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==Plot==
==Plot==
In the land of Avalonia where its surrounded by an endless wall of mountains, Jaeger Clade and his son Searcher are adventurers who brave the wilderness to explore new worlds. While trying to traverse one of the mountains, Searcher discovers a plant that gives off green energy. Jaeger insists on continuing the quest, but Searcher and the rest of the expedition team believe that the new plant, dubbed Pando, is good enough. Jaeger angrily continues his mission alone. Twenty-five years later, Searcher has made a name for himself by harvesting 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.
In Avalonia, a land surrounded by an endless wall of mountains, Jaeger Clade and his son Searcher are adventurers who brave the wilderness to explore new worlds. While trying to traverse one of the mountains, Searcher discovers a plant that gives off green energy. Jaeger insists on continuing the quest, but Searcher and the rest of the expedition team believe that the new plant, dubbed Pando, is good enough. Jaeger angrily continues his mission alone. Twenty-five years later, Searcher has made a name for himself by harvesting 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.


One day, Callisto Mal, the leader of Avalonia who was one of Jeager's former expedition teammates, shows up in a giant airship called the ''Venture'' and informs the Clades that the Pando is losing its power, meaning that they need Searcher to help find the cause. He joins a new expedition team to travel into a giant sinkhole where giant roots of Pando have been located. On the way down, Meridian tries catching up in her crop duster after Ethan and their dog Legend have sneaked aboard the ship. Ethan wanted to come with Searcher but was shortlasted when they are attacked by red wyvern-like creatures, continuing to head down until they break through sensitive crust and end up in a subterranean world.
One day, Callisto Mal, the leader of Avalonia who was one of Jeager's former expedition teammates, shows up in a giant airship called the ''Venture'' and informs the Clades that the Pando is losing its power, meaning that they need Searcher to help find the cause. He joins a new expedition team to travel into a giant sinkhole where giant roots of Pando have been located. On the way down, Meridian tries catching up in her crop duster after Ethan and their dog Legend have sneaked aboard the ship. Ethan wanted to come with Searcher but was shortlasted when they are attacked by red wyvern-like creatures, continuing to head down until they break through sensitive crust and end up in a subterranean world.

Revision as of 05:29, 28 November 2022

Strange World
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDon Hall
Screenplay byQui Nguyen
Produced byRoy Conli
Starring
Edited bySarah K. Reimers
Music byHenry Jackman
Production
companies
Distributed byWalt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures
Release dates
  • November 15, 2022 (2022-11-15) (El Capitan Theatre)
  • November 23, 2022 (2022-11-23) (United States)
Running time
102 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$135–180 million[2][3]
Box office$27.8 million[4][5]

Strange World is a 2022 American computer animated science fiction adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 61st animated film produced by the studio, it was directed by Don Hall, written and co-directed by Qui Nguyen, and produced by Roy Conli. The film stars the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Jaboukie Young-White, Gabrielle Union, and Lucy Liu, and follows the Clades, a legendary family of explorers who must set aside their differences as they embark on a journey to a mysterious land inhabited by surreal lifeforms in order to save a resource called the Pando from losing its energy power source.

Strange World takes inspiration from pulp magazines—popular fiction from the first half of the 20th century; the film also pays homage to older science-fiction films such as Journey to the Center of the Earth and King Kong. In addition, the land of Avalonia was given an orange-and-white color scheme to contrast with the titular strange world, as the filmmakers chose red and magenta. To communicate non-verbally, several animators worked to create the movement of the character Splat. Strange World was the second collaboration for Quaid and Gyllenhaal after The Day After Tomorrow (2004).[6]

Strange World premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 15, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 23. The film received generally positive reviews from critics but was a box-office bomb, with projections having it lose at least $100 million for Disney.

Plot

In Avalonia, a land surrounded by an endless wall of mountains, Jaeger Clade and his son Searcher are adventurers who brave the wilderness to explore new worlds. While trying to traverse one of the mountains, Searcher discovers a plant that gives off green energy. Jaeger insists on continuing the quest, but Searcher and the rest of the expedition team believe that the new plant, dubbed Pando, is good enough. Jaeger angrily continues his mission alone. Twenty-five years later, Searcher has made a name for himself by harvesting 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.

One day, Callisto Mal, the leader of Avalonia who was one of Jeager's former expedition teammates, shows up in a giant airship called the Venture and informs the Clades that the Pando is losing its power, meaning that they need Searcher to help find the cause. He joins a new expedition team to travel into a giant sinkhole where giant roots of Pando have been located. On the way down, Meridian tries catching up in her crop duster after Ethan and their dog Legend have sneaked aboard the ship. Ethan wanted to come with Searcher but was shortlasted when they are attacked by red wyvern-like creatures, continuing to head down until they break through sensitive crust and end up in a subterranean world.

As Searcher and Legend are separated from the group during the crash, they get attacked by an creature called a Reaper only to be rescued by Jaeger who has been living underground all these years, revealing that he has tried taking advantage of traversing under the mountain, but is blocked off by an acidic ocean that he cannot 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 and discovers a blue creature he dubs it Splat who tries taking him to his father. They end up getting attacked by more Reapers, but reunite with Searcher, Legend 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 leaving. 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 creature and that they have been traveling inside its body, meaning that the Pando is an illness that needs to be destroyed. They head back to inform everyone about it, but they are in disbelief with Jaeger angrily leaving to see for himself and Callisto and the team locking up the Clades to prevent them stopping their mission. Luckily, Legend and Splat release the family.

To stop the Pando from killing the world, Searcher and Ethan head to the root cluster, which is actually the heart, while Meridian takes over the ship and finally convinces Callisto. 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.

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 as the film ends with the giant creature which is actually a turtle.

Voice cast

  • Jake Gyllenhaal as Searcher Clade, a farmer, Jaeger's son, Meridian's husband, and Ethan's father.[7]
  • Dennis Quaid as Jaeger Clade, Searcher's father and Ethan's grandfather.[8]
  • Jaboukie Young-White as Ethan Clade, Searcher's 16-year-old gay son who longs for adventure beyond his father's farm while also navigating a school crush.[8]
  • Gabrielle Union as Meridian Clade, a pilot and natural leader, Ethan's mother, and Searcher's wife.[8]
  • Lucy Liu as Callisto Mal, the president of the land of Avalonia and the leader of the exploration into the strange world.[8][9]
  • Karan Soni as Caspian, a nerdy member of the expedition to Strange World.[10]
  • Alan Tudyk as Duffle, a pilot for the expedition to Strange World who is killed by wyvern-like creatures.[10] His role is a reference to Tudyk's Firefly character Hoban "Wash" Washburn.
    • Tudyk also voices the Narrator at the beginning of the movie and an announcer on the radio.
  • Adelina Anthony as Captain Pulk, the second-in-command of the expedition to Strange World.[10]
  • Abraham Benrubi as Lonnie Redshirt, a large member of the expedition to Strange World.[10] His last name refers to the trend in Star Trek for those wearing red shirts to die insignificantly.
  • Jonathan Melo as Diazo, Ethan's love-interest.[10]
  • Nik Dodani as Kardez, one of Ethan's friends.
  • Francesca Reale as Azimuth, one of Ethan's friends.

In the credits, Legend, the Clades' three-legged dog, and Splat, the blue creature from the Strange World, are listed as playing themselves.

Production

Development

In December 2021, Strange World from Walt Disney Animation Studios was announced with Don Hall as director, Qui Nguyen as co-director and writer, and Roy Conli as producer. According to Hall, Strange World is a nod to pulp magazines—popular fiction from the first half of the 20th century that was printed on inexpensive wood pulp paper. 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 for Strange World."[11] The filmmakers were also influenced by Journey to the Center of the Earth and King Kong.[9]

Animation, design and influences

The land of Avalonia was given an orange-and-white color scheme to contrast with the titular strange world, for which the filmmakers chose red and magenta. They created a way for the character Splat to communicate non-verbally, like the magic carpet in Aladdin.[9] While the rest of the film is CGI, 2D animation was also added from Randy Haycock with additional 2D animation by Eric Goldberg and Mark Henn.

Casting

On June 8, 2022, following the release of the teaser trailer, Jake Gyllenhaal was announced as the voice of Searcher Clade.[7] Nine days later, the rest of the main cast for the film was announced at France's Annecy Animation Festival, including Jaboukie Young-White as Ethan Clade, Gabrielle Union as Meridian Clade, Lucy Liu as Callisto Mal, and Dennis Quaid as Jaeger Clade.[8]

Music

On September 5, 2022, it was announced that Henry Jackman, composer of Big Hero 6 and the Wreck-It Ralph films, would compose the score for Strange World, marking his third collaboration with Don Hall, after Winnie the Pooh and Big Hero 6, and his fifth overall feature-length scoring work with Walt Disney Animation Studios.[12] The soundtrack was released on November 23, 2022 by Walt Disney Records, the same day as the theatrical release. Additionally, the soundtrack include the original song written by Jackman (music) & Kevin Del Aguila (lyrics) and performed by James Hayden.[13]

Release

Strange World premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on November 15, 2022.[14] Following the world premiere, it was theatrically released in the United States on November 23, 2022.[15]

Strange World was not released theatrically in some regions; due to Disney's opposition to local regulations regarding theatrical windows, the company announced on June 8, 2022, that Strange World would not see a theatrical release in France and would instead go straight to Disney+ in the region following its theatrical release in other regions,[16] and Deadline Hollywood reported that Disney pulled out for a theatrical release in 20 countries, mainly the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and China, due to the inclusion of a gay main character, Ethan Clade. This was done to prevent those regions' censorship of LGBTQ+ references, as a main storyline in the film revolves around Ethan having a crush on another boy.[17]

This was the first film to feature the commemorative 100th anniversary Disney logo in celebration of the company's centennial in 2023, created by Disney Studios Content and Industrial Light & Magic. Christophe Beck composed a new arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star".[18]

Reception

Box office

As of November 27, 2022, Strange World has grossed $18.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $9.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $27.8 million.[5][4]

In the United States and Canada, Strange World was released alongside Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery[19] and Devotion, as well as the wide expansions of The Fabelmans and Bones and All, and was initially projected to gross $30–40 million from 4,174 theaters over its five-day opening weekend.[2][20] 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.[3] 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). Several publications labeled the film a box office bomb, with The Hollywood Reporter saying was "the worst opening for a Disney Animation Thanksgiving title in modern times" and Variety calling it a "catastrophic result for Disney" and projecting it would lose the studio at least $100 million. The poor opening was blamed on poor audience reception, middling critical reviews, and lackluster marketing compared to other Disney animated films.[21][22][23]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 74% of 113 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."[24] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[25] 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.[22] 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.[26]

Peter Debruge of Variety 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."[27] Lovia Gyarke of The Hollywood Reporter praised the visuals, writing it was "meticulously and wondrously rendered by the Strange 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's Treasure Planet."[28] Tracy Brown of the Los 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."[29]

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote the film isn't in the same category as "Frozen, Zootopia and Encanto, 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."[30] Brian Truitt of USA Today gave the film three stars out of four, stating Strange World is "an enjoyable piece of vibrant world building that steps away from the musical bent of recent non-Pixar efforts like Encanto and the Frozen flicks."[31] Odie Henderson of The 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."[32]

For The Washington Post, Kristen Page-Kirby found "the story is too basic and the characters too slight for Strange World to pack a punch. The visual beauty of the film isn't enough. After all, pretty is as pretty does — and in Strange World, pretty doesn't do much."[33] Jacob Stoller of Paste 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 bring Strange World down on the wrong side of familiar."[34] Cath Clarke of The 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."[35]

References

  1. ^ "Strange World (2022)". Australian Classification Board. Retrieved November 11, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 21, 2022). "Disregard The Corporate Noise: Disney Will Dominate Thanksgiving Box Office With 'Wakanda Forever' & 'Strange World'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Lang, Brent (November 23, 2022). "Box Office: Disney's 'Strange World' Grosses Disappointing $800,000 in previews". Variety. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Strange World". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Strange World (2022) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  6. ^ Sharf, Zack; Sharf, Zack (November 23, 2022). "Jake Gyllenhaal Appeared to Forget That Dennis Quaid Played His Dad in 'Day After Tomorrow': 'You Just Blew My Mind'". Variety. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Welk, Brian (June 6, 2022). "Jake Gyllenhaal Explores an Alien Planet in 'Strange World' Teaser From Disney Animation (Video)". TheWrap. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e Croll, Ben; Hopewell, John (June 17, 2022). "Jake Gyllenhaal Joined by Dennis Quaid, Lucy Liu, Gabrielle Union in Disney's 'Strange World'". Variety. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Giardina, Carolyn (September 21, 2022). "Behind Disney's Jules Verne-Inspired Strange World". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d e "'Strange World' Review: Disney Expands Its Horizons, and It's a Beautiful Thing to See". Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  11. ^ Potter, Courtney (December 10, 2021). "First Look at Walt Disney Animation Studios' Strange World—Plus More in News Briefs". D23. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  12. ^ "Henry Jackman Scoring Disney's Strange World | Film Music Reporter".
  13. ^ "Strange World Soundtrack Album Details | Film Music Reporter".
  14. ^ "D23 Gold Members - Attend Disney's Strange World Red Carpet Premiere in Hollywood!". D23. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  15. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (December 9, 2021). "Disney Unveils Animated Movie 'Strange World' With Thanksgiving 2022 Release Date". Variety. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  16. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (June 8, 2022). "Disney Balks At "Anti-Consumer" French Windows: Will Bypass Theatrical On 'Strange World' In Market, Evaluate Future Films On Rolling Basis". Deadline. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  17. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (November 21, 2022). "'Strange World' Eyes $25M Offshore Bow In Slimmed-Down Release As Disney Opts To Skip Middle East & More Over Potential Censorship". Deadline. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  18. ^ "New details about Disney 100 Years of Wonder revealed to fans during D23 Expo". abc7chicago.com. September 13, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  19. ^ McClintock, Pamela; McClintock, Pamela (November 24, 2022). "Box Office: Thanksgiving Eve Sparks Worry as Disney Animation's 'Strange World' and Other New Movies Fight for Scraps". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  20. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (November 22, 2022). "Disney to Dominate Thanksgiving Box Office With 'Strange World' and 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'". Variety. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  21. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (November 27, 2022). "Thanksgiving Box Office: Disney's 'Strange World' Bombs With $18.6 Million as 'Wakanda Forever' Repeats No. 1". Variety. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  22. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 27, 2022). "'Wakanda Forever' Settles At $64M 5-Day, 'Strange World' Crashes $18M+, 'Knives Out 2' Wows With $13M+ – Thanksgiving Box Office Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  23. ^ McClintock, Pamela (November 27, 2022). "Thanksgiving Box Office: 'Black Panther 2' Feasts on $64M as 'Strange World' Flops With $18.6M". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  24. ^ "Strange World". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  25. ^ "Strange World". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  26. ^ Felt, Klein (November 25, 2022). "Disney's Strange World Receives Worst Audience Score In Animation Studio History". The Direct. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  27. ^ Debruge, Peter (November 21, 2022). "'Strange World' Review: Disney Expands Its Horizons, and It's a Beautiful Thing to See". Variety. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  28. ^ Gyarke, Lovia (November 21, 2022). "'Strange World' Review: Jake Gyllenhaal and Gabrielle Union Lead Voice Cast in Disney Charmer". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  29. ^ Brown, Tracy (November 21, 2022). "Review: 'Strange World' boasts a weird, vibrant world where fathers learn important lessons". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 21, 2022 suggested (help)
  30. ^ Roeper, Richard (November 21, 2022). "'Strange World': Explorers discover a land of eye-popping color, exotic creatures in fast-paced Disney adventure". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  31. ^ Truitt, Brian (November 21, 2022). "'Strange World' review: Disney tackles father-son dynamics with a pulpy, adventurous twist". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  32. ^ Henderson, Odie (November 22, 2022). "In 'Strange World,' saving the planet with some help from 'Splat'". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  33. ^ Page-Kirby, Kristen (November 22, 2022). "'Strange World': Beautiful to look at, but not much below the surface". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  34. ^ Stoller, Jacob (November 21, 2022). "Disney's Modern Take on a Retro Underground Adventure, Strange World Never Digs Deep Enough". Paste. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  35. ^ Clarke, Cath (November 21, 2022). "Strange World review – Disney's tangled alt-family eco-drama means well". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
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