Disney has had a... fascinating year in 2022, hasn't it? They began this year by releasing easily the worst movie of the year, and they have been making misstep after misstep. From mishandling Pixar releases to releasing subpar trailers, it really does seem like Disney was in a... whatever kind of state this year. Of course I would be remiss if I did not bring up the fact that Bob Chapek was let go as CEO and Bob Iger came back, I think that is just the peak of how strange this year was for the Disney corporation. I guess it wouldn't be so rough if they released something that was a total "Wow" movie, something that was really great. It really feels like the best movie they released all year was The Bob's Burgers Movie, which wasn't bad, but like, if that is the best movie you release all year, than the year really is not your best. However, the latest movie in the Disney animated canon has been released. This is the high point of Disney's releases, because this is the one that everyone can get into, kids, parents, animation fans, the lot, everyone can be excited for a release in the animated canon, so how was Strange World?
It was okay.
This is not a Raya and the Last Dragon okay, I did enjoy this movie, but this just kind of felt like a standard animated movie. It's the kind of movie I feel is the standard of what is expected of Disney movies today. Remember Encanto? That was a really good movie, it felt different from the rest of Disney's catalogue even though it really wasn't that much different. This is the opposite end of Encanto, it feels the same as other Disney movies, but it has some things that make it stand out. I've heard this movie described as "By the Numbers" and I do have to agree, not that I could really predict every point this movie was going to hit, but like, nothing was surprising. I feel like the best movie to compare this to would be Klaus, which was a good movie, but very predictable. While this movie wasn't as predictable, it also wasn't as good. Klaus got away with the predictable plot because of the great characters and unique animation, and since Strange World doesn't really have either, you aren't really left with a whole lot.
Not that the characters are bad, they're just kind of standard. They kind of spell out the arc the father is going to have to go through, they spell out the arc his son is going through, and they do these arcs well, but like, if you're going to do something that's been done a thousand times, you should aim for better than "done well". Like that Scrooge movie I talked about in my last First Impressions, we've seen A Christmas Carol done dozens of times, so it decided to do something a little bit different, and I think it succeeded, this one feels like its going through the motions. It's story, characters and themes are not wholly unique, and that isn't bad, because they are done well, but that is all they are, done well.
I think what made Encanto really work was that it was more of a twist in expectations, there was no real villain, there was no grand adventure that needed to be taken, there was no huge climax, there was no big reveal. Encanto wasn't atypical of Disney's output but it was different, Strange World really isn't, especially since this movie has a reveal. Disney's reveals have usually been for their modern villains, like Hans, Bellwether and so forth, but those aren't the only reveals, and Strange World's reveal is... I don't want to say it's stupid, but like, I feel like you could have told this story without the big reveal.
So, where do I stand on Strange World? It is a good movie, but like, it just kind of fits in with the big conglomeration of mush that is 2022's animated feature line-up. It really does seem like a lackluster year when a reanimated project and two movies that were film festival releases from last year warrant spots on the "Best of the Year" list. 2022 has been the year where the bad releases weren't that bad, and the good releases weren't that good. Like, what movies could be on my bad list? Luck, Pinocchio: A True Story, DC League of Super Pets, Paws of Fury, none of these movies are that bad, like they're bad but they are mostly the bland and boring kind of bad. Meanwhile the good movies mostly ended up being the "it's okay" kind of good, and Strange World really falls into that category. Do I recommend it? On some level, yeah, but I can't say that it's a strong recommendation, it's the kind of recommendation where I say, "If you have some time to kill and want something that isn't bad, check it out." That really has been the theme for 2022's animated movies this year, hasn't it?
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