Strange World is a 2022 American computer-animated science-fiction adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Don Hall, co-directed and written 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. Strange World follows a legendary family of explorers called the Clades (Gyllenhaal, Quaid, Young-White, and Union), 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 a miracle plant Pando that is their society's source of energy.
Hall conceived Strange World in 2017 while finishing co-directing Moana (2016). Strange World draws inspiration from pulp magazines, Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), Fantastic Voyage (1966), Jurassic Park (1993) and King 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 does incorporate 2D animation from Randy Hayco*ck, with additional 2D animation by Eric Goldberg and Mark Henn in certain scenes. Henry Jackman provided the musical score. The film was noted for introducing Walt Disney Animation Studios' first openly LGBTQ lead character, leading to the film being pulled out for a theatrical release in some regions.
Strange World premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, 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 mixed reviews from audiences and grossed only $73.6 million with a projected loss of $197 million for Disney, making it one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time. Following its streaming release on Disney+, however, Strange World ranked as the top streaming film on Disney+ for 19 days.
Plot[]
In Avalonia, a land surrounded by an endless wall of mountains, adventurers Jaeger Clade and his teenage son Searcher brave the wilderness to explore new worlds. While trying to traverse the mountains, 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 Jaeger's former expedition teammates, shows up in her airship, the Venture, 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 her crop-duster when Ethan and their three-legged dog Legend stows away on the Venture. The Venture, attacked by red wyvern-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 the Venture to attempt to cross it.
Meanwhile, Ethan sneaks away from the Venture 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 Callisto and return to the Venture. 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 the Venture and on to one of the Reapers. Searcher follows him aboard a small flying vehicle, but as they are reconciling, they realize that they have passed through the mountains to the ocean beyond, where they see the eye of a giant 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 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 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 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 Penelope who has remarried during his absence, and Searcher and Jaeger's relationship has improved. The camera zooms away from Avalonia to show the giant turtle-like creature on an ocean-covered planet.
Voice cast[]
- Jake Gyllenhaal as Searcher Clade, a 40-year-old man who is Jaeger's son, Meridian's husband, and Ethan's father as well as a farmer of the Pando power source.
- Dennis Quaid as Jaeger Clade, Searcher's father and Ethan's grandfather who is more of a larger-than-life explorer.
- Jaboukie_Young-White as Ethan Clade, Searcher's 16-year-old son who longs for adventure beyond his father's farm while also navigating a school crush on Diazo. Being a gay character, Ethan is Walt Disney Animation Studios' first openly gay main character.
- Gabrielle Union as Meridian Clade, Ethan's mother, and Searcher's wife who is a pilot and natural leader in the Venture.
- Lucy Liu as as Callisto Mal, the president of Avalonia and leader of the exploration into the strange world who helps the Clades to lead the adventures in her airship called the Venture.
- Karan Soni as Caspian, a nerdy member of the expedition to Strange World.
- Alan Tudyk as:
- Adelina Anthony as Captain Pulk, the second-in-command of the expedition to Strange World.
- Abraham Benrubi as Lonnie Redshirt, a member of Jaeger's expedition crew before he disappeared. 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 and, by the end, his boyfriend.
- Nik Dodani as Kardez, one of Ethan's friends.
- Francesca Reale as Azimuth, one of Ethan's friends.
- Emily Kuroda as Ro
- Reed Buck as Rory
- Katie Lowes as Radio Host #2
- LaNisa Frederick as Client #2
- Dave Kohut as Client #3
- Alice Kina Diehl as Client #4
Additional voice cast for Strange World include Terri Douglas, Liza Del Mundo, Shondalia White, Melanie Minichino, Michael Ralph, Shane Sweet, Arthur Ortiz, and Matt Yang King.
Non-speaking roles in the film include Legend, the Clades' three-legged dog who resembles an Old English Sheepdog; 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".
Music[]
Main article: Strange World (soundtrack)
Henry Jackman was announced to compose the score for the film on September 5, 2022, 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, which includes the Wreck-It Ralph films. 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.
