This film was actually pretty good, very reminiscent of "Dragons - Riders of Berk" in terms of the appearance and personality of the main characters. It was perhaps a little too psychedelic, but that didn't detract rom the film in any way. The plot offered nothing new really, but overall it was an entertaining family film which I and my two teen daughters enjoyed.

What really saddens me is the horrific homophobic bigotry from most of the people commenting on here. You should all be ashamed of yourselves for your pathetic gay hatred that is evident from your comments. There is no "woke agenda" or forcing any LGBTQ+ equality or sexual scenes upon the viewers in this film. Disney, in a very tasteful and mild way, was simply portraying a very common everyday occurrence - two teenagers being in love with each other, and so what if they were the same sex? It clearly didn't matter to any of the characters in the movie, even his overly macho, egotistical old grandad. If Ethan's love interest had been female then their relationship almost certainly wouldn't even have been mentioned by any of you in your comments. It didn't matter that it wasn't instrumental to the plot. Plenty of other films, whether or not they're Disney animations or live-action productions by any studio, have characters who are in open relationships, where the relationship itself isn't part of the plot, other than trying to portray a bit of realistic backstory to the characters, and it doesn't detract from the quality of those films. It's fairly safe to say that at least 90% of Hollywood blockbuster films have overt heterosexual activity in them - the protagonist (most often male) either saves a 'damsel in distress' and then ends up 'sleeping' with them, or else they're already in a heterosexual relationship, and they are very frequently shown to be hugging and kissing, or even more. Would you say that these films are "forcing a heterosexual agenda" on their viewers? No, of course you wouldn't. None of you making these homophobic comments have called out any of those other films because they've had a protagonist (or antagonist) in a non-essential-to-the-plot heterosexual relationship. Which is total proof that your comments DO stem from your own hypocritical, bigoted personal opinions. Trakt is not the place to air your closed-minded prejudices; the comments are for balanced reviews of films and shows. If you can't keep your hateful bigotry out of the comments, don't comment in the first place.

Like it or not, same-sex relationships are part of real human culture and everyday life (as they have been for centuries) but as of the last 20 years or so in the entire western world, they have become perfectly legal and fall under the same levels of acceptance as heterosexual relationships. Therefore, their portrayal in an everyday life context in films is merely a reflection of modern society. There is globally a huge problem with teenagers - as they realise when they go through adolescence that they're attracted to the same sex as themselves - committing suicide because of homophobic bullying and intolerance from fellow schoolchildren and even their own parents. With that in mind, perhaps the portrayal on mainstream films and TV shows of same-sex relationships as a completely normal, acceptable thing just like heterosexual relationships is actually a good thing, because it helps to normalise them without it specifically being "an agenda" or some nefarious plot to "encourage/convert children into becoming gay" - which is a massively ignorant and ridiculous viewpoint anyway, as someone's sexuality is no more a choice than their skin colour or eye colour. Why don't all you homophobes try to convert your sexuality for a week or two to being gay or lesbian? No? You'd find that disgusting, or simply couldn't do it because you're inherently heterosexual? Well, that's exactly how it is for someone who's gay or lesbian - they find the idea of personally engaging in heterosexual relationships equally repugnant, and conversion to heterosexuality equally impossible. So perhaps practice a little bit of 'do as you would be done by' or, in other words, "only ever treat others as you would have them treat you".

Strange World had the potential to be another Disney classic, but unfortunately, some problems limited my total enjoyment.

From the get-go, I need to mention that the animation is breathtaking, and is probably the best Disney has done so far. The animators got to flex their muscles with the fantastic worlds and interesting creatures. It is so flush with color and energy; it was extremely pleasant on the eyes from start to finish.

The overarching story was fun, and I enjoyed the premise of discovering a technology that is simultaneously progressing your civilization while also destroying it. It has a great message of preserving the world, even though it is extremely heavy-handed at times. The action was great, the exploration was mesmerizing, and the diversity of the world was superb. At a macro level, this movie worked for me in almost every way.

The main issues I had with this film were the characters. Individually they are all interesting and unique, even though some of them are major caricatures. But the connections between them are all over the place. A lot of the motivations the characters have are inorganic and feel forced to push the narrative of parent vs child throughout generations. This left me having very little emotions when the characters clashed in high-tension arguments which limited a lot of the impact of the film.

Although, the blue creature was cute, funny, and perfect! I loved him.
This movie had a lot going on, and it suffers for it. As a kid movie, the plot and themes were all over the place, and it was sometimes confusing for me. Despite that, it is a visual spectacle filled with many laughs and fun adventures.

Score: 67% |
Verdict: Good |
Theater Verdict: See It

The last fifteen minutes or so do redeem this to a certain extent, but otherwise it is a curiously disjointed story that seems drawn from "Island at the Top of the World" (1974) with bits of "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" (1959) and "The Lost World" (1960) thrown in for good measure. We start with the legendary explorer "Jaeger Clade" who is determined to find a way past the enclosing mountain peaks of their community. Like many a father, he drags along his unwilling son and when things come to an head, he proceeds alone leaving the younger man "Searcher" with his newly discovered crop of radioactive Brussels sprouts. Twenty-five years pass, and he has now grown up and successfully developed a farm of these particularly useful vegetables. He even has his own statue! Suddenly, though, the plants start to die and it falls to him and his own young son "Ethan" to embark on a perilous mission to the heart of the plant's root system and save it before it dies. These escapades are nicely and creatively animated with some fun to be had along the way, but there is simply too much sentiment, familial discord and cheesy dialogue to sustain this - as well as a dog that really annoys after a while. The characterisations are really undercooked and just about every box you can imagine is ticked as the story ultimately concludes with a bit of a nod to Oriental mythology. It is certainly watchable, but there is no need to shell out on a cinema ticket for it. Disney+ will do fine in due course when you can safely leave the kids to watch.

Visually wondrous but spectacularly dull, unbelievably unfunny, and lackluster from the inside out in every other aspect, _Strange World_ is a superficially stimulating with the entertainment value of a wet yet adventurous sponge.

**Full review:** https://boundingintocomics.com/2022/12/02/strange-world-review-a-mundane-narrative-nurtured-by-invigorating-visuals/

For being a Disney movie made today (2022) this is a fairly decent one. Sure, they have crammed in some of the usual woke nonsense but at least there is not really any of the blatant preaching the more extreme of Disney’s woke mob have managed to cram into things the last couple of years.

It of course helps that it is a all new story and new characters so they didn’t wokeify and ruin some of the old classics.

If one ignores the nonsense the story is pretty decent and so are the characters. Nothing to write home about but adequate. The coolest character is of course Jaeger. I quite liked him even though he sometimes was a bit dimwitted in his single mindedness. Searcher and his son Ethan are more bland and boring with one just wanting to be a farmer and the other one being the obligatory woke element in this movie.

What really makes the movie rise slightly above being bland is the absolutely magnificent scenery. It is a strange world indeed. It is strange, weird, scary and beautiful all at the same time. This creature, Splat, that Ethan eventually befriends was a nice comical element.

It is a shame though that they couldn’t create a better ending. I mean given what this strange world actually is surely there would be plenty of other options for harvesting energy instead of just more or less giving up. If the writers wanted to deliver some rubbish green message they failed miserably.

Anyway, a decent enough movie. I did enjoy watching it.