Avalonia (Disney+): a great Disney adventure… without breath or thrill

It is now a tradition: as Christmas approaches, Disney offers its great animated film for the whole family. But 2022 definitely remains a year apart since the studio has chosen to release the film in France directly on the Disney+ streaming platform. A decision taken to challenge the new media chronology, which the firm considers obsolete.

Latest Disney production, Avalonia, the strange journey (Strange World in original version) promises a family adventure, action and a mysterious and sensational world, against a backdrop of ecological intrigue. The film will be available very soon on Disney+.

The plot of the film

The Clades, a family of explorers, discover an unexplored world full of dangers and populated by fantastic creatures. Alas, the quarrels between its various members threaten to derail their new expedition, yet by far the most crucial.

Our review of Avalonia

Once is not custom, this new Disney moves away from the lucrative “princess film” which made its reputation to touch the adventure. A genre that the studio has historically struggled to tame, as evidenced by the failures of Treasure Planet (2002) and Atlantis, the lost empire (2001). So, Avalonia, the strange journey can he ward off the curse? Unfortunately no.

However, the beautiful ambitions are there and the fantasized universe of the film turns out to be beautiful, vibrant and alive. By situating his story in an imaginary society in the grip of an energy crisis, Avalonia also poses a rather clever starting point, which really reveals its full potential in discovering the unexplored world at the center of the story. An imaginary universe, with its crazy and unbridled fauna and flora, which astonishes, amuses and disorients.

The world of Avalonia has its aesthetic and imaginative successes, and several scenes are visually stunning. Directors Don Hall (The New Heroes) and Qui Nguyen deploy 1000 ideas to surprise and amaze us in each scene… and it works in the early stages. Because once the surprise of the discovery has passed, the film marks time and shows the weaknesses of its scenario.

The intergenerational story at the heart of the film – dealing in particular with ecology and patriarchy – quickly stalls. Above all, the characters are purely functional and evolve too little to be endearing. The other mess is in the final twist, yet one of the film’s best ideas. A “twist” which gives a whole new dimension to the adventure, but unfortunately arrives too late to catch up with our interest.

Avalonia, the strange journey ultimately fails to ward off the Disney curse for adventure movies. Without really knowing who it is aimed at (children, adults?), the film is (too) broad and lacks bite in its writing and its two-dimensional characters. A waste as he manages to create a vibrant imaginary world, without forgetting a great visual success. Fun at first, adventure Avalonia ultimately turns out to be nondescript. Shame.

Avalonia, the strange journey will soon be available on Disney+.

• Watch the trailer:

Where to see Disney animated classics?

On the Disney+ streaming platform, of course! Of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) to Raya and the last dragon (2019), find almost all the animated films from the Disney studios on the streaming service, as well as original programs (short films, documentaries, making-of).