'Strange World' Review: Simple Sci-Fi Disney Adventure Delivers Surface Leveled Daddy Issues
Strange World
PG: Action/peril and some thematic elements
Runtime: 1 Hour and 42 Minutes
Production Companies: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Distributor: Disney
Director: Don Hall
Writer: Qui Nguyen
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Jaboukie Young-White, Gabrielle Union, Lucy Liu
Release Date: November 23, 2022
In Theaters Only
A legendary family of explorers, the Clades, attempt to navigate an uncharted, treacherous land alongside a motley crew that includes a mischievous blob, a three-legged dog, and a slew of ravenous creatures.
It’s been ages since Walt Disney Animation Studios made a non-musical, not-princess-related science fiction project. Just a straight-up adventure flick reminiscent of the early 2000s when animated films such as Titan A.E., Atlantis, and Treasure Planet ambitiously strayed from the days of musicals. Sadly, those movies were flops and the final remnants of Disney going full action-adventure with their films. While I undeniably loved their last few projects, it’s refreshing to get a classic adventure like Strange World. This sci-fi action-adventure captures the spirit of Jules Verne in style and story more than anything they’ve done to date.
When you need an action-adventure Disney flick, you call Don Hall to direct it. With films like Moana and Raya and the Last Dragon, it’s evident that Hall has a thing for adventure films. He also follows the classic Disney method of taking inspiration from various cultural backgrounds as the basis for worldbuilding. Strange World challenges Hall and his team of animators to create a unique world inspired by classic adventure novels in the vein of Gulliver’s Travels or Journey to the Center of the Earth.
The setup focuses on Jaeger (Dennis Quaid) and his cautious son, Searcher Clade (Jake Gyllenhaal), on an expedition to find a power source for their town, Avalonia. They have a falling out when Searcher finds an eclectic pea-shaped pod named Pando while Jaeger wants to continue crossing treacherous terrains. A quarter century later, Searcher is a 40-year-old man with a teenage son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White), a loving wife Meridian (Gabrielle Union), and a farm. All of a sudden, Pando starts to lose power. Due to Searcher being the Edison of Avalonia, he’s commissioned by his former explorer-turned-leader Callisto Mal (Lucy Liu) to venture into a strange world beneath theirs to find the source and save their town. When they reach the titular world, Searcher reunites with his gruff, deadbeat dad, and their broken bond is tested to be amended.
Strange World’s worldbuilding is not as expansive or as fascinating as the past few features that Hall helmed, though it's a visual marvel. The land of Avalonia bears semblance to your typical mid-western town, but the Strange World itself is where the excitement lies. It's as if all the colors of Figment from Disney World served as a basis for the color palette. The faceless science fiction creatures that inhabit the environment all have fascinating designs. Need I even mention how stunning the animation quality is?
Much like with his past features, mostly Moana and Raya, Hall excels at experimenting with scope and scale to entice the viewer. The movie exhibits the environment as a massive ecosystem, becoming fully realized the longer you follow the Clades through various terrains. Everything regarding the adventure—excluding the thematic material of family trauma—is enticing. It’s a fun roller coaster that leads to possibly the most breathtaking shot in CG animation I’ve seen in a very long time. If you thought the scale between Moana and Te Fiti was massive you haven’t seen anything yet.
Disney Animation’s signature storybook realism art style has been their visual trademark for a long time. No matter what skin tone a character has, you can tell when their design came from the Disney Animation wheelhouse. That also applies to motion where a character’s movement is slow to service the story’s tone more so than garner laughs. Strange World defies some of those facets, making it the most unprecedented animated feature from Disney Animation in years.
The three generations of Clade men—Jaeger, Searcher, and Ethan Clade—have wonderful designs that feel thoroughly inspired. Their big button noses, their oval-shaped pupils, their long and rounded faces are all features straight out of a Chuck Jones art book. Do a Rorschach test with an animation fan and show a character from a Warner Bros. Animation Looney Tunes flick next to Searcher Clade and that person will rightfully be tripped up.
The same applies to the movement; much like the titular Strange World itself, it’s lively and energetic. Unlike a number of past Disney projects, all the characters are very expressive in their motion and facial features. The “squash and stretch” technique keeps the film in motion through nearly every frame, adding more flavor to the beautiful scenery.
With the story's perspective coming from the parent’s lens rather than the offspring, there’s room for some innovation regarding generational conflict. Strange World tackles it nicely with Searcher and Ethan’s relationship. The burden Searcher bears from the trauma inflicted by his dad contributes to his overbearing demeanor with Ethan. While that component functions well, Jaeger and Searcher hold most of the emotional weight, constantly falling flat. It gets in the way of a fun, engaging adventure, turning it from a ride into a chore.
Every element regarding the adventure and mystery behind the Strange World is stellar. The interwoven theme of generational family trauma, which to Disney is (in the words of Mugatu), “So hot right now,” pales compared to last year’s Encanto and Pixar’s Turning Red. Screenwriter Qui Nguyen (who worked alongside Hall on Raya) juggles with three generations of Clades: Jaeger, his son Searcher, and Searcher’s son Ethan. The screenplay tries to convey how generational trauma set between father and son affects the cycle, which has been done before with subtlety and nuance. Nguyen’s approach is surface level as the characters dish whatever’s on their mind with weak dialogue. Jaeger and Searcher constantly bicker, enacting a parenting pissing contest over Ethan, coming across as more annoying than comical.
When their feelings are laid down on the line, it feels more telegraphed than authentic. Aside from that, Jaeger is far from being the worst Disney dad out there. Compared to Jim Hawkins or Chicken Little, Searcher Clade has it easier. There’s a scene where young Ethan talks about the guy he’s pining for. Jaeger defies boomer expectations and rolls with it. I can name many other Disney dads who would’ve put their homophobia on display.
Outside the “water is the wet” aspect of the family drama, Strange World’s story is straightforward and lacks personality. It’s the most spirited movie in Disney Animation’s canon, yet the characters feel so stiff. While visually mesmerizing, the urgency and stakes that provide action-adventures with adrenaline are absent. Every character is likable and there isn't a clear-cut antagonist––and the movie pretentiously brings awareness to this too–– but the film is begging for a character pass on that screenplay so anyone outside the Blue flubber-esque mascot Splat shed personality.
Strange World is a visually stunning sci-fi adventure that tributes pulp adventure stories with a timely contemporary flair. Outside of the visuals, its approach to generational family trauma falls flat due to its basic dialogue and bizarre storytelling. It’s the most unique Disney Animation flick in quite some time, yet the story couldn’t find the same originality as its look.
