Revealing What Went Wrong With Disney's "Strange World" Movie | the disney food blog (2024)

The Walt Disney Company has made a name for itself as a powerhouse of entertainment.

Whether that’s with theme parks, books, movies, or a whole litany of other departments, there’s no denying what an impact the company has had on entertainment. But, even the best fall down sometimes, and Disney took quite the tumble with the release of the filmStrange World. Why didn’t this animated film take the world by storm likeFrozenorEncanto? Whatreallywent wrong withStrange World?

Strange World is abouta family of explorers — the Clades — who “attempt to navigate an uncharted, treacherous land alongside a motley crew that includes a mischievous blob, a three-legged dog, and a slew of ravenous creatures.” The family has to overcome their differences as they explore a — you guessed it — strange world (see what Disney did there?).

Jake Gyllenhaalvoices the main character, Searcher Clade, and other voice actors includeDennis Quaidas Searcher’s father, Jaeger;Jaboukie Young-Whiteas Ethan Clade;Gabrielle Unionas Meridian Clade; andLucy Liu as Castillo Mal. Star-studded cast, right? The movie is directed by Don Hall, co-director Qui Nguyen, and produced by Roy Conli.

Here’s a trailer for the film:

But, despite sounding like a classic Disney adventure tale,Strange Worlddidn’t find the same commercial success as what we’re used to seeing from the studio. While we might not know for certain, there are a few reasons why this may be the case.

Box Office Results

Strange Worlddidn’t start off too strongly at the box office. It premiered over Thanksgiving weekend 2022, and despite having the holiday to bolster sales, it brought in just $18.6 million over the five-day domestic opening (Variety.) In comparison,Encantogrossed $40.1 million over the same five-day period in 2021 when it was released in theaters.

This meant the studio stood to lose $100 million or more on the project, and even months later,the film has only brought in $73.6 million worldwide since its premiere. Of course, much of this could be because the movie theater industry has still struggled to bounce back since the pandemic, but films likeLightyearreleased by Disney in the same year didn’t suffer quite as badly.

It’s also worth noting that by this point, many Disney fans had become accustomed to having movies premiere directly on Disney+.

The low box office results could also be because Strange Worldwasn’t released in multiple markets — geopolitical tensions kept it out of China and Russia, while markets like the Middle East, Malaysia, and Indonesia wouldn’t show it because the movie features a gay character.

Little Advertising

Disney is no stranger to hyping things up — we just finished celebrating Disney World’s 50th anniversary for 18 whole months, and the parks start celebrating Halloween in August. Not only that, but when it comes to promoting films, Disney usually knows what it’s doing. So why wasn’t there much advertising forStrange World?

Sure, Disney put out trailers and promoted the film a bit, but for an original title and concept like this, there weren’t as many elements of marketing we’re used to seeing. According to Salon, “the studio did the bare minimum” to promoteStrange World.

Political Controversy

After Lightyear was banned in select countries due to a same-sex kiss (that had previously been removed and put back into the film) Disney was probably prepared for at leastsomebacklash from critics once it was revealed thatStrange World’smain character, Ethan Clade, was Disney’s first openly gay teen animated character.

In addition, Clade’s parents form an interracial marriage. There’s no real way to discern whether or not this had anything to do with the film finding little success, but with Disney branching out to more inclusive content, it’s possible that this may have been a factor.

Disney may traditionally be thought of as a family or kids’ brand, but the brand has catered to all ages and demographics since its creation. Walt Disney is credited with saying, “You’re dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway.”

No Typical Disney Tropes

What many have noticed aboutStrange World— and why it may have been a flop — is that it doesn’t follow the typical Disney animated film formula. Sure, there’s plenty of action and adventure, but it’s missing that cast of charismatic ensemble characters that help bring levity and depth to a film.

You also won’t find a loveable heroine lead. Other Disney films have been successful without one (Wreck-It Ralphcomes to mind) but many critics have found this to be a potential reason the film wasn’t embraced — there was no designated hero or cute mascot.

And finally — it wasn’t a musical. Not all Disney movies have to be musical to be successful, but history has shown that it certainly helps.Strange Worlddidn’t have any bangers like “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” or “Let It Go,” so that could have ultimately led to its demise as well.

Did you seeStrange World? What did you think? We may never know what really went wrong with this movie, but you can be sure we’ll keep an eye out for news about the next big hit!

As always, stay tuned to DFB for the latest Disney news.

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Have you seenStrange World? Let us know in the comments.