Strange World
Strange World
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Jaboukie Young-White, Gabrielle Union
Directed by Don Hall & Qui Nguyen
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Jaboukie Young-White, Gabrielle Union
Directed by Don Hall & Qui Nguyen
In the 2000s Disney animation took several risks by venturing out from their normal tried-and-true methods of storytelling and introducing fantastical aspects of their films with movies like "Treasure Planet" and "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" that were met with extremely lackluster returns despite a resurgence of their popularity today. "Strange World" is akin to such films, but it tried to blend the epic outer-world explorer adventure with their bread-and-butter family struggle storytelling, and while it's not bad in essence, it's probably not one that'll be remembered years...or even days...from now.
Searcher Clade (Jake Gyllenhaal) is the son of famous explorer Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid), who wants him to follow in his adventurous footsteps - but Searcher is more interested in science and nature than exploring, and the two part ways after Searcher finds a mysterious plant he calls Pando that emits electricity. Jaeger leaves in search for the world beyond the mountains of their homeland called Avalonia, and twenty-five years later the town is thriving thanks to Searcher's discovery. He's now married to Meridian (Gabrielle Union) and they have a son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White), and they run a successful farm that harvests Pando. Searcher hasn't heard from his father, and now he wants Ethan to follow in his farming footsteps, but is worried that he'll end up more like his father than himself.
One night the family is visited by Callisto Mal (Lucy Liu), the president of Avalonia and former adventurer with Searcher's father, and asks him for help. The Pando is losing its energy, and it threatens to plunge the land into darkness. Searcher embarks on an adventure with his wife and son in tow as they try to jump-start Pando's heart, but discover a strange new world underneath their own. More than that, Searcher finds that Jaeger has been stuck there himself as he keeps searching for a path beyond the mountains, and the three generations of Clade men face their own struggling familial struggles as they find a way to survive.
When I first saw the trailer for "Strange World" I wasn't impressed. It looked like a throwback to classic sci-fi films that I personally enjoyed, but felt like it was too an outdated an idea. Fortunately they didn't focus on that animation style for the whole film, but the style itself is rather lackluster. The character designs were alright on their own but nothing spectacular, but the window-dressing around them was exquisite, which only made the average character designs more pronounced in their mediocrity.
The story is something that Disney writers write in their sleep. You get three generations of one family coming together to prevent a possible end-of-the-world scenario (or in this case one that'll plunge the world into a new dark age) where each one has their own hangups about the others. Jaeger is the fearless adventurer who wanted nothing more than for his son to follow in his footsteps, but he was more interested in plant life and farming. Searcher is an excellent farmer and wants his son to follow in his footsteps, and worries that his father's unique lifestyle would turn his son into an adventurer like himself and putting his life in danger. Ethan just wants to find his own way in the world, and realizes that it's much bigger than their small farm. These three men clash and come together multiple times in the film culminating in an obvious conclusion that's incredibly simple and predictable.
It also wouldn't be a Disney film if the topics of saving the planet and inclusive culture weren't front and center, and "Strange World" is no exception. The lesson about saving our environment is paramount to the storyline, as they have to re-start a "heart" to keep their civilization alive. Ethan has a crush on another guy, and both his father and grandfather are accepting of that with no qualms, which is really nice to see, but it's more of a way for Disney to pander to the LGBTQ+ community than really making inroads into the community. Surprisingly, the female characters are the least pronounced, as they only serve as background support characters or side-fighters that don't really provide anything on their own. Finally there's the corporate-infused creature that hopefully all the kids would want as toys in the form of a lovable creature called Splat. Again, it all feels very forced and lacking heart, but rather just exists to appease different communities without delving too much into them.
The voice performers are adequate as well, with Dennis Quaid giving Jaeger a gruff, adventurous voice while Jake Gyllenhall's is more subdued and worrisome about the world around him. Gabrielle Union offers support as Meridian while Jaboukie Young-White gives Ethan a youthful vigor and innocence that's infectious if he had something substantial to say.
There's not a lot to say about "Strange World" that makes it anything more than a middle-of-the-road Disney animated adventure that'll go way over kids' heads and will only slightly appease an older audience - a film that would probably be seen once but not one that'll be eagerly put on repeat.
The Score: B-
Searcher Clade (Jake Gyllenhaal) is the son of famous explorer Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid), who wants him to follow in his adventurous footsteps - but Searcher is more interested in science and nature than exploring, and the two part ways after Searcher finds a mysterious plant he calls Pando that emits electricity. Jaeger leaves in search for the world beyond the mountains of their homeland called Avalonia, and twenty-five years later the town is thriving thanks to Searcher's discovery. He's now married to Meridian (Gabrielle Union) and they have a son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White), and they run a successful farm that harvests Pando. Searcher hasn't heard from his father, and now he wants Ethan to follow in his farming footsteps, but is worried that he'll end up more like his father than himself.
One night the family is visited by Callisto Mal (Lucy Liu), the president of Avalonia and former adventurer with Searcher's father, and asks him for help. The Pando is losing its energy, and it threatens to plunge the land into darkness. Searcher embarks on an adventure with his wife and son in tow as they try to jump-start Pando's heart, but discover a strange new world underneath their own. More than that, Searcher finds that Jaeger has been stuck there himself as he keeps searching for a path beyond the mountains, and the three generations of Clade men face their own struggling familial struggles as they find a way to survive.
When I first saw the trailer for "Strange World" I wasn't impressed. It looked like a throwback to classic sci-fi films that I personally enjoyed, but felt like it was too an outdated an idea. Fortunately they didn't focus on that animation style for the whole film, but the style itself is rather lackluster. The character designs were alright on their own but nothing spectacular, but the window-dressing around them was exquisite, which only made the average character designs more pronounced in their mediocrity.
The story is something that Disney writers write in their sleep. You get three generations of one family coming together to prevent a possible end-of-the-world scenario (or in this case one that'll plunge the world into a new dark age) where each one has their own hangups about the others. Jaeger is the fearless adventurer who wanted nothing more than for his son to follow in his footsteps, but he was more interested in plant life and farming. Searcher is an excellent farmer and wants his son to follow in his footsteps, and worries that his father's unique lifestyle would turn his son into an adventurer like himself and putting his life in danger. Ethan just wants to find his own way in the world, and realizes that it's much bigger than their small farm. These three men clash and come together multiple times in the film culminating in an obvious conclusion that's incredibly simple and predictable.
It also wouldn't be a Disney film if the topics of saving the planet and inclusive culture weren't front and center, and "Strange World" is no exception. The lesson about saving our environment is paramount to the storyline, as they have to re-start a "heart" to keep their civilization alive. Ethan has a crush on another guy, and both his father and grandfather are accepting of that with no qualms, which is really nice to see, but it's more of a way for Disney to pander to the LGBTQ+ community than really making inroads into the community. Surprisingly, the female characters are the least pronounced, as they only serve as background support characters or side-fighters that don't really provide anything on their own. Finally there's the corporate-infused creature that hopefully all the kids would want as toys in the form of a lovable creature called Splat. Again, it all feels very forced and lacking heart, but rather just exists to appease different communities without delving too much into them.
The voice performers are adequate as well, with Dennis Quaid giving Jaeger a gruff, adventurous voice while Jake Gyllenhall's is more subdued and worrisome about the world around him. Gabrielle Union offers support as Meridian while Jaboukie Young-White gives Ethan a youthful vigor and innocence that's infectious if he had something substantial to say.
There's not a lot to say about "Strange World" that makes it anything more than a middle-of-the-road Disney animated adventure that'll go way over kids' heads and will only slightly appease an older audience - a film that would probably be seen once but not one that'll be eagerly put on repeat.
The Score: B-
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