'Strange World' creators explain how they're using generational conflict to move the story forward
The animated film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Lucy Liu.
Over the years, The Walt Disney Company has continued to prove that it is capable of delivering complex plots without relying solely on the usual movie tropes. Its predecessors only prove that the creatives behind the animation giant have been hard at work delivering a variety of stories while staying true to Disney's main goal: bringing joy. Despite offering a unique take on the villain, Oddworld, out in 2022, is like no other. The creators of the family-friendly animated film explain why "Oddworld" strays from "tradition" by focusing on "generational conflict" within the family as the film's main villain.
Strange World follows a family of explorers, the Clades, on a momentous journey into the uncharted territories of Avalonia. However, their differences and disagreements have begun to affect their expedition, and they must resolve outstanding issues before family conflict spoils everything. In an interview with Deadline, director Don Hall revealed that after completing Moana, he has been thinking about his next film and thinking about what kind of world he wants to leave for children: ^The director added , he came up with the "three generations" storyline Thinking of his kids and dad. "A lot of times we don't really see that. We see father and son, but I think the idea of having it really speak to three generations would be emotionally interesting."
"The idea came around 2017, I was just coming off of Moana and thinking of the next movie and what was on my mind at the time. I was thinking about my kids and what kind of world they’re inheriting, environmentally, versus what kind of world I inherited from my dad, who happens to be a farmer. That was number one on my mind, and I wanted to tell a story that spoke to that, philosophically,"
Strange World's main conflict is Searcher Clade (Jake Gyllenhaal) , Ethan Clade (Jaboukie Young-White) and Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid) can't simply last a day without arguing with each other. When asked why he chose to stay away from "traditional villains," the director explained: "The story will focus more on intergenerational conflict, and that's my choice because I think if you deal with environmental themes up front, it can be very disturbing." The antipathy is even predictable," he continued: "Certainly, we have enough of an antagonism between Jaeger and Searcher, and a buried antagonism between Ethan and Searcher. It's already there, we don't need a traditional villain. "
On the other hand, producer Roy Conley stated that the Searchers, Ethan and Jaeger represented part of the audience. "In terms of story structure, I'm going to be a little volatile here, you know - man vs man, man vs nature, man vs self - all three things play a role in the story," Conli said, adding: "I think Qui [Nguyen] and Don came up with the concept that Jaeger is the conqueror, Searcher is the controller, Ethan is the preservationist, and he knows all three This element is in everyone. I think each of these characters reflects something in each of us.
In addition to Gyllenhaal, Young White and Quaid, the film's voice actors include Gabrielle Union as Meridian Clade, Lucy Liu as Callisto Mal, Alan Tu Alan Tudyk as Duffle, Oddworld is now on Disney+ and will be released in 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on February 14.
