My review from the Misc. Thread:
Strange World Thoughts…
(Mild Spoilers)
The first time I watched “Strange World,” all I could see and hear were the flaws. But having learned my lesson from “Encanto,” I did watch it a second time, hoping it would connect together better on a second viewing. And it did. It’s still got problems, but it’s not a bad film at all. Like Treasure Planet and Atlantis, it’s a fun adventure that could have been much better with one more rewrite.
The main problems: The dialogue is too “jokey” and very little of it is very funny, rendering all the characters a bit obnoxious until the third act. The pacing and editing are all over the place to the point where it’s jarring. There are major character development sequences that add little, and overly-frenetic action scenes that are hard to follow.
As other critics have pointed out, the movie is mainly about the Grandfather/Father/Son conflict, and-while the characters’ arcs are well done—it’s not enough to carry the whole film, and the side characters have no development at all.
And all through the first viewing, I kept asking myself “Who was this made for?” I LOVE this genre, I like the character designs, the cast is great… but, for me, the film is just “off”, missing the mark over and over throughout the first two acts.
It has multiple worthwhile messages it wants to convey about diversity, ecology, community, family and acceptance, but it just hammers viewers over the head (over and over) with these themes in the most obvious ways imaginable.
For instance, there’s Ethan’s board game that serves as a physical symbol of the movie’s main themes. It is the most BORING, preachy board game in the history of board games. It’s even more boring as a five minute scene that isn’t very funny and has very, very little payoff in the character development department. Its ecological message is another insulting hammer to the viewer’s head. And the line “that’s just poor storytelling” is very unwise for a scene that brings the film’s momentum to a screeching halt.
And, yes, the “big twist reveal” can be guessed within the first ten minutes, if you haven’t already gotten it from the trailers, though I have to admit that when the characters themselves *finally* realize the truth… it’s staged very well.
I actually liked Splat more than most critics did; he’s Magic-Carpet level on the sidekick scale. The dog, unfortunately, does nothing but act annoyingly stupid throughout.
As for the Elephant in the Room, I’ve got mixed feelings. In this particular movie, It does come across as showboating—but that’s probably because it’s the very first Disney film to focus attention on a gay main character and his love interest. On the plus side, it’s nice to see a world where a person’s orientation is treated as naturally and non-problematic as eye color (other animated films that previously did this include How to Train Your Dragon 2 & 3 and The Mitchells Vs. The Machines). On the negative side, there’s a hefty chunk of time devoted to a detail that adds nothing to the plot and little to Ethan’s character development. It’s not an orientation issue; If Ethan had been a heterosexual female character, the boyfriend element would still take up too much screen time considering how little it adds to the film. I think The Mitchells Vs. The Machines did a better job with this.
And while I love seeing more diverse characters in Disney films, I was mildly insulted that, while all the women on the adventure are portrayed as flawless, courageous and emotionally mature leader-figures, ALL the males, including the dog, are portrayed as immature goofballs. Every. Single. One. Except Ethan’s crush.
It’s already on Disney+, everyone! If you’ve seen it, what did you think?
I do think it’s going to be very interesting to see how this one ages over the years. I think it might gain a following through home viewing a la Treasure Planet and wind up considered an under-appreciated gem. Maybe?
