rare celebrity drafted into a voice acting role who actually fits the job description, between the cartoonish broadness he brings to this all-ages story, and the sincerity with which he approaches the part, always keeping things moving through line deliveries and oral gestures that match his character’s awkward physicality. No one else in the cast is as remarkable — everyone is, for the most part, fine — so I suppose it could be worse.
In the end, Strange World doesn’t quite have as much to say as it wants to believe, given how hastily it lays its thematic cards on the table. But when it comes to its family saga, which unfolds in quiet emotional brush strokes amidst all the malformed mayhem, it proves pretty effective.
An Avatar-inspired children’s adventure, Strange World is filled with half-formed themes about environmentalism, but it holds together thanks to its touching family saga spread across three generations.
- Siddhant Adlakha
Strange World is a fantastic voyage that entertains without crossing over into anything resembling a groundbreaking watch. It’s beautiful, lively animation and engaging storytelling. Full...
Nov 23, 2022 · Strange World: Directed by Don Hall, Qui Nguyen. With Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Jaboukie Young-White, Gabrielle Union. The legendary Clades are a family of explorers whose differences threaten to topple their latest and most crucial mission.
Nov 21, 2022 · One of “Strange World’s” triumphs is the vibrant, weird, visually stunning subterranean world that the film’s heroes stumble upon during their quest to save their way of life.
