Disney has announced its next animated feature will be titled “Strange World.” The original action-adventure is scheduled to debut around Thanksgiving 2022.
The studio on Thursday also shared concept art and plot details, but stopped short of revealing the film’s voice cast. “Strange World” centers on the legendary Clades, a family of explorers whose differences threatened to topple their latest and most crucial mission. On Instagram, Disney Animation teased that “Strange World” “journeys deep into an uncharted and treacherous land where fantastical creatures await.”
Don Hall, whose credits include “Big Hero 6” and “Raya and the Last Dragon” is directing “Strange World.” He says the movie is a nod to pulp magazines, popular fiction from the first half of the 20th century that was printed on inexpensive wood pulp paper.
“I loved reading the old issues of pulps growing up,” he said. “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.’”
Qui Nguyen, who co-wrote “Raya and the Last Dragon” with Hall, is returning to co-write the screenplay for “Strange World. Roy Conli (“Big Hero 6,” “Tangled”) is producing.
Though the release calendar could change before then, “Strange World” is currently set to premiere in theaters on the same day as “The Fabelmans,” a semi-autobiographical drama about director Steven Spielberg’s upbringing in Arizona.
Disney has come to own Thanksgiving at the box office, with family-friendly animated movies like “Frozen,” “Coco,” “Moana” and “Frozen II” becoming massive commercial successes around the holiday. This year, Disney opened “Encanto,” a musical fable about a magical Colombian family, around Turkey Day. By COVID-19 standards, “Encanto” is faring well at the box office with domestic ticket sales at $60 million and global revenues nearing $120 million.