Parents Beware of Strange Worldview in STRANGE WORLD
By Movieguide® Staff
Historically, the Thanksgiving 5-day opening weekend has boasted box office successes in the family-friendly, animated movie genre, with movies like FROZEN, TOY STORY, MOANA, TANGLED and more.
Even in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and low box office numbers, THE CROODS: A NEW AGE opened to $14.2 million.
This year, Disney plans to premiere their latest animated adventure, STRANGE WORLD, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, and Gabrielle Union.
However, families should avoid STRANGE WORLD this Thanksgiving due to its strange worldview.
STRANGE WORLD sacrifices a compelling story for its intensely progressive agenda, and proves that Disney is out of touch with its main audience; children and families.
If the movie’s many ideological issues were not enough, many of the action scenes and monsters are a lot more frightening than what families have grown accustomed to with Disney movies.
A portion of Movieguide®’s review reads:
STRANGE WORLD is a new animated movie from Walt Disney Animation about a legendary explorer family, the Clades. Jaeger, the father, is obsessed with his legacy and wants him and his son, Searcher, to be the first explorers to reach the other side of the mountains that surround their homeland, Avalonia. However, due to his father’s obsession, they part ways. Searcher decides to return home with a new plant that he discovered in the mountains called pando. The plant is a breakthrough of technology and a statue is erected next to his father in honor of his discovery. However, when the pando crops begin to die, Searcher and his family are flung into a mission to save their home. As they travel through a strange new world beneath Avalonia, they discover the truth of their family legacy.
STRANGE WORLD has beautiful animation and a world that is clearly inspired by Jules Verne’s ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth.’ However, these similarities do a disservice to the movie, as the only thing truly surprising about the movie is it’s boring script and contrived characters that serve an agenda rather than a heartfelt and compelling story.
The world around Searcher, Jaeger, and Ethan is the most compelling character, and even that is marred but its connection to false religious imagery; reminiscent of the Iroquois creation myth or the Hindu god Vishnu, about a giant tortoise with the world on its shell. The nod to false religion reflects the movie’s lack of direction, which is also present in the dull script and shallow character arcs. The movie has more to say about the dangers of fossil fuels and the LGBT agenda than it does about the Clades, Avalonia, or themes with any substance.
While the visuals will intrigue younger minds for a time, STRANGE WORLD has little ground to stand on and topples due to a wobbly worldview, lack of good characters, and the weight of its progressive agenda. Movieguide® advises caution for younger audiences due to its worldview and ideological misfires, false religious elements, and some action sequences and monsters that could scare younger children.
Secular outlets are not impressed with Disney’s latest outing either, with top critics calling it “dull, clunky, half-baked, and disappointing.”
Despite its inclusion of progressive characters, a homosexual relationship between the youngest of the movie’s central stars, Ethan Clade, and a strong environmental message, critics found STRANGE WORLD forgettable in the long list of Disney blockbusters.
The Guardian’s Cath Clarke wrote:
The clunky script feels like it’s been re-drafted and re-drafted to the point of incomprehension – blowing any chance of conveying a message. However well-meaning, it makes for a surprisingly dull watch. That said, my five-and-three-quarter-year-old (and clearly a few other younger people in the cinema) were a bit scared by some of the dicier moments of action-adventure peril.
Slant’s critic Derek Smith added of the movie:
While Strange World’s examination of generational tension is tender and inspiring, as well as nicely tied to its theme of the necessity of adapting to changing times, the film’s sci-fi elements and environmental message are more half-baked in their execution. The late-film revelation that takes its cues from an old Iroquois creation myth, in particular, is less mind-blowing than bizarre—a left turn that’s never sufficiently addressed by the characters for the remainder of Strange World. Like the seemingly incomplete creatures in the underworld, you could say that the film’s frustratingly unfocused script could’ve used another pass.
Disney could have taken cues from their earlier animated adventure, LIGHTYEAR, which also pandered to the LGBT agenda, ostracizing their biggest audience and disappointing at the box office.
Read Also: LGBTQ Ideology Fails To Support Lackluster LIGHTYEAR
STRANGE WORLD’s problems is another example of a bigger issue transpiring at Disney.
Movieguide® recently reported on the change from Bob Chapek to Bob Iger as CEO of The Walt Disney Company:
Former CEO of The Walt Disney Company Bob Iger will return to the company after Bob Chapek’s short tenure as CEO comes to a swift end.
The change comes after abysmal fourth-quarter earnings for the company.
“We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic,” Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board for Disney, said in a statement according to CNN. “The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the Company through this pivotal period.”
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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