50 Fun Facts About Strange World

Who directed the film?

He had co-directed Moana and Big Hero 6; Qui Nguyen wrote it and co-directed.

Who voices Searcher Clade?

His casting was announced with the teaser trailer on June 6, 2022.

Who voices Jaeger Clade, the larger-than-life explorer?

The rest of the main cast was revealed at the Annecy festival eleven days after Gyllenhaal.

Who voices Ethan Clade?

Ethan is Walt Disney Animation's first openly gay main character.

Who voices Meridian Clade, the pilot?

She takes over the Venture and persuades President Callisto to help in the climax.

Who voices Callisto Mal, the President of Avalonia?

Callisto was once one of Jaeger's expedition teammates.

What is the name of the miracle plant that powers Avalonia?

It is named after a famous aspen forest in Utah.

The plant's name comes from a forest in which US state?

The real Pando is a single clonal colony of quaking aspen.

What surrounds the Clades' homeland on every side?

Jaeger spends 25 years trying to find a way through from below.

Avalonia's name derives from which legendary island?

The land is designed in warm, nostalgic colours to contrast with the reds and magentas below.

What is the name of President Callisto's airship?

Ethan and the dog Legend stow away on it.

How many legs does the Clades' dog Legend have?

Disney artist Burny Mattinson suggested adding a dog during a story meeting.

What breed is Legend?

Legend and Splat are credited as playing 'themselves'.

What does Ethan name the amorphous blue creature he befriends?

Its wordless communication was modelled on the magic carpet in Aladdin.

Splat's non-verbal communication was modelled on which earlier Disney character?

Several animators worked specifically on Splat's movement.

What are the creatures called that attack the expedition underground?

They turn out to be the giant creature's immune system.

What do Searcher and Ethan realise Avalonia sits on?

They have been travelling through its body, and Pando is an infection attacking its heart.

How long has Jaeger been missing when the story jumps forward?

He has been trying to cross the mountains from below, blocked by an acidic ocean.

What blocks Jaeger's attempts to cross the mountains from underground?

He hopes to board the Venture to get across it.

What energy source does Avalonia switch to a year later?

Pando had to be destroyed to save the creature's heart.

What is the name of Ethan's crush, later boyfriend?

Jonathan Melo voices him; Kardez and Azimuth are Ethan's friends.

Alan Tudyk's pilot character Duffle nods to his role in which TV series?

Like Hoban 'Wash' Washburn, the pilot does not survive the flight.

Lonnie Redshirt's surname references a trope from which franchise?

Red-shirted crew members famously die insignificantly in the original series.

What is the name of Jaeger's ex-wife, who remarried during his absence?

Her new husband is called Sheldon; she never speaks in the film.

In which year did Don Hall first conceive the film?

It was right after he finished co-directing Moana.

Hall's frequent partner Chris Williams left the project to direct which Netflix film?

He departed Disney in November 2018.

Hall pitched the concept as Indiana Jones meets which comedy?

The generational-family idea came with what he called environmental overtones.

Which Disney veteran suggested giving the Clades a dog?

The suggestion became Legend.

Which 1864 novel was among the film's stated inspirations?

Fantastic Voyage, Jurassic Park and King Kong were cited too.

What kind of publications were the film's chief visual inspiration?

Hall grew up reading old pulps about explorers finding hidden worlds.

Which 2D animator's work is incorporated into the mostly CGI film?

Eric Goldberg and Mark Henn added further 2D animation in certain scenes.

Who composed the score?

It was his third film with Don Hall after Winnie the Pooh and Big Hero 6.

What is the title of the song on the soundtrack, performed by James Hayden?

The score album came out the same day as the film.

Writer Qui Nguyen compared what aspect of the film to The Sixth Sense?

He wanted viewers to look back and see that the clues to the twist were there all along.

The film was the first to carry Disney's logo marking which anniversary?

Christophe Beck arranged a new 'When You Wish Upon a Star' for it.

Why did the film skip theaters in France?

It went straight to Disney+ there; Russia's release was pulled over the invasion of Ukraine.

Where did the film premiere on November 15, 2022?

It opened wide on November 23, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

What was the film's worldwide gross?

Analysts estimated a loss of up to $197 million for Disney.

How much did the film make in its three-day opening weekend in North America?

The five-day Thanksgiving total was $18.6 million, far below projections of $30–40 million.

Which film beat it to number one on its opening weekend?

Disney thus held both top spots that Thanksgiving.

What CinemaScore grade did the film receive, the lowest for Disney Animation since 1991?

It was the first Disney Animation film to score below A-.

What approval rating did the film settle at on Rotten Tomatoes after its 2022 release?

The consensus called it a representation milestone that offered little audiences had not seen.

When did the film arrive on Disney+?

It was the platform's most-streamed film upon release, according to FlixPatrol.

Roughly how many minutes of the film did US viewers stream in the week of Dec 26–Jan 1?

It placed third on Nielsen's chart that week.

Which earlier Disney film did The Hollywood Reporter compare its painterly look to?

Both lean into a sci-fi bent with a painterly landscape.

Roughly what was the film's production budget?

Its failure was blamed partly on Disney having sent Soul, Luca and Turning Red straight to streaming.

Which institution did the filmmakers visit for research?

They also consulted climatologists, paleontologists, biologists and a farmer.

Which colours did the filmmakers lean into for the world inside the creature?

They deliberately avoided earth tones to contrast with warm, nostalgic Avalonia.

How old is Ethan Clade?

Searcher is 40 and wants his son to take over the farm.

Who voices Caspian, the nerdy expedition member?

Soni is best known as Dopinder, the Deadpool cab driver.