Disney’s newest animated film Strange World is a very strange thing indeed: the movie is colourful, exciting, funny and great for families. But it also feels strangely simple and ordinary.
Families, and especially young kids, will have a lot of fun exploring the amazing wacky creatures of the "Strange World" as three generations of the Clade family go on an expedition to save their home. The landscapes and scenery are truly dazzling, and each new weird animal is cooler than the last (without being gross or scary).
What feels strange, however, is the human characters. Heroes like Searcher (Jake Gyllenhall), his wife Meridian (Gabrielle Union), son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White) and famous dad Jaeger (Dennis Quaid) all give great voice performances to character that look and act overly cartoonish - almost bizarrely so.
The whole film looks overly cartoonish, and that makes sense for the sci-fi world they explore. But why is their home, and the natural world, also just as weird looking? It’s a missed chance to heighten their differences.
Clunky transitions and blunt, awkward dialogue don’t help either - writer Qui Nguyen (returning to Disney after last year’s Raya and the Last Dragon) continues to create great plots and concepts for film, but his technical ability to write authentic dialogue is still weak.
Legacy, for example, and the relationship between father and sons is at the forefront of Strange World. But the literal word "legacy" is dropped almost every other sentence. Moral messages need to be treated with greatly nuance and subtlety, even in a kid’s movie, or the audience will get turned off.
Nguyen’s great success, however, is the staggering amount of on screen diversity and cultural representation on display is remarkable - and these details are integrated so seamlessly it makes the caucasian dominance of so many other animated movies look shameful.
Nearly every character has a different cultural background, there are multiple gender identities among the cast, and without spoiling too much, there’s a surprise boost of Indigenous culture and history that plays into a significant plot device.
While the first half of the movie is largely forgettable, the big payoff at the end of the adventure is wholly satisfying (if a bit confusing) and it ends as a truly great science fiction story.
If you’re on the fence, I’d recommend giving it a try, especially if you’re a fan of lesser seen Disney adventure movies like Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet.
Disney Animation is coming off a hot double win last year with Raya and the musical megahit Encanto. Strange World doesn’t find the same cathartic heights or emotional wallop of those movies, but it’s still a charming, quirky delight.
Strange World
7 out of 10
PG, 1hr 42mins. Animated Sci-Fi Family Adventure.
Directed by Don Hall.
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jaboukie Young-White, Dennis Quaid, Gabrielle Union and Lucy Liu.
Now Playing at Film.Ca Cinemas, 5 Drive-In, Cineplex Winston Churchill and Cineplex Oakville & VIP.
