Disney's Strange World Lives Up To Its Name In First Teaser Trailer

Walt Disney Animation Studios has finally released a teaser trailer for the upcoming "Strange World" feature, and it is mighty strange indeed. 

The film premieres November 23 and will be the 61st animated feature released by Disney (via Inside the Magic). While few details about the cast or plot of "Strange World" have been revealed, Don Hall (of "Moana" and "Raya and the Last Dragon" fame) and Qui Nguyen (a writer for "Raya and the Last Dragon" and "The Society") will co-direct. Roy Conli ("Big Hero 6") will produce. IMDb also lists Alan Tudyk ("Encanto," "Resident Alien") as part of the cast and Ian Gooding ("Wreck-it Ralph") and Larry Wu ("Raya and the Last Dragon," "Big Hero 6") as art directors. 

In "Strange World," Jake Gyllenhaal will star as Searcher Clade, part of a family of adventurers who venture into a bizarre place of even more bizarre monsters and odysseys. However, those creatures are just a sprinkle in the deluge of oddities that appear in this 90 second trailer. 

The trailer starts in black and white, showing the Disney castle across a shimmering pond with the classic firework arch. A small spaceship flies across the frame, and the trailer gets suddenly — and thoroughly — off-kilter. 

A narrator reads scrolling text that invites viewers to "prepare yourself for a journey beyond which is possible ... travel past space and time to a place of infinite mystery unlike anything you've ever seen." 15 seconds in, the trailer morphs to vivid color and we follow the spaceship as it flies low across a landscape that looks like a cross between "The Land Before Time" and Cloud City from the Star Wars universe. There are a handful of humans and one dog, but they are far outnumbered by creatures that do not exist on earth. In several spots the flora and fauna are indistinguishable, like when an outcropping breaks off from a cliff and saunters away, or a blob of water yelps and flees after Searcher Clade gives it a gentle poke.   

The strange world of "Strange World" has a strong reddish-purple hue, and movements are smooth and gentle, almost as if the creatures are moving through water. The effect gives it vibes of inner-body exploration films like "Innerspace" or "Osmosis Jones." The visual style is classic modern Pixar-Disney, however, and distinctly reminiscent of "Raya and the Last Dragon" or "Big Hero 6" — no surprise given the creative staff behind "Strange World."

"Strange World" will soar into theaters November 23.