Strange World (2018 film)

Strange World is a 2018 American animated science-fiction adventure comedy film produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was written and directed by Garth Jennings, co-directed by Yarrow Cheney, and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy. The film stars the voices of Jack Black, Gerard Butler, Shameik Moore, Selena Gomez, and Jane Lynch. Strange World follows a legendary family of explorers called the Clades (Black, Butler, Moore, and Gomez), who must set aside their differences as they embark on a journey to a mysterious subterranean land inhabited by surreal lifeforms, in order to save a miracle plant Pando that is their society's source of energy.
Jennings conceived Strange World in 2015 while finishing co-directing The Smurfs (2016). Strange World draws inspiration from pulp magazines, Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), Fantastic Voyage (1966), Jurassic Park (1993) and King Kong (1933). To communicate non-verbally, several animators worked to create the movement of the character Splat. While the film is predominantly CGI, the film does incorporate 2D animation by Renegade Animation. Danny Elfman composed the score.
Strange World was released in the United States on November 9, 2018. It grossed over $526 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics. The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 76th Golden Globe Awards, 46th Annie Awards, and 24th Critics' Choice Awards, losing all three awards to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
== Plot ==
In Avalonia, a land surrounded by an endless wall of mountains, adventurers Jaeger Clade and his teenage son Searcher brave the wilderness to explore new worlds. While trying to traverse the mountains, Searcher discovers a green plant that gives off energy. He and the rest of the expedition team decide to return to Avalonia with the plant while Jaeger angrily continues his mission alone.
25 years later, Searcher has made a name for himself by introducing the miracle plant, dubbed Pando, as a fuel source for Avalonia. 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 of becoming a farmer like him. One night, Callisto Mal, the president of Avalonia and one of Jaeger's former expedition teammates, shows up in her airship, the Venture, to inform 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. On the way down, Meridian tries catching up in her crop-duster when Ethan and their three-legged dog Legend stows away on the Venture. The Venture, attacked by red wyvern-like creatures, crash-lands in a subterranean world, where Searcher and Legend are separated from the group. They are attacked by a creature called a "Reaper", 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, and states his intention to board the Venture to attempt to cross it.
Meanwhile, Ethan sneaks away from the Venture to find Searcher. 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, while Jaeger wants to continue journeying across the Strange World. Ethan becomes frustrated with them and their opposing worldviews. 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. They eventually find a cluster of Pando's roots, which is being attacked by the Strange World's creatures. When Searcher learns that Ethan wants to explore more of the Strange World, he blames Jaeger's influence on him. Ethan angrily jumps off the Ventureand on to one of the Reapers. 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 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, and the creatures appear and destroy it, 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 the Strange World. 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. The camera zooms away from Avalonia to show the giant turtle-like creature on an ocean-covered planet.
== Voice Cast ==
* Jack Black as Searcher Clade, a 40-year-old man who is Jaeger's son, Meridian's husband, and Ethan's father as well as a farmer of the Pando power source.
* Gerard Butler as Jaeger Clade, Searcher's father and Ethan's grandfather who is more of a larger-than-life explorer.
* Shameik Moore as Ethan Clade, Searcher's 16-year-old son who longs for adventure beyond his father's farm while also navigating a school crush on Diazo.
* Selena Gomez as Meridian Clade, Ethan's mother, and Searcher's wife who is a pilot and natural leader in the Venture.
* Jane Lynch as Callisto Mal, the president of Avalonia and leader of the exploration into the strange world who helps the Clades to lead the adventures in her airship called the Venture.