Disney+ to Stream Animated Adventure Film ‘Strange World’ Beginning on Dec. 23

The holidays are about to get a little stranger on Disney+. Disney has announced that its newest animated feature “Strange World” is coming to its flagship streaming service on Friday, Dec. 23, exactly one month after its theatrical debut on Nov. 23.

The movie centers on the Clades, a legendary family of explorers who are not as effective at getting along as they are at discovering new adventures. As the family prepares to undertake a journey to a mysterious planet named Avalonia, they must set aside their differences and learn to work together. The film features an impressive voice cast, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Gabrielle Union, Lucy Liu, Jaboukie Young-White, and Alan Tudyk.

Watch a Trailer for ‘Strange World’:

The film’s streaming debut comes quite a bit earlier than The Streamable anticipated. Our prediction was that “Strange World” would come to Disney+ on Sunday, Jan. 7, but several factors combined to ensure that the film would be available to stream just in time for Christmas.

For one thing, the movie did not perform well at the box office. “Strange World” is set to lose well over $100 million thanks to its lackluster theatrical performance, according to Variety. Critics have praised the animation and visual tone of the film, but some have suggested that the plot walks on ground that has been well-trodden before.

Another factor that may have stunted the movie’s box office performance is that Disney may have trained its audiences to expect new animated films to head straight to Disney+. Movies like “Luca” and “Soul” went directly to streaming during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Disney animation films are more likely to attract the attention of families once they can be streamed from home, instead of trying to coordinate an expensive trip to the theater with the kids in tow to see them.

The move to send “Strange World” to streaming so quickly after its theatrical release mirrors the strategy Disney used with “Encanto.” That film was Disney’s 2021 Thanksgiving release, and it also struggled to gain traction in theaters before moving to streaming on Christmas Eve 2021. The good news for Disney is that after heading to Disney+, the movie became a viral sensation thanks to its songs becoming wildly popular on TikTok.

Whether “Strange World” is to garner a similar level of viral attention upon its streaming release is yet to be determined. But Disney fans won’t have to wait long to find out, as the movie is headed to Disney+ on Friday, Dec. 23.