Strange World (2022)
A Disney original story.
In Avalonia, a land surrounded by an endless wall of mountains, Jaeger Clade and his son Searcher are adventurers who brave the wilderness to conquer the wall of mountains and explore new worlds (“They’re The Clades”). While trying to traverse the mountains, Searcher, whose interest lies in botany, discovers a green plant that gives off energy. Searcher and the rest of the expedition team decide to return to Avalonia with the plant while Jaeger angrily continues his mission alone.
Twenty-five years later, Searcher has made a name for himself by introducing the miracle plant, dubbed Pando, as a fuel source for Avalonia which advances technology in Avalonia tremendously. He and his wife Meridian are Pando farmers, while their son, Ethan, has a crush on his friend Diazo and chafes at his father's expectation that he will become a farmer as well.
One night, Callisto Mal, the president of Avalonia and one of Jaeger's former expedition teammates, shows up in her airship, the Venture, informs the Clades that Pando is losing its power and asks Searcher to help find the cause. He joins an expedition to travel into a giant sinkhole, in which the roots of Pando have been located. When Ethan stows away on the Venture with their dog, Legend, Meridian chases after them in her crop-duster to find him. When Meridian reaches the Venture, the group is attacked by red wyvern-like creatures and crash-lands in a subterranean world, where Searcher and Legend are separated from the group.
Searcher and Legend are attacked by creatures called "Reapers", but are rescued by Jaeger, who has been living underground all these years. He has been trying to cross the mountains from below, but is blocked by an acidic ocean called the Burning Sea, and states his intention is to board the Venture to attempt to cross it. Meanwhile, Ethan sneaks away from the Venture to find his father. He befriends an amorphous blue creature, naming it Splat, before being reunited with Searcher, Legend and Jaeger. They are attacked by more Reapers, but are rescued by Meridian and Callisto and return to the Venture.
Searcher insists on completing their mission to rescue Pando, while Jaeger wants to continue journeying across sub-Avalonia. As both Jaeger and Searcher attempt to bond with Ethan, Ethan becomes frustrated with them and their opposing worldviews. The Venture reaches the Burning Sea and with the help of Splat, is able to navigate across. After another wild encounter, Searcher and Jaeger finally have a heart-to-heart talk and realize that they do respect each other's goals in life. Eventually they find a cluster of Pando's roots, which is being attacked by the creatures of sub-Avalonian.
After Searcher learns that Ethan wants to explore more of sub-Avalonia, he blames Jaeger's influence on him. Frustrated with Searcher, Ethan jumps off the Venture and on to one of the flying sub-Avalonia creatures. Searcher follows him aboard a small flying vehicle, but as they are reconciling, they realize that they have passed through the mountains to the ocean beyond, where they see the eye of a giant turtle-like creature. The two realize that Avalonia is on the creature's back, and that they have been traveling through its body, meaning that the Reapers and all the other creatures are its immune system. Seeing that Pando is an infection attacking the creature’s heart, they head back to inform the expedition team that Pando must be destroyed, but Callisto has them locked up to prevent them from stopping the mission, while Jaeger furiously sails off to see this giant creature for himself.
After Legend and Splat free the family, Searcher and Ethan head to the creature's heart to clear a path for the Reapers, while Meridian takes over the ship and convinces Callisto to help. Jaeger returns, and with his help, they break through Pando, allowing the creatures to destroy Pando, bringing the heart back to life and saving the land.
One year later, Ethan is in a relationship with Diazo as they and their friends collect resources from sub-Avalonia and clean up the remaining dead Pando roots; Avalonia has shifted from Pando energy to wind turbines; Jaeger revisits his ex-wife Penelope, who has remarried during his absence; and Searcher and Jaeger's relationship has improved.
TRIVIA
Visual Style
The filmmakers and animators reached out to many different medical experts, scientists, and biologists to inform their creative decisions in how they designed the creatures and landscapes of the Strange World. They did a lot of research into the different cells of the body and how the organs function.
The turtle, in many cultures, is a common concept for the world. While based on the turtle anatomy, the Strange World also incorporates other species such as insects into it’s design, allowing the filmmakers and animators to pick and choose what to adapt for the film.
Different areas seen in the film include
The Lungscape contains alveoli and bronchiole trees.
The design of the Burning Sea represents the stomach and stomach acid which was based on acidic lakes.
The up and down canyons represent the liver.
The creatures of the film:
Slug Bus (G. gobulus) which moisten the environment by excreting mucus.
Poot Pickle (C. pepsis) which live in the Burning Sea.
Filterlope (F. Antaenis) which filter and clean with their long antennae.
Reaper (S. Macrophus) represent macrophages.
Scouts (L. Langerganus) represent dendritic cells.
Pterodactyl represent killer T-cells.
Nub McNubbins (S. Nubnubis) represent stem cells.
Transportasaurus (S. Transportis) transport S. nubnubis.
Rock Turtle (I. Globulinus) represent B-cells.
Deleted Scenes
Meridian’s backstory is revealed. She was a stunt pilot who loved to fly in a group called the Lightning Lynx, however an unfortunate crash that she barely walked away from left her so scared to fly that she hadn’t gotten up in the air since then. This makes her going after her family a triumphant victory over her past trauma.