"Strange World" is a high-concept spin on a "Journey to the Center"-like adventure, one interested in digging into father-son relationships and in saying something to us about how we treat the environment.
The often breathtakingly beautiful work of Walt Disney Animation Studios also is concerned with coming in at a reasonable running time — it's about an hour and a half of actual movie. As a result, given all it has going on, it can feel a little rushed, with high-speed thrills coming at the cost of major emotional impact.
That doesn't change the fact that "Strange World" is consistently entertaining and, more often than not, pretty clever.
At its heart, it is the story of three generations of men in the family Clade, from a community known as Avalonia.
In an opening sequence featuring nicely done retro animation — presented newsreel style and perhaps an homage to the opening moments of the acclaimed 2009 Disney-Pixar animated film "Up" — we are introduced to daring explorer Jaeger Glade, a big, burly fellow given a gravelly voice by Dennis Quaid ("The Rookie," "Frequency").
Director Don Hall then shifts to the stunning animation of today, as we find that Jaeger is on an expedition with young son Searcher (Jake Gyllenhaal, “Spider-Man: Far From Home”) and others in blustery wintry conditions.
"Well," Jaeger proclaims, "I always say 'exploring is snow joke!'"
Dad jokes? Yep, he's a father.
Jaeger long has obsessed over venturing beyond a mountain range surrounding Avalonia, a goal he intends to achieve this day despite the hazardous conditions. However, when Searcher discovers a plant that seems to be emitting power — power that could be harnessed to bring meaningful change to their community — the others agree with the younger Clade that they should turn back.
Refusing to do so himself, Jaeger is especially disappointed in Searcher, saying, "You're my son!"
The boy answers, "But I'm not you!"
Jaeger goes off, leaving Searcher a compass to help them get home.
A quarter of a century later, the compass remains but Jaeger is only a memory, and Searcher — now perhaps as famous as his pops thanks to his discovery of the plant known as pando — lives a life of contentment with his wife, Meridian (Gabrielle Union, "Cheaper by the Dozen"), and their 16-year-old son, Ethan (actor-comedian-musician-filmmaker Jaboukie Young-White), on their farm.
Searcher is driven to be a better father to Ethan than he feels Jaeger was to him and tries to impress his son's friends, including his crush, a boy named Diazo. However, Searcher worries Ethan has too much of his grandfather in him, suffering visions of the lad morphing into a Jaeger-like adult and leaving him for a more exciting life.
Thus, it's not surprising that when the leader of Avalonia, Callisto Mal (Lucy Liu, "Elementary"), visits Searcher to ask for his help on a crucial expedition, Searcher forbids Ethan from joining the team. To be fair, Searcher doesn't want to go himself, but the power of pando seems to be fading, and he agrees that what's called for is a trip underground to follow the plant's interconnected system of roots. Hopefully, at their origin point, the problem can be identified and addressed.
Of course, Ethan stows away on the expedition's airship, along with family dog Legend. Chasing after her son, Meridian joins the party, as well.
And we know — both from the trailer and common sense — that Searcher soon will encounter his long-lost father. Sure enough, Jaeger has survived all these 25 years in this vast, hidden subterranean world, by fending off myriad dangers. He now endeavors to go under the mountains, but an area he's named "The Burning Sea" stands in his way.
Searcher still holds resentment toward Jaeger and Jaeger toward Searcher, with Ethan quickly growing tired of being around their bickering. And, yes, Ethan is showing more signs that he, too, may not want to follow in his father's footsteps. (Interestingly, while the manly Jaeger is entirely unimpressed by Searcher's chosen occupation, he doesn't so much as bat an eye upon learning Ethan is interested in a member of his own sex, immediately offering the boy an idea as to how he could impress Diazo.)
Again, this character development is folded in among a parade of action sequences — potentially frightening enough to little ones that it's easy to understand "Strange World" earning a PG rating. Dangers include these big blobs with tentacles with which Jaeger is all too familiar, and the crew isn't initially sure what to make of a smaller blob Ethan names "Splat." (Aside from his annoying squeak-toy voice, Splat is a lot of fun.)
Hall, a co-director on Disney hits "Big Hero 6" (2014) and "Raya and the Last Dragon" (2021), works here with co-director and writer Qui Nguyen, who co-wrote the "Raya" screenplay. You keep waiting for their work to give you a serious case of the feels, but it comes up a little short in that department.
However, like "Raya" and other recent Disney offerings such as last year's "Encanto," "Strange World" is a feast for the eyes. Colorful and full of brilliant contrast, the movie absolutely glows much of the time.
We don't want to say much more about the actual world of "Strange World." It is full of little surprises and holds one big secret worth keeping.
This movie isn't everything it could have been, but at the end of the adventure, once you catch your breath, you may walk out of the theater with some food for thought.
And a desire to call your dad.
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'STRANGE WORLD'
2.5 stars (out of 4)
MPAA rating: PG (for action/peril and some thematic elements)
Running time: 1:42
How to watch: In theaters Wednesday
