Julian Lytle started his review by saying, “Strange
World is yet another fantastic Walt Disney Animation Studios feature release
that is being thrown to the wolves. Although the studio is faring better than
its sister studio Pixar, whose films are mostly exiled to the Disney+ app. For
example, Encanto didn’t get the love it should’ve at first but the movie’s
soundtrack bangers ensured it had a long life and could live in the theaters
after its first run.”
Back to “Strange World” – this holiday season, this
amazing film was released between “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Avatar:
The Way of the Water,” which feels like it is being sent to fall in theaters
before going to Disney+. Lytle noted, “Maybe Disney’s executives have a lot of
data and are doing the right thing with programming for the Thanksgiving
holiday because they’re smarter than me (naw, I doubt it these days—although
things are changing there). But I’m getting away from the point.”
“Strange World” is about a few things but the easiest
them to understand is fathers and sons. The movie follows three generations of
the Clade family, starting with world-famous adventurer and explorer Jaeger
Clade, voiced by Dennis Quaid. He has a damaged relationship with his son
Searcher Clade (yes, that is his name), voiced by jake Gyllenhaal, who is smarter
than his muscle-bound of a man father. While out on an expedition, Searcher and
Jaeger have a really bad argument, which leads to Jaeger getting lost. Searcher
returns home and begins to lead the town of Avalonia toward new growth and
technology – using a discovery made on that last fateful expedition.
As the years pass, Searcher is now a father himself
and lives on a farm with his wife Meridian (Gabrielle Union) and their son
Ethan (former “The Daily Show” correspondent Jaboukie Young-White). Ethan dreams
of being more than a farmer, which causes Searcher to worry that he could
become like his grandfather Jaeger. Those fears are impaired when Callisto, voiced
by Lucy Liu, the president of Avalonia, asks Searcher to help save their power
source. From there, the Clade family finds themselves on a huge quest in a new
place within their own realm.
Lytle admitted, “The first thing that stood out to me
is just how amazing the textures are.” It’s really amazing to see how far
computer animation has come. The animators are now able to insert existing Disney
design character visuals but with improved textures – like the pores on the
characters’ faces or their facial hair with little strands of gray. Lytle also
admitted, “The seats in the vehicles and the different types of materials that
make up the clothing had me drooling. The film even does a great job of showing
people cooking, leaving me amazed.”
“Strange World” balances family drama,
action-adventure, and even an environmental story with nothing lost or not
fleshed out. The story is tight and paced nicely and keeps its themes clear.
Lytle said, “The character design, worldbuilding, and color design are some of
the best I’ve seen this year.”
Lytle went on to say, “Strange World is a fantastic
film but, like I said before, I worry about the timing of its release and if it
will do well as a Disney animated feature with no musical numbers.” This film
is more in the area as “Big Hero 6” or even “Atlantis” and “Treasure Planet” than
the more musical-style films Disney is famous for. Lytle ended his review by
saying, “I hope this different style will help bring in others who may skip the
usual Disney fare while it’s in theaters.”
“Strange World” is a fun and perfect film using flesh
and golden age visuals to tell a very modern story that works on different levels
for many different audiences.
I don’t understand why this bombed at the box office.
This is a very good film and it is about a story that, despite it not being
new, I thought was needed for today’s children. You should see this if you have
a Disney+. Watch it with the entire family and have a great time watching it.
Look out tomorrow for the next installment in “Disney
Month 2022.”
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