Disney’s Strange World (2022) arrived with a vibrant aesthetic, retro-pulp sensibilities, and a bold environmental allegory. Set in the lush land of Avalonia, the film follows three generations of the Clade family as they descend into a fantastical underground realm to discover why their crops — the lifeblood of their civilization — are dying. With imaginative visuals and commendable diversity, the film seemed poised to join the ranks of Disney’s grand adventures.
And yet, despite its ambition, Strange World struggled to resonate with audiences. Its box office performance was disappointing, and its emotional impact felt muted. Many viewers left with the sense that the film had all the right ingredients — wonder, family drama, and a meaningful message — but never found its soul.
Two major narrative missteps undermined its potential:
first, an unearned and unforeshadowed twist that broke immersion;
and second, a misunderstanding of the Hero’s Journey that robbed the adventure of emotional necessity.
The First Problem: A Twist Without Roots
In the film’s climax, the characters — and the audience — learn that the strange subterranean world is actually the interior of a colossal living creature, a giant turtle-like being upon which Avalonia rests. This revelation is meant to shock, inspire awe, and deliver a profound message about humanity’s relationship with nature.
But because no myth, symbol, or clue hinted at such a being, the twist lands like a narrative ambush. The audience isn’t invited to discover; they’re blindsided. Good twists recontextualize what came before, letting earlier mysteries click into place. Here, the lack of foreshadowing transforms revelation into confusion.
The Fix: Seed the Myth Early
The story could open with a legend: a Great Being whose slumber sustains the land, whose heartbeat feeds the soil. Jaeger Clade, the bold explorer, would dedicate his life to finding it — believing the myth holds the secret to eternal prosperity. His journey underground would be one of faith, not curiosity.
Along the way, the explorers would encounter clues — faint pulses in the terrain, bioluminescent veins, creatures behaving like immune cells — subtle hints that this world is more organism than cavern. Jaeger might even mistake massive beasts for the Great Being, only to realize later that the true creature is far grander, and they have been walking inside it all along.
When the revelation finally comes, it wouldn’t insult intelligence; it would fulfill wonder.
The Second Problem: An Adventure Without a Wound
The Hero’s Journey doesn’t begin in paradise; it begins when paradise cracks. The call to adventure emerges from trouble in the heart, from imbalance or loss that demands healing.
In Strange World, however, the Clade family’s life appears idyllic. Searcher, the son turned farmer, lives peacefully with his wife Meridian and their son Ethan. There is love, stability, and comfort — too much, in fact. When the crops begin to fail, the crisis feels external and mechanical, not emotional. The adventure becomes a mission, not a rite of passage.
To compound the issue, Meridian joins the expedition, bringing warmth, humor, and harmony into the strange world. Her presence dissolves tension before it can form. The family enters the unknown united — which means there’s nothing to repair, no emotional fracture to parallel the dying crops.
The Fix: Let Love Stay Behind
To honor mythic structure, the story needs a wound of love. Perhaps Searcher’s pursuit of safety and order has quietly drained passion from his marriage. Maybe he and Meridian have grown distant — not in conflict, but in quiet neglect. Ethan senses it, unsure which parent’s path to follow.
The failing crops then become a mirror of the family’s emotional drought — the world’s heartbeat faltering because their own has dimmed. When the expedition begins, Meridian remains behind, representing the love and wholeness Searcher has lost. Her absence creates a yearning that infuses every step of the journey.
As father, son, and grandfather descend deeper, they face reflections of their inner turmoil — stubbornness, disconnection, pride. Healing the world requires healing themselves. And when they finally understand that the creature’s ailment stems from their own exploitative ways, the resolution becomes both ecological and emotional: to save the Great Being, they must restore love, balance, and humility in their hearts.
The Mythic Truth: Inner and Outer Worlds Are One
The greatest adventures are never just about what lies beyond — they are about what lies within.
In myth, the hero’s outer quest mirrors an inner transformation. When love falters, the world sickens; when harmony is restored, creation flourishes.
Strange World aimed for this truth but missed the emotional groundwork that would make it resonate. By foreshadowing the Great Being through myth and anchoring the journey in a wound of love, the film could have transformed from spectacle into symbol — a story where healing the land means healing the soul.
Because in every true hero’s journey, paradise is not found in discovery.
It is reborn in the heart.
Thanks,
Ira