Minor spoilers for "Strange World" ahead.
Unusual names, notable diversity, and an important call to protect the planet. Here
are some of the things only adults noticed in Disney's "Strange World."
"Strange World," the latest theatrical release from Disney's Animation Studios,
follows Jaeger Clade, a legendary explorer from Avalonia, a land that is surrounded by
mountains on all sides. On his greatest journey to finally see beyond the mountains, his son Searcher
discovers a new substance that becomes the land's greatest power source. However, Jaeger doesn't
make it back from the expedition. Years later, Searcher lives on a farm with his son Ethan and
wife Meridian. However, it soon transpires that the substance Searcher discovered years ago is
dying and needs to be saved. Searcher's family is swept away on an adventure that leads them
to a strange world underneath Avalonia full of alien creatures, and the missing Jaeger.
"Strange World" isn't afraid to wear its genre influences on its sleeve. Right from the start,
the movie's love of pulp comics and adventure stories shines in the form of visual homage. In
the intro to "Strange World," the credits sequence begins in black-and-white before
showing the cover of an old school style comic featuring all the characters of the
Clade family. It continues in this comic book style as the introduction sets up the
prequel to the story, beginning with Jaeger Clade's expedition.
"Pulp fiction" refers to cheap, campy adventure comics published in the first
half of the 20th century, up until the 1950s. The movie's directors have even revealed that
pulp magazines are one of the main influences on "Strange World." During a press day for the film,
co-director and writer Qui Nguyen revealed, via What's on Disney+,
Gabrielle Union gives an excellent performance as mother, wife, and adventurer Meridian Clade in
"Strange World." Meridian is a strong supporting character, acting as a rock for both husband
Searcher and son Ethan, and she even gets to save them from time to time. But her character,
and specifically her name, has a deeper meaning that reinforces her role in the movie.
"Brace yourself!"
Meridian is not necessarily a common name, but it is an intentional choice that makes sense for
the character. Avid geographers will know that "meridian" is an astronomical and geographical
term used by explorers and adventurers, which refers to a line of longitude. The prime meridian,
for instance, is a centerline where longitude is 0°. In the movie, Meridian is Searcher's center,
as she grounds him. Additionally, while he lives his life as a farmer, there is a small,
reluctant part of Searcher that wants to be an explorer. The fact that his wife's name is a
geographical term is seemingly another clue that he subconsciously longs for adventure.
The biggest theme that runs throughout "Strange World" is the intergenerational conflict between
fathers and sons. Both Jaeger and Searcher, and Searcher and Ethan, have their own issues
communicating and connecting with one another. In fact, Searcher's relationship with his son is
informed by how his father treated him, which touches on the theme of generational trauma.
However, "Strange World" also has a sense of how male-centric this story might seem,
and it endeavors to prioritize its female characters. Jaeger, Searcher, and Ethan find
themselves running from some angry wildlife, and they find themselves scrambling through the flora
and fauna. Luckily, Meridian and President Mal show up just in time to rescue them from turning
into alien food. In this moment, the women of "Strange World" have an opportunity to shine.
"Ah, is this thing dangerous?" [scream]
In "Strange World," Alan Tudyk voices the cute and gelatinous Splat. The blue blob is
one of two playful companions in the movie, the other being the Clades' adorable three-legged
pooch Legend. Disney regularly includes cute and cuddly companions in its animated movies
aimed at younger audiences, and "Strange World" even acknowledges and pokes fun at
this practice. At one point in the movie, a member of the crew notices Splat for the
first time and freaks out, getting very excited. He then points to Splat and says,
"So cute. I wanna merchandise it."
This joke might go over the heads of the film's younger audience,
but Disney's practice of creating cute characters in order to sell
toys is well documented in everything from "Strange World" to "Star Wars."
In "Strange World," each of the three Clade men take journeys to find acceptance and peace
with their family in a multi-layered hero's journey. The movie focuses most on Ethan,
the youngest character and the most relatable to a young, diverse audience. Ethan struggles
with breaking out of the box that his father is forcing him into and refuses to accept a
future as a farmer. Instead, Ethan longs to be an explorer like his long-lost grandfather. So
when the two finally meet at long last and get to know each other, they hit it off extremely well.
As "Strange World" continues, it becomes clear that Ethan resembles his grandfather
and naturally takes on some of his mannerisms. There's even a moment on the airship during which
Ethan and Jaeger stand next to one another and they hold themselves in the exact same
pose. With their hands on their hips, front foot outward and ready to take on the world,
the pose itself emphasizes the adventurer spirit that the two share. It is a quick
moment and its significance is easy to miss, but this theme is reinforced
throughout the movie as Ethan takes after several other characters as well.
Jaeger isn't the only family member Ethan has inherited traits and mannerisms from.
During "Strange World," it becomes clear that Ethan's mother, Meridian,
has also inspired many of her son's traits. From their need for conversation,
to the way they stand, Ethan and Meridian share many similarities.
Ethan's shared traits with his mother and grandfather only highlight how much distance
Ethan feels from his dad, Searcher. For instance, throughout the movie, Ethan goes to everyone for
help except for his dad. On the surface, Ethan seems to be more like Jaeger and Meridian than
his own father, and Searcher is painfully aware of this fact and becomes hopelessly fixated on it.
But it's not until the final act that both father and son realize what they truly have in common.
"I'm not my father."
Meanwhile, Searcher's relationship with his own father is challenging. Plus,
that rocky relationship didn't get any better when Jaeger abandoned him
and took off without warning. It takes most of the movie for them to reconcile,
but Searcher and his father eventually start to set aside their differences and warm up to
one another. They eventually spend some time hanging out together, and start to bond after
the longest time apart. The difficulties they face will be relatable to anyone who's ever
fallen out with a family member, or longed to bond with a distant parent or relative.
At the start of the movie, Ethan's crush stops by and drops off a new card for a game called Primal
Outpost. At first, it looks as though Primal Outpost may share some similarities with Magic:
the Gathering. But it's not Magic that Primal Outpost looks most similar to when
it's later played on the airship. Instead, there's actually another
popular board game that Primal Outpost seems to be both paying homage to and criticizing.
The setup for Primal Outpost is tile based, and the objective of the game is to gain and trade
resources. While watching the movie, it's easy to see that "Strange World" is evoking Settlers of
Catan, one of the most popular strategy board games of all time. While the collectible card
game elements and some of the in-game rules stray from what players can do in Catan,
Primal Outpost definitely feels like a commentary on that game in particular.
Much of this critical commentary comes from Ethan. As Jaeger and Searcher argue
about how to fight in the game, Ethan gets increasingly frustrated. He suggests that
the point of Primal Outpost is to use your resources to build a better world,
which is the exact opposite of the colonialist fantasy of Catan and games of its ilk.
By the final act, it's become increasingly obvious that President Mal and Searcher aren't in the
right. As Ethan bonds with Splat and finds awe in the beauty of this new world they've discovered,
everything about the mission to save the Pando plant starts to make him uneasy.
Towards the end of the movie, it's revealed to Searcher and Ethan exactly how wrong they are,
solidifying one of the main themes of "Strange World" in the process.
After a classic father son fight, Ethan runs off the airship and Searcher follows. Eventually,
the two discover themselves in the location Jaeger was trying to reach all along,
on the other side of the mountains. It's here that they discover their planet is
a literal living being. Sadly, the being that Avalonia sits atop is dying, and specifically,
it is being killed by the Avalonians harvesting the Pando plant for their energy.
This twist turns a story that was already about the environment into a full-on metaphor
for the climate change crisis facing our planet. "Strange World" literally makes its
planet a living breathing creature, in order to communicate the idea to its younger audience that
the planet is alive and can be harmed. In the end, "Strange World" is about learning to fix
our mistakes but also about making sacrifices in order to adjust to a new, healthier world.
After the story wraps up, the audience is transported to one year later in a flash
forward. A voiceover from Ethan reveals what's happened to Avalonia following the events of
"Strange World." In the epilogue, Ethan talks about how the last year has been incredibly
difficult but that everyone has proven just how resilient they are. Considering the fact
that "Strange World" is being released at the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic,
it's hard not to think that Ethan's sentiment might have a deeper meaning.
"Strange World" is far from a throwaway animation, and instead contains a crucial
subtext about climate change that mainly adults and older teens will pick up on. But beyond that,
Ethan's talk of resilience appears to reference the pandemic in particular. This moment serves as
a rallying call for all the viewers who fought through a hard year, but must continue doing
the work to enact change. Ultimately, this call to action is the overarching theme of
"Strange World," with the movie asking viewers to care for the planet before it's too late.