Strange World 4K 2022 Ultra HD 2160p

A family of travelers sets out to explore a mysterious world inhabited by fantastic creatures. However, during the expedition, the family members can't stop quarreling, which threatens to derail their important mission.

Strange World 4K Review
The country of Avalonia is surrounded on all sides by high mountains. Twenty-five years ago, an experienced adventurer Jaeger decided to lead an expedition that ended when his son, Sörcher, found a pando plant capable of generating energy for the entire city. In the modern world, the fruit begins to die; the man decides to deal with the problem and travels to the underworld, where he meets his missing father.
"Strange World" is a new work by Disney Studios, inspired by retro fiction ("King Kong," "Primeval") and stories from pulp magazines. In 1896, Frank Muncy created the format: he converted a teen publication into a collection of adventure stories for adults and decided to print the texts on low-quality paper. At first, works of various genres were represented, but by the early 1910s thematically oriented collections began to appear.

The animation was directed by Don Hall and Ki Nguyen, who had previously worked together on Raya and the Last Dragon. The author's handwriting is evident in the new film: the parents, along with their son Ethan and a three-legged dog, find themselves in a fantasy setting. The screenwriters build the dramaturgy on the family's lack of understanding, caused by a reluctance to copy the scripts of previous generations.

Surcher tells his son Ethan virtually nothing about Grandpa Jaeger's exploits, for he fears the boy will become an exact copy of the wayward old man and abandon the family. Surcher puts the safety of his relatives first, so he does not want to take the teenager with him on the mission. But it is Ethan, who sneaks onto the explorers' transport, who turns out to be the most important link in the plot. The creators emphasize the importance of believing in the loved ones, because sometimes their sincere wishes may not be heard.

Ethan's dissent is expressed in his views, feelings, and plans for life. As hard as it is to accept the divergences, family members must support each other first - and Disney does not refuse to talk directly about current issues.

A farmer's journey to another world to discover the causes of an impending catastrophe is reminiscent of "Interstellar." Like Christopher Nolan's film, there are no overt antagonists in "Strange World," and most of the conflicts are based on opposing views. The adventure becomes a revelation due to the lack of knowledge about the vastness of the underworld.

The animators have taken a detailed approach to illustrating the richness of the strange world: the territory is inhabited by colorful creatures and plants that pose a danger to explorers. Under such conditions, the main goal of the characters becomes the search for harmony with the environment. As in Ethan's favorite card game, the characters need to get rid of the habit of killing monsters and try to find a common language with the creatures. The cartoon's main plot twist, in which the strange world turns out to be just part of a larger ecosystem, is also impressive.

Despite its potential, however, the film debuted quietly, becoming one of the most financially unsuccessful in recent years. "Strange World" was released on Thanksgiving Eve, grossing a modest $27.8 million at the box office over the holidays. The failure is attributed not only to the constant controversy over the production's appearance on the online service, where the animation would arrive 45 days after its premiere, but also to a weak marketing campaign, much of which was conducted shortly before release.

"Strange World" is one of the most underrated projects of the year and worth watching for the sake of quality animation and a curious exploration of the relationship between man and nature.