Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Lucy Liu and Gabrielle Union, Strange World is the latest film by Disney Studios. By Moana director Don Hall, this animated action-adventure is set in the fictional world of Avalonia, the home of the Clades – dad Searcher (Gyllenhaal), wife Meridian (Union) and teenage son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White). Despite coming from a family of explorers, headed by dad Jaeger (Quaid), Searcher is content being a farmer of Pando, a plant that provides Avalonia with energy. But when Avalonia president Callisto (Liu) says that the city’s supply of Pando is under threat, she enlists Searcher to explore and save their home.
Although Strange World is made by Disney Studios, it treads a similar path to Pixar’s 2020 adventure Onward in terms of aesthetics and story with a prominent father-child-centric plotline in the narrative. Jaeger is intent on finding out what is past the mountains surrounding Avalonia – a mystery no-one has been able to solve – but Searcher doesn’t seem to share the same enthusiasm, despite his name. Upon finding a rare glowing plant, later known as Pando, Searcher tries to convince his dad to consider exploring the possible rather than chasing the impossible. This not only affirms the generational differences that drive the narrative but reinforces the film’s principal theme of family legacy, with the older Clades eager to make a mark for themselves. Whether it is to explore the unknown or create a future, there is a stubborn need to make their name for years to come. Although their common goal of leaving a legacy brings the Clades together, their conflicting views on environmentalism and latent feelings of resentment threaten to tear apart three generations of the family. This essentially builds a sense of predictability that fails to lift this action-adventure story past its conventional roots.
However, screenwriter Qui Nguyen and director Don Hall modernise the film with an inclusive angle – not only is Searcher’s wife Meridian is a Black character but their son Ethan is both mixed race and openly gay. In addition, both Meridian and Callisto aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty and venture on this adventure armed with determination and, in Callisto’s case, a handy pair of knives. This marks another positive step for the long-established studio as it continues to stray away from fairy tales while highlighting diverse characters after its recent critical successes Encanto, Moana, and Raya and the Last Dragon.
Amid Strange World’s layers of familiarity, there is a fun and thrilling adventure that will entertain and charm audiences of all ages, especially fans of 1950s-inspired action films. We have the gruff yet dashing hero, cool weapons (in this case, a huge flamethrower), and even a cute sidekick in the formless form of Splat. The talented voice cast has a ball with the fun screenplay to flow perfectly amid the vast, texturally-rich world that is full of bright colours and eye-popping animation.
Overall, Strange World is enjoyable, gorgeous to watch and solid family-friendly entertainment, but its conventionality might disappoint audiences expecting something new from the animation studio.
Strange World is out in UK cinemas on Wednesday 23 November.
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Director: Don Hall, Qui Nguyen (screenwriter)
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Lucy Liu, Jaboukie Young-White, Gabrielle Union
Runtime: 102 minutes
Country: USA
