DVDizzy Forum

This looks like a poor man's Atlantis. The "strange world" where everything is covered in a pink hue for some reason, is unimaginative and doesn't evoke a sense of mystery or awe, the characters comprising the crew look boring, derivative, and stereotypical, and their design is too caricatured and generic. I think this might end up being the worst of the post-Revival films.

It can't be worse than Ralph Breaks the Internet, can it?

The characters design pretty much feels like any studio could have made this film.

PatrickvD wrote:I don’t believe that at all. They’re just coming off the runaway success of Encanto. WDAS is the most renowned and prestigious animation studio in the world.

I don't think they are going to fail, at least not anytime soon. I'm just saying that the animation studio, which is the heart and soul of the company, just doesn't seem to be a priority for them anymore, and it felt like that for a long time (I think I even said it in the past).

PatrickVD wrote:I don’t believe that at all. They’re just coming off the runaway success of Encanto. WDAS is the most renowned and prestigious animation studio in the world.

And, besides, WDAS is the foundation of their studio and the one with the longest history. It would be much easier to fold in any of their other animation studios into it--in fact, I expect that to happen over the next 20 years as streaming dominates more and more.

DisneyFan09 wrote: The whole premise seems like something that Pixar could`ve come up with.

I agree. Something about this reminded me of Up crossed with Inside Out.

I think this might end up being the worst of the post-Revival films.

Nah, it'll just join BH6 and WIR at the bottom of the heap.

I have to say both this and Elemental have been very disappointing reveals. If I had to go with which was worst, Elemental takes it. At least this looks like a continuation of a group dynamic even though it's a roadtrip film, whereas Elemental isn't even that adventurous (being a generic buddy roadtrip film like practically 95% of American animated films released the past 15 years, ugh, God, make it stop).

Farerb wrote:I don't think they are going to fail, at least not anytime soon. I'm just saying that the animation studio, which is the heart and soul of the company, just doesn't seem to be a priority for them anymore, and it felt like that for a long time (I think I even said it in the past).

not sure how you're coming up with that. Animation makes more than their live action by far, last I checked.

Kyle wrote: not sure how you're coming up with that. Animation makes more than their live action by far, last I checked.

Not more than MCU and Star Wars, which seem to get the spotlight nowadays.

Those are acquired properties done by other studios, I'm talking about the home grown stuff they can really call their own.

Farerb wrote:The characters design pretty much feels like any studio could have made this film.

This is hands down the worst character design work in the history of Disney Animation. I don't understand why they would abandon the appealing and beloved Disney house style in favor of some of the most generic and ugly designs I've ever seen. In the past, when they experimented with design, they fused the Disney style with other influences, but the end result was still recognizably Disney. The Disney-esque quality was evident in the visuals and aesthetic of films like Hercules, Atlantis or Lilo & Stitch. There's nothing in this that signals "Disney".

Kyle wrote:Those are acquired properties done by other studios, I'm talking about the home grown stuff they can really call their own.

So? They're still part of them, part of the parks, and the main marketing point for Disney+.
Why couldn't Strange World get its teaser shown like Thor's did at a major event? (Because it costs more money and Disney probably don't think it's worth it).
Why doesn't WDAS get a whole "celebration" like Star Wars does?

Sotiris wrote: I don't understand why they would abandon the appealing and beloved Disney house style in favor of some of the most generic and ugly designs I've ever seen.

The main guy made me think of the human love interest in Hotel Transylvania. And the son--I assume they must be father and son?--looks like a character from The Lorax. I hope Chalamet isn't still attached to this, because it would be a waste of his time.

It is interesting to hear all the comparisons to TP and Atlantis that most people who see the trailer are making though. I mean, while some of us may have nostalgia for those films having grown up with them, why would Disney want to imitate a time when they *very unsuccessfully* attempted to draw in male audiences?

Disney's Divinity wrote:Why would Disney want to imitate a time when they *very unsuccessfully* attempted to draw in male audiences?

It's simple. Ego and narcissism. They consider themselves superior storytellers with refined taste and a more nuanced approach to storytelling than those "hacks" of the past.

I think it has more to do with the type of films Don Hall is interested in making. He used to work at Disney at that time so I don't believe he thinks he's better than people he used to work with. But then he managed to win an Academy Award for Big Hero 6 while Musker and Clements, Trousdale and Wise never did so who knows?

Farerb wrote:But then he managed to win an Academy Award for Big Hero 6 while Musker and Clements, Trousdale and Wise never did so who knows?

And if that doesn't tell you how utterly meaningless the awards for animation at these shows are, nothing else ever could. BH6 wishes it could be remembered even a hundredth as much as things like Aladdin, TLM, B&tB. Or even **Moana** for that matter.

Here's another new synopsis:

The animated film will be led by the vocal talents of Jake Gyllenhaal (Spider-Man: Far from Home) as the protagonist, Searcher Clade. The black sheep of his family, Searcher chose a very different path from the others. Coming from a long lineage of brave and daring explorers, Searcher instead decided to get his hands dirty differently - by becoming a farmer. But in Strange World, Searcher needs to team up with his family to help them complete an incredibly dangerous mission. As he steps out of his comfort zone, Searcher is amazed and intrigued by the unknown alien world that surrounds him.

Source: https://collider.com/strange-world-trai ... al-disney/

robster16 wrote:Now it reminds me even more of the 70’s French animated show “Once Upon a Time… Life”, with researchers traveling into and exploring the human body. I see floods of red blood cells, oxygen animals, brain stems, invading virus monsters… Even the character design seems to reference the show:

https://youtu.be/Zj6G986lpag

I think you're right. The character design definitely seems inspired by that show, as well as the world. I bet the "twist" is that they're inside the body of someone or something.

Farerb wrote:According to the captions:
The woman who's driving is Meridian.
The guy who seems like the protagonist is "Searcher", I guess that's his actual name.
The black kid is Ethan.
That other woman, the one who speaks to Searcher is Callisto Mal.

Thanks for the info! There's also the blue creature who's called Splat. I bet it's the character voiced by Alan Tudyk. I'll put the names with pictures, so it's easier to know who's who.


Meridian Clade


Splat


Ethan Clade


Callisto Mal (left) and Searcher Clade (right)

Jules wrote:Btw, is Searcher Clade black or caucasian? He seems dark, but not black. Maybe I'm just confused ...

He looks caucasian to me. I'm curious to know how the characters are related. Are the Black characters (Meridian and Ethan) Searcher's younger siblings? If so, are they from a different mother? Or are they his children? And Callisto Mal looks like she could be Native American to me, but maybe it's just the hairstyle.

DisneyEra wrote:I thought Ethan was going to be the main character.

Me too, but that's because The DisInsider said it was him. He also appeared in the concept art Disney first released, next to Searcher Clade. I wonder if he was the protagonist at first and they decided to change it or if The DisInsider just got it wrong. If Ethan had been the main character, he would've been WDAS' first Black male protagonist.

Sotiris wrote:

Farerb wrote:The characters design pretty much feels like any studio could have made this film.

This is hands down the worst character design work in the history of Disney Animation. I don't understand why they would abandon the appealing and beloved Disney house style in favor of some of the most generic and ugly designs I've ever seen. In the past, when they experimented with design, they fused the Disney style with other influences, but the end result was still recognizably Disney. The Disney-esque quality was evident in the visuals and aesthetic of films like Hercules, Atlantis or Lilo & Stitch. There's nothing in this that signals "Disney".

I totally agree with both of you. If I didn't know about this project and the word "Disney" wasn't in the trailer, I never would have guessed this was a WDAS film. There are several reasons why I like Disney much more than any other animation studio, but the main one and the reason I became a Disney fan in the first place is their visual style, which I've always found very appealing, so the fact that WDAS is now following Pixar's example and is starting to change their house style for a different one for each movie is really disappointing to me. The movie itself looks interesting to me, but I'm quite less excited for it now due to the underwhelming character designs.

Disney's Divinity wrote:I have to say both this and Elemental have been very disappointing reveals. If I had to go with which was worst, Elemental takes it. At least this looks like a continuation of a group dynamic even though it's a roadtrip film, whereas Elemental isn't even that adventurous (being a generic buddy roadtrip film like practically 95% of American animated films released the past 15 years, ugh, God, make it stop).

I agree both have been very disappointing and that Elemental looks worse, but this is more underwhelming to me personally since I care more about WDAS than Pixar.

Disney's Divinity wrote:The main guy made me think of the human love interest in Hotel Transylvania. And the son--I assume they must be father and son?--looks like a character from The Lorax. I hope Chalamet isn't still attached to this, because it would be a waste of his time.

The designs remind me of Hotel Transylvania too. I had forgotten Timothée Chalamet was rumored to have a role in this film. I bet Captain Calypso Kahn is Searcher Clade's father. If that's true, I don't think that's the character he was going to voice.

Farerb wrote:Why couldn't Strange World get its teaser shown like Thor's did at a major event? (Because it costs more money and Disney probably don't think it's worth it).

I think that has more to do with the fact that the audience for this film is not the same than the one who watches those events.

I'm not surprised that The DisInsider was wrong again.

I think that Searcher and Meridian are married and Ethan is their son. Calypso Kahn is Searcher's father and Callisto Mal is his wife (second marriage).

Your guesses make more sense than mine. Meridian looks like a kid to me in the close-up where she's piloting, but in the picture of the whole group she looks older. I think you're most likely right she's Searcher's wife.

I share the same feelings as Sotiris and D82.
What I love the most in every Disney Animation is that you always find this Disney's sparkle in the eyes of the characters, whatever their design, that I can't spot in other studios.
Here I can see the Disney mix between Ralph, Raya and Encanto but the male characters lack the Disney vibe in their eyes who look more like they are from a Sony's animated movie such like Hotel Transylvania or Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs.
I am beyond disappointed for the first time in many years.
Searcher and Ethan could have be great but they tend to look ridiculous for some reason.
I like that the male lead has a beard and he could be handsome. Ethan has a beautiful color scheme and his clothes look fun but the eyes, why??
Maybe the overall movie will change this feeling but I am also annoyed by the difference between the men and the women.
Callista and Meridian don't have that stylistic goofy design. It's not homogenic.
Even recent Pixar's movies like Turning Red and Luca assume their character design's direction for all genders and ages.
They don't fit the same movie at all and come on Disney : men always look stupid while women are badass!
Can't we have at least one time a male character who looks as great, cute, interesting and charismatic like many of the heroines of the studio?
It doesn't take much to make me like Searcher's character yet it's frustrating...
That's too bad and I feel weird now and sad to be honest because it's also the first time I totally discover the visuals of a new Disney animated feature and I was shocked when we see the overall group in the ship.
Even when the story is not perfect, I've always been so passionate and impatient to discover and wait for the next feature.
I guess the directors of Strange World wanted this retro feel even in the cartoony ovale and close together eyes that you can also spot in the old cartoons.
When those characters will be in action, it will work but I'm afraid now of the quiet moments when we'll get to see them in close-up.
Can't wait though to see and learn more in the upcoming presentation at Annecy's Festival.
Love the poster anyway.
Oh, and sure it reminds a lot of our french old tv show from the eighties "Il était une fois la Vie"!

Who do you think was the last man from a Disney film that actually looked good? Naveen?

Farerb wrote:Why doesn't WDAS get a whole "celebration" like Star Wars does?

Isnt that what D23 is for?

Farerb wrote:I think it has more to do with the type of films Don Hall is interested in making. He used to work at Disney at that time so I don't believe he thinks he's better than people he used to work with.

Roy Conli, the producer of Strange World, also produced Treasure Planet and he has repeatedly said in interviews how proud he is of that movie and how disappointed he is that it flopped. So I wouldn't be surprised if he got excited at the opportunity to produce another other-worldly animated adventure. Conli also said in an interview that he felt the marketing was to blame for Treasure Planet doing poorly, not the quality, and Disney probably has a completely different marketing team now.