Strange World

Hall conceived Strange World in 2017 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 provided 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. The film received generally positive reviews from critics but grossed only $73.6 million with a projected loss of $197 million for Disney, making it one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time. Following its streaming release on Disney+, Strange World ranked as the top streaming film on Disney+ for 19 days.

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 of becoming a farmer like him. One night, Callisto Mal, the president of Avalonia and one of Jaeger’s former expedition teammates, shows up in her airship, the Venture, to inform the Clades that Pando is losing its power and asks Searcher to help find the cause. He joins an expedition to travel into a giant sinkhole, in which the roots of Pando have been located. On the way down, Meridian tries catching up in her crop-duster when Ethan and their three-legged dog Legend stows away on the Venture. The Venture, attacked by red wyvern-like creatures, crash-lands in a subterranean world, where Searcher and Legend are separated from the group. They are attacked by a creature called a “Reaper”, but are rescued by Jaeger, who has been living underground all these years. He has been trying to cross the mountains from below, but is blocked by an acidic ocean, and states his intention to board the Venture to attempt to cross it.

Meanwhile, Ethan sneaks away from the Venture to find Searcher. He befriends an amorphous blue creature, naming it Splat, before being reunited with Searcher, Legend and Jaeger. They are attacked by more Reapers, but are rescued by Meridian and Callisto and return to the Venture. Searcher insists on completing their mission, while Jaeger wants to continue journeying across the Strange World. Ethan becomes frustrated with them and their opposing worldviews. After another wild encounter, Searcher and Jaeger finally have a heart-to-heart talk and realize that they do respect each other’s goals in life. They eventually find a cluster of Pando’s roots, which is being attacked by the Strange World’s creatures. When Searcher learns that Ethan wants to explore more of the Strange World, he blames Jaeger’s influence on him. Ethan angrily jumps off the Venture and on to one of the Reapers. Searcher follows him aboard a small flying vehicle, but as they are reconciling, they realize that they have passed through the mountains to the ocean beyond, where they see the eye of a giant turtle-like creature. The two realize that Avalonia is on the creature’s back, and that they have been traveling through its body, meaning that the Reapers and all the other creatures are its immune system.

Seeing that Pando is an infection attacking the creature’s heart, they head back to inform the expedition team that Pando must be destroyed, but Callisto has them locked up to prevent them from stopping the mission, while Jaeger furiously sails off to see for himself. After Legend and Splat free the family, Searcher and Ethan head to the creature’s heart to clear a path for the Reapers, while Meridian takes over the ship and convinces Callisto to help. Jaeger returns, and with his help, they break through Pando, and the creatures appear and destroy it, bringing the heart back to life and saving the land.

One year later, Ethan is in a relationship with Diazo as they and their friends collect resources from the Strange World. Avalonia has shifted from Pando energy to wind turbines. Jaeger revisits his ex-wife Penelope who has remarried during his absence, and Searcher and Jaeger’s relationship has improved. The camera zooms away from Avalonia to show the giant turtle-like creature on an ocean-covered planet.