{"id":25667,"date":"2022-11-23T02:21:11","date_gmt":"2022-11-23T10:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=25667"},"modified":"2022-11-23T02:21:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-23T10:21:11","slug":"strange-world-offers-dazzling-visuals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=25667","title":{"rendered":"STRANGE WORLD Offers Dazzling Visuals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 102 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This animated family feature from Walt Disney Pictures\nwill be released theatrically in the US on November 23rd<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to the pandemic, Disney has employed an unusual release\nstrategy for its animated features over the past couple of years. Its previous\ntitle, Encanto<\/em>, received a brief theatrical run before premiering on the\nDisney+ streaming site only a few weeks later. Strange World<\/em> appears to\nhave finally set things back to normal, heading exclusively to cinemas. But is\nit really worth seeing on the big screen? As it turns out, the updated\ndistribution blueprint does highlight the movie\u2019s strongest element \u2013 the visuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The story is set in an unusual community called Avalonia\nthat is completely surrounded by mountains. Daring explorer Jaeger Clade\n(Dennis Quaid) searches for a way over the mountains with his crew and teenage\nson Searcher (Jake Gyllenhaal). Unfortunately, the elder has a falling out with\nhis offspring after a strange plant is discovered during the journey. Searcher\nand the crew head home with the find, but Jaeger continues and disappears in\nthe wild. 25-years later, the rare greenery is being farmed by Searcher as a\npower source for the community. He lives happily with his wife Meridian\n(Gabrielle Union) and 16-year-old son, Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White), but his\nboy harbors his grandfather\u2019s bold ambitions. When their vital crop begins\ndying, Searcher is recruited for an expedition beneath Avalonia\u2019s surface to\nsolve the problem. But Ethan also sneaks aboard with other family members in\npursuit. They all find themselves in a bizarre underground world filled with\nunfamiliar lifeforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The human drama is very simple and focused on Searcher,\nEthan and Jaeger. This is essentially a story about fathers pushing their kids\nto be someone they simply aren\u2019t. The movie focuses on this element and repeats\nit throughout. The trip to new lands reinvigorates insecurities and past gripes\nbetween Searcher and his son, as well as those with his own father. While\nfamiliar, they are all sensitively handled and effectively imply that while the\ncharacters may not see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, they have their\nsimilarities and that their passionate viewpoints are all valuable to solving\nproblems.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the visuals, they are magnificent. The titular world\nis something to behold on the big screen, with incredible vistas and fantastic\nbeings flying and wandering in elaborate wide shots. This is an unknown world\ncomposed of mostly organic material and the concept allows the filmmakers to\nget very creative with the look of the film. A couple of the creatures stand\nout as well. A blue figure nicknamed Splat is exceptionally well-designed. Despite\nit being a blob of sorts that can only communicate through movement and\ngestures, it comes off as remarkably cute and manages to earn some chuckles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yet, while the movie looks stunning, not every aspect is perfect. There is conflict featured in the interpersonal father\/son relationships and early on the journey itself is fraught with danger, but none of it feels as thrilling as it should. For all the family issues, no one flies off the handle and all are remarkably level-headed and reasonable given the circumstances. Truth be told, the sense of menace fades as the characters become less concerned about their surroundings and more focused on themselves. At one point, the script even throws in a comment to try and deflect criticism from this issue, but one still wishes there were more friction on display. In fact, had a specific character not flipped allegiances and instead kept hunting down the crew as prey, it might have added more anxious moments (and dark humor).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But even if it isn\u2019t as pulse-pounding as it should be for\nan adventure story, the film has a nice message and is a visual wonder. And it\nattempts to insert a few unique components into its plot, which is admirable. Strange\nWorld<\/em> may not end up getting the blood pumping, but it is a noble effort\nwith some interesting facets and plenty of epic compositions that will wow\nviewers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 102 minutes This animated family feature from Walt Disney Pictures will be released theatrically in the US on November 23rd. Due to the pandemic, Disney has employed an unusual release strategy for its animated features over the past couple of years. Its previous title, Encanto, received a brief theatrical run before premiering on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":25668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[209,1455,5730,5922,5924,7283,7314,8049,10076,10179,11668,19179,19180,19181,19182],"class_list":["post-25667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-209","tag-animated","tag-dennis-quaid","tag-disney","tag-disney-animation","tag-family","tag-fantasy","tag-gabrielle-union","tag-jaboukie-young-white","tag-jake-gyllenhaal","tag-kids-science-fiction","tag-strange-world","tag-strange-world-film-review","tag-strange-world-movie-review","tag-strange-world-review"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25667\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}