Strange World

[Daniel]

Are we not good enough for the pic you posted elsewhere, Farerb?



Did not get any Lucy Liu vibes from Callisto Mal.

[Farerb]

I'm sorry, I only added the image later to the post and didn't realize I didn't do it here as well.

I agree that she didn't sound like herself, she sounded more like Awkwafina.

[Farerb]

"The ‘we’ is more important than ever as our studio can only truly shine when everyone feels welcome, feels the pride & responsibility of our legacy, and feels inspired to create, together.”

https://twitter.com/DisneyAnimation/sta ... clRjw&s=19

[Farerb]

Lucy Liu as Callisto Mal, head of Avalonia and leader of the exploration into the world of infinite mystery!

https://twitter.com/DisneyAnimation/sta ... YAfjw&s=19

[Daniel]

Yes, the design doesn't help either since she looks like she was plucked out of Raya!

[Farerb]

Annecy 2022 Recap: Walt Disney Animation Studios Gives First Look at “Strange World,” “Baymax!,” and “Zootopia+”

Hidden for massive spoilers!

Heading to the big screen on November 23rd, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 61st animated feature was introduced by producer Roy Conli, who began his presentation speaking French (his long list of credits includes The Hunchback of Notre Dame, animated at Disney’s Paris studio). Inspired by turn-of-the-century pulp novels by Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and H.G. Wells, Strange World tells the story of a family on an incredible adventure, directed by Don Hall and co-directed by Qui Nguyen (Raya and the Last Dragon), who also serves as writer. Both directors were inspired by their relationship with their fathers as well as how they raise their own sons.

Roy Conli walked us through the story, presenting what feels like the first act of the film. The story starts in Avalonia, a valley surrounded by mountains so steep that any explorer who has tried to climb out has never returned. Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid) and his son Searcher Clade (Jake Gyllenhall) set out on an expedition to discover what lies beyond the mountains, but get in a fight when Searcher discovers a magical plant that could benefit Avalonia, wishing to abandon the mission and take the plant home. During their right, Jaeger proceeds on the quest alone, never to be seen again, while Searcher returns to the valley.

Flash forward 25 years when the plant, named Pando, has created a prosperous community. Searcher and his wife Meridian (Gabrielle Union) run a Pando farm with their teenage son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White) and their three-legged dog Legend. In the first sequence we were shown, Ethan’s friends pull up in a hover truck with a new pack of collector cards. Ethan is clearly shy around Diazo, who seems to return his affections but both boys are too shy to make the first move. Ethan is bummed that he gets a farmer card, so Diazo offers to trade him his explorer card, adding that it seems more like him. Searcher interrupts the conversation, excited to finally meet Diazo and being adorably over supportive of his son, whom he seemingly tries to be best friends with.

Conli filled in the gap between that scene and the second one we were shown. Something bad happens to the Pando crops and they are all dying, sending Avalonia into peril. An explorer named Calisto Mal (Lucy Liu) leads an expedition beneath the planet’s crust to find out what’s going on and Searcher agrees to join her. Ethan is desperate to go, but Searcher refuses to put his son’s life in danger. In the clip we saw, Calisto pilots a unique ship through caverns beneath the surface when a vessel flies behind them and calls for them to stop. It’s Searcher’s wife Meridian warning them that she believes Ethan stowed away. Sure enough, Ethan and Legend are discovered on board just as the ship is attacked by pink winged creatures. They send the ship into a free fall and it plummets, breaking through a rock barrier and bouncing into a spongy colorful world seemingly at the center of the planet. During the turbulent landing, Searcher and Legend fall off the ship and get separated from the rest of the expedition.

In the final sequence we saw, Searcher and Legend begin exploring the terrain, soon finding a character named Splat, a squishy blue blob with many appendages. Earlier in the presentation, Roy showed some test animation of Splat walking on 6 legs, 2 legs, and hiding in plain sight. He’s a really fun character and one that he promises will become a fan favorite. In several ways, he reminded me of Morph from Treasure Planet.

Source: https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... -zootopia/

[Daniel]

The dogs name is Legend? Ok. Looking back at the poster and trailer, yeah I see his missing leg. What's interesting is he's missing the same one as Tripod from "101 Dalmatians: The Series".

[Bill1978]

It was confirmed in Annecy (via clips from the film) that the character of Ethan Clade will be the first openly LGBT character in a Disney Animation production.

I'm seeing lots of people freaking out and being appalled by Lightyear's same sex kiss over on TikTok which I am loving for the hypocrisy of them saying it isn't needed when they themselves are providing evidence of why it is needed. I'm going to assume as long as Ethan doesn't kiss anyone the naysayers will be fine with it (although will still complain about pushing an agenda). Because it seems to be the kiss is the issue because you know all those other family films made by Disney Studios never had any kissing occur between heterosexuals.

[Randall]

I guess the Middle East countries won't be getting this one either, then.

[Ben]

Wasn’t the brother in Jungle Cruise supposed to be gay? I don’t remember much of the film but that didn’t ultimately seem to be explored in the actual movie… Maybe it’ll be the same here. I mean, just because a character *is* something or other, it doesn’t mean that this should affect how they act and what they do. It just shouldn’t be any kind of big deal for anyone to be getting "annoyed" by.

[Bill1978]

It just shouldn’t be any kind of big deal for anyone to be getting "annoyed" by.

But won't somebody think of the children!!! It's always fun reading comments from adults saying it's atrocious for non-heterosexual people to be showing standard heterosexual affection in family entertainment.

The brother in Jungle Cruise had a conversation with The Rock about not fitting into society's expectation or some malarkey, but never said 'I like men', 'I'm gay' or was seen with a man after the revelation. So those people unable to read subtext or between the lines would have just thought the brother was 'odd' and the studio has plausible deniability for those markets that don't like LGBT+ content.

I remember people making a big fuss over Jack Whitehall playing a gay character because of his identifying as straight but once they saw the movie that fuss went away - probably cause they realised in reality the 'gay' moment was pointless and contributed nothing to the plot or character development and resulted in feeling like the ticking of a box.

From what I've read of Ethan's involvement in the plot, it sounds like it will be hard to edit around the character without impacting plot/character moments. Which means at least they are doing meaningful box ticking with this movie as opposed to the stuff they pulled with Jungle Cruise and LeFou.

[Ben]

I do worry about all this "you can’t play this or that if you are not this or that", though. We'd have lost most of the more extraordinary acting performances if gay and straight weren’t able to play straight or gay, or if abled or unabled were not able to play unabled and abled roles. I mean, why should Sam Worthungton play a blue alien? He’s not blue…or an alien! Why can’t Tom Hanks play a man dying of Aids now? You don’t have to be gay to die of Aids. Is it right that Robert De Niro or Sly Stallone should play boxers? They are not real boxers!

It. Is. Called. Acting.

People have been doing it for years. Centuries. We’ve all become overly sensitive to what is basic common sense. I think we'd be in danger of losing half of all the leading men if gay people were not allowed to play strict roles all of a sudden! Why should it be a big deal?

[Evergreen]

I'm seeing lots of people freaking out and being appalled by Lightyear's same sex kiss over on TikTok which I am loving for the hypocrisy of them saying it isn't needed when they themselves are providing evidence of why it is needed. I'm going to assume as long as Ethan doesn't kiss anyone the naysayers will be fine with it (although will still complain about pushing an agenda). Because it seems to be the kiss is the issue because you know all those other family films made by Disney Studios never had any kissing occur between heterosexuals.

There will definitely be a kiss in this. There is a confirmed love interest, I believe. As for the outrage, that's how it was always gonna be when we finally got a LGBT protagonist though.

I'm sure the Middle Eastern countries would get this film if they actually wanted it... Disney isn't banning their own movie there, the countries themselves are, right? That's not Disney's fault.

[Daniel]

Ethan's father, Searcher Clade, is the protagonist.

[Evergreen]

Oh, yes, you're right. I'm just so used to these things being buddy roadtrips. Plus, with the story centering on the grandfather's relationship to the father and the father's relationship to the son, I assumed all three would have pretty big roles?