Strange World (film)
Strange World is a 2022 American animated science-fiction adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion 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. The film follows a legendary family of explorers, 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 developed the idea of the film in 2017 about strange projects 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 predominately CGI, the film does incorporate 2D animation from Randy Haycock, with additional 2D animation by Eric Goldberg and Mark Henn in certain scenes. Henry Jackman provide 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. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the animation, environmental, Jackman's score, visuals, and voice acting, but criticized the writing and film's marketing. It was also in RealD 3D, 4DX, and Dolby Cinema formats. The film grossed around $73 million against a budget of between $135-180 million, nominally making it one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time, with projections of as much as a $197 million loss for Disney. However, it was a streaming hit on Disney+, where it became the number one film being streamed 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 that he will become a farmer as well. One night, Callisto Mal, the president of Avalonia and one of Jaeger's former expedition teammates, shows up in her airship, the Venture, informs the Clades that Pando is losing its power