What Rotten Tomatoes Reviews Are Saying About Strange World
Disney is releasing "Strange World" for 2022's Thanksgiving season as the film comes to theaters on November 23. The film follows the famed family of explorers, the Clades, as they journey to the strange and mysterious planet Avalonia. They must set their differences aside and embark on the journey of a lifetime as they explore the uncharted land and the creatures within it. The "Strange World" trailer had fans picking their jaws up off the floor, so anticipation is high for the Disney film.
The film takes its inspiration from science-fiction movies of the past and the pulp novels that inspired those as well as another surprising inspiration. "Strange World" features an all-star cast of Jake Gyllenhaal and Dennis Quaid, reuniting playing a father/son duo as they did in 2004's "The Day After Tomorrow," as well as stars Jaboukie Young-White, Gabrielle Union, and Lucy Liu. Disney regular Alan Tudyk voices several characters as well.
The movie reteams director Don Hall and screenwriter Qui Nguyen, who previously worked together on the Disney feature "Raya and the Last Dragon." Nguyen also co-directs "Strange World," making his directorial debut. He is best known as the playwright behind "She Kills Monsters." Hall is best known for having directed "Big Hero 6" and for co-directing "Moana." Reviews for the highly anticipated family film are beginning to pour in gearing up for the Holiday weekend.
The early reviews for Strange World are positive
"Strange World" is being released in time for Thanksgiving in 2022, and the reviews for the film are coming in. Looking at Rotten Tomatoes, the early buzz is very positive for the upcoming movie. It is currently sitting on a 73% fresh rating. "Strange World" is releasing on a rare weekend when all of the other wide releases also coming out have fresh Rotten Tomatoes scores.
Currently, "The Fabelmans" leads the pack with the highest Tomatometer score with a 95% fresh rating. Following closely behind is Netflix's buzzy sequel "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" with a 93% fresh score. The next highest rated is the Timothée Chalamet starring cannibal love story thriller "Bones and All" with an 87% fresh rating, followed by the Jonathan Majors starring war epic "Devotion" with an 80% fresh score.
While in fifth place in terms of scores, the 73% fresh rating "Strange World" has received is nothing to balk at. It just means audiences have a lot of great, varying entertainment to choose from this holiday weekend.
One top review on Rotten Tomatoes from The Hollywood Reporter hailed "Strange World" "has the makings of a new classic." The high praise doesn't end there. Variety said, "It's the characters as much as the environment that make this vibrant, 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'-style adventure movie colorful and diverse in all the best ways." The splashy, vibrant universe depicted in the film is all over the marketing for the film, so it should pull in audiences seeking visual stimulation this holiday weekend.
Even the negative reviews aren't very harsh on Strange World
The Los Angeles Times cited the dynamic between Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal's father and son characters as a high point of the film. They said "Strange World" "Tackles father-son relationships and the idea of legacy with an ecological, environmentalist twist." While the idea of dealing with environmental issues in films like this isn't breaking new ground, it sounds like the film has found a fun and clever new way to present these issues to the audience.
Looper's own review of the film was very positive as well. "It offers entertainment and inspiration; people will hopefully leave this film caring more about each other and their world," the reviewer wrote. While most of the reviews for the film are positive, there were a few negative "splat ratings" from a few top critics.
The Guardian wrote in their 2/5 review of the film, "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." Paste Magazine wrote in their slightly positive 6.6/10 review, "With muddled themes and slight characters, remnants of the old dime magazines coordinate to bring 'Strange World' down on the wrong side of familiar."
Disney released the similarly fresh-rated "Frozen II" on the same weekend in 2019 to great success. So Disney is certainly hoping to repeat the pattern. While it's hard to tell with COVID-era box office results, along with the film's eventual Disney+ release, if "Strange World" will have the same pull with audiences not being based on an existing IP. It sounds like the film is successful, for the most part, in its storytelling, so hopefully, that will compel audiences to theaters for this rollicking sci-fi adventure.