Gabrielle Union, Dennis Quaid and Lucy Liu Join Cast

Following on from 2021, a year with many notable releases and even an Oscar-winning project in Encanto, Walt Disney Animation Studios is set to unveil yet another treat with an all-new adventure, Strange World. Set to be the 61st animated feature released by Disney, the cast of the animated productionwas recently announced at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

The studio had previously announced Jake Gyllenhaal will plays Searcher Clade, a farmer who finds himself embarking on an adventure into a strange world. Alongside Gyllenhaal in this all-star cast, we also have Dennis Quaid as Jaeger Clade. Jaeger is no simple farmer like his son, he is more of a larger-than-life explorer. Jaboukie Young-White will voice Searcher’s 16-year-old son, Ethan Clade who desires an adventure away from his comfort zone. Meridian Clade, natural leader, wife to Searcher, and mom to Ethan will be voiced by Gabrielle Union. Lucy Liu will voice Callisto Mal, leader of the explorers into the new world as well as head of Avalonia.

Strange World introduces us to the family of the Clades, the greatest family of explorers ever known. They’ve built their family name on the back of daring adventure, but there is one who is not suited to this life. Searcher Clade, a member of the family would rather live the quiet and simple life of a farmer than being drawn into the dangerous adventures his family so thrives. But some things cannot be avoided. Searcher and the Clades are soon drawn into the exploration of a magical world. Now the aim is to see a land of swinging starfishes and walking mountains, and not to disregard the giant octopuses that present a mortal danger to the family. Searcher like most others is astounded by this new world, “I’m not an explorer, I’m a farmer” he says in the movie trailer.

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A movie is only as good as the creatives behind its production and in this case, Disney has called on a couple of its veterans Roy Conli and Jennifer Lee to handle production. Don Hall will direct Strange World after his work on other movies like Moana and Raya And The Last Dragon. The movie is written by Qui Nguyen who also worked on Raya. In an interview with Variety, director Hall revealed what stood as the inspiration for the movie, he says:

“I loved reading the old issues of pulps growing up… They were big adventures in which a group of explorers might discover a hidden world or ancient creatures. They’ve been a huge inspiration for ‘Strange World.”

Strange World will be released on November 23, just in time for Thanksgiving.