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Ms. Fenris Watches "Strange World"
2 years ago
As my youtube feed starts to fill with people taking the piss out of "Peter Pan and Wendy", I've found myself shaking my head and saying "Come on Disney... the problem isn't that people hate diversity and gender equality, it's that you're trying to make old, racist and sexist stories acceptable by today's standards. Whatever you do, they're not going to feel natural. Stop updating/remaking old stuff, and make something NEW!"
But then I remembered that I watched 'Strange World' and I didn't like it, so, I guess I'll never be pleased.
Let me slow down a little there. When I say I didn't like Strange World, I don't mean I didn't like it in the same vitriolic way that I didn't like something like, say... Looks down the list of other things I've talked about watching ...Disney's Jungle Cruise, which, yes, that was also something new (kind of), but I fuckin' hated it because it was confusing and dumb. Strange World actually ALMOST worked, and it's kind of hard to articulate why it didn't. No one, single thing LEAPS at me as something I can level my finger at and say "SIN!"
Strange World started off in a stylish way that grabbed my attention, playing itself up as a classic pulp adventure. I thought the environment of the inner world was interesting, and there was a lot of cool possibilities with the whole 'Here's this new POWER SOURCE that's given us neat, new technology!' that fits in well with a pulp. And I love pulp adventures.
So why didn't I like this?
Watching Strange World with my wife, I think at some point we just started saying to one another, ironically, "I WONDER IF DA ISSUE IS THAT THE SONS DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE THEIR PARENTS, BUT THE FATHERS BOTH WANT THEIR SONS TO BE LIKE THEM". You know. In a silly way. ...Because the issue was so super obvious.
...Aannnnnd... I dunno. That's the amount of depth this movie seemed to have, was a ham-fisted lesson about "You gotta let people be who they want to be". Kind of.
I guess that 'kind of' is the sin I can hold aloft to criticize this movie with. It KIND OF does things. The central conflict doesn't REALLY relate to the interpersonal conflict of the characters. The side-characters KIND OF have their own little arcs. Kind of. There are obstacles and problems to overcome, kind of. Nothing that's really too much of a biggie.
Towards the end of the movie, when they made the realization about what the twist was that everyone had figured out before even starting the movie, I found myself craving a BAD GUY. You know, a greedy town mayor, who was like "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RAINFOREST, WE NEED THESE BRUSSEL SPROUT BATTERIES TO KEEP MAKING MONEY." But instead we had a nice asian-ish(?) lady who just wanted to do right by her people, wasn't convinced at first, but then did become convinced like "oh okay I was wrong, sure, sure, let's totally do the right thing".
I know that's what people talk about a lot with this new era of disney, is the complete lack of real villains, and this felt particularly poignant here, in a movie that presented itself, aesthetically at least, as a pulp adventure, which should be all about two-fisted, gunslinging action, some bad guys to sock in the face, and a doomsday plot to foil! I ain't sayin' emotion and inner turmoil can't be the 'villain' of a story, but... Well, maybe there's a good reason why no one remembers this movie, but that Kingpin motherfucker Jack Horner from Puss in Boots has become an instant meme classic.
So, yeah, I dunno. Strange World. It didn't quite land for me. This is probably my most rambling movie review, because I don't have anything truly poignant to say, beyond "Well, I'm glad they tried something new, but it wasn't that good I guess, sssssssso......"
But then I remembered that I watched 'Strange World' and I didn't like it, so, I guess I'll never be pleased.
Let me slow down a little there. When I say I didn't like Strange World, I don't mean I didn't like it in the same vitriolic way that I didn't like something like, say... Looks down the list of other things I've talked about watching ...Disney's Jungle Cruise, which, yes, that was also something new (kind of), but I fuckin' hated it because it was confusing and dumb. Strange World actually ALMOST worked, and it's kind of hard to articulate why it didn't. No one, single thing LEAPS at me as something I can level my finger at and say "SIN!"
Strange World started off in a stylish way that grabbed my attention, playing itself up as a classic pulp adventure. I thought the environment of the inner world was interesting, and there was a lot of cool possibilities with the whole 'Here's this new POWER SOURCE that's given us neat, new technology!' that fits in well with a pulp. And I love pulp adventures.
So why didn't I like this?
Watching Strange World with my wife, I think at some point we just started saying to one another, ironically, "I WONDER IF DA ISSUE IS THAT THE SONS DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE THEIR PARENTS, BUT THE FATHERS BOTH WANT THEIR SONS TO BE LIKE THEM". You know. In a silly way. ...Because the issue was so super obvious.
...Aannnnnd... I dunno. That's the amount of depth this movie seemed to have, was a ham-fisted lesson about "You gotta let people be who they want to be". Kind of.
I guess that 'kind of' is the sin I can hold aloft to criticize this movie with. It KIND OF does things. The central conflict doesn't REALLY relate to the interpersonal conflict of the characters. The side-characters KIND OF have their own little arcs. Kind of. There are obstacles and problems to overcome, kind of. Nothing that's really too much of a biggie.
Towards the end of the movie, when they made the realization about what the twist was that everyone had figured out before even starting the movie, I found myself craving a BAD GUY. You know, a greedy town mayor, who was like "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RAINFOREST, WE NEED THESE BRUSSEL SPROUT BATTERIES TO KEEP MAKING MONEY." But instead we had a nice asian-ish(?) lady who just wanted to do right by her people, wasn't convinced at first, but then did become convinced like "oh okay I was wrong, sure, sure, let's totally do the right thing".
I know that's what people talk about a lot with this new era of disney, is the complete lack of real villains, and this felt particularly poignant here, in a movie that presented itself, aesthetically at least, as a pulp adventure, which should be all about two-fisted, gunslinging action, some bad guys to sock in the face, and a doomsday plot to foil! I ain't sayin' emotion and inner turmoil can't be the 'villain' of a story, but... Well, maybe there's a good reason why no one remembers this movie, but that Kingpin motherfucker Jack Horner from Puss in Boots has become an instant meme classic.
So, yeah, I dunno. Strange World. It didn't quite land for me. This is probably my most rambling movie review, because I don't have anything truly poignant to say, beyond "Well, I'm glad they tried something new, but it wasn't that good I guess, sssssssso......"
They've grown complacent.
For example the Lion King reboot is flat and the expressions are completely lost.
I'm sure you don't need any examples, but I'll throw out an old standard: Catholic Priest. Imagine who would be happy and who wouldn't if that was re-interpreted for modern audiences.
Is the dependence on these magical electric plants an environmental message? Maybe we shouldn't grow complacent because a short-term solution works in the face of a bigger problem? Strange World replies with a noncommittal shrug.
Does a parent placing an undue burden of expectation on a child cause lasting emotional harm? Is it necessary sometimes to have conflict within a family? Is it a parent's fault for passing their trauma on to their child through the lens of not being like their own parents? Strange World gives a resounding "Eh."
Is idolizing a hero only to discover they may be a deeply flawed human being a recipe for disaster? Does avoiding talking about your problems make things worse? Strange World would like you to know that these things could happen, maybe.
Just...movie, commit. Say something. Make a statement. Please.