Tag: Walt Disney Animation Studios

This Thanksgiving, Walt Disney Animation Studios is rolling out its latest visual extravaganza, Strange World. Set in the fictional world of Avalonia, Strange World follows three generations of explorers, the Clade family, as they embark on a mission into a mysterious, subterranean world. Inspired by the pulp stories of the early 20th century, Strange World will take the Clades to a “hidden world…heretofore unknown to them or anybody else” and examine the relationships between fathers and sons.

Directed by Disney vets Dan Hall and Qui Nguyen, Strange World boasts a heavy-hitting cast of stars lending their voices to the characters. Ahead of the film’s release, let’s get to know who’s who in Strange World!

Jake Gyllenhaal as Searcher Clade

Voiced by Jake Gyllenhaal, Searcher Clade is described by Disney as “a treasured member of the Avalonia community having discovered a revolutionary plant-based power source called pando.” While his father, Jaeger, was a legend among the people of Avalonia, Searcher chose to blaze his own trail after his father disappeared decades ago. Because he spent so much time without a father, Searcher has dedicated his life to his family, even though his son, Ethan, may have a bit more of Jaeger’s adventurous spirit in him than his father.

Their relationship is central to the film’s plot and, according to director Dan Hall, is modeled in part on his own experiences. “I have teenage sons and an older father,” said Hall. “I understand Searcher’s point of view because that’s where I am right now in my life.” Hall continues, explaining that it was Jaeger’s absence from Searcher’s life that has driven him to become the family man he is.

Searcher is caught between the legacy of the greatest explorer of all time and his own legacy he established almost in contrast to that of his father, who he sees as a rambling, intrepid explorer who was never home. Searcher set out to be the opposite. He’s rooted in his family.

Dan Hall

Dennis Quaid as Jaeger Clade

That “rambling, intrepid explorer”, Jaeger Clade, will be voiced by Dennis Quaid, who director Qui Nguyen called “a legend” and the kind of personality that can rock a crowd.” To that end, Jaeger’s legacy as a larger-than-life explorer has made him a legend in Avalonia even though his obsession ultimately took him from his family.

Strange World is heavily inspired by pulp fiction and according to Nguyen,“Jaeger is our pulp hero.” Nguyen went on to describe Jaeger as “one of those guys on the covers (of pulp magazines) who wear white shirts that were ripped fighting an alligator. He is an awesome character. But what if that guy was your dad? That seems way less awesome.” But what if that guy was your grandfather?

Jaboukie Young-White as Ethan Clade

Searcher’s devotion to his family has resulted in a strong, healthy relationship with his 16-year-old son Ethan, voiced by Jaboukie Young-White. However, as producer Roy Conli explains, as much as Ethan loves his father, he’s not quite as content living a safe life on the farm as Searcher is…or would like for Ethan to be. “He certainly embraces his father and can feel the love that Searcher has for him, but something is missing for him in the quiet farm life he’s living.” Ethan’s curiosity gets the best of him and he ends up as a surprise stowaway on the adventure to the “strange world.”
 

Gabrielle Union as Meridian Clade

Gabrielle Union voices the “funny and fierce” Meridian Clade. As Searcher’s wife and Ethan’s mother, she serves as the anchor of the family. Meridian is an integral part of Searcher’s farming operations and becomes part of the journey to the strange world when she realizes that Ethan may have joined it, unbeknownst to Searcher.

Lucy Liu as Callisto Mal

The final piece of the expedition’s cast of characters is Lucy Liu’s Callisto Mal. Mal cut her teeth as an explorer as part of Jaeger’s crew, but now serves as the president of Avalonia. As the mystery of the plague affecting Searcher’s pando crops deepens, Mal makes the decision to take on the expedition to the subterranean land where the fun really begins.

Walt Disney Animation Studio’s Strange World debuts in theaters on November 23rd, 2022.

From the earliest looks at its newest animated adventure, Strange World, it was clear that Walt Disney Animation Studio was looking to capture the nostalgia of pulp fiction common to the first half of the 20th century. Characters such as Doc Savage, Ka-zar and John Carter found their way to fame through pulp magazines and the exploration of fantastical new lands. And it turns out that’s exactly the kind of story director Don Hall set out to tell in Strange World.

I always loved big adventure stories. the specific kind of adventure story where explorers find a hidden world that was heretofore unknown to them or anybody else. And that goes back so far into late 1800s, early 1900s—Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. That was sort of the birth of the big adventure story in novel form. ‘King Kong’ is a good filmic reference that had a group of explorers find a new hidden world. I wanted to evoke that in this movie.

Don Hall

In Strange World, the new hidden world comes into play when Searcher Clade, the son of legendary explorer Jaeger Clade, has to undertake an expedition with nothing less than the fate of his entire planet at stake. That expedition takes him to the subterranean “strange world” and reunites him with his father, who has been missing for decades. Fans of pulp fiction, including stories from the authors whom Hall cites as influences, will know that along with the discovery of this wonderful, new land will come an all-new set of dangers and challenges that will test the mettle and the relationships of the Clade family.

The mysteries of Strange World will unfold in theaters beginning November 23rd, 2022.