Avalonia, l'étrange voyage

I'd categorise this as a B movie, as in one that should've just been released on a streaming platform or straight to budget dvd. It's not particularly bad but it's a huge drop off in the quality you expect from them.

The characters are not ones you'll remember or think about again, they tried for a stereotypical cute one but that was wide of the mark. They handled the same sex relationship in the most natural non forced way so props for that and the inclusion of the 3 legged dog was sweet.

It was a strange plot, beautifully animated and designed but it felt like it was trying to say something but couldn't work out exactly what it was, it's too dull for small kids and not engaging for adults so maybe 9-13 sorta age?

This movie is a the epitome of cliche . We felt the same when we left the theater as we entered it. We came with our children full of hope for a nice family film, however, about halfway in, we just wanted it to end. The movie didn't make us laugh or make us cry, it didn't move us at all. We felt like empty plastic throughout the film. As much as we wanted to feel something, the movie went nowhere. It was formulaic and predictable. The characters are shallow and unrelatable. The animation is nice as well as the action, but it was lacking a story line . If we could ask for a refund, unfortunately, we would. Definitely not recommended.

... and while I think they did a great job building a world, with a lot of cool recombinations of old sci-fi concepts, the actual characters don't feel at all well sketched out and the themes and plot are remarkably thin. Like it's an okay film but it's a bit below the normal standards of Disney Animation.

The dialogue is definitely too much on the nose, and it feels pitched a little too young for what they're going for.

The main character arc of the movie is reminiscent of (and far inferior to) Mitchells vs The Machines to me, which can't be a great help. Not saying that there can only be one "quirky teen has strained relationship with father" movie but it's definitely a detriment when I'm thinking about a film that does that much better and with a whole lot more emotional complexity and heart while watching this.

Also, does anyone else feel like the sheer quantity of movies that are coming out right now that are about intergenerational trauma is getting a bit tiresome?

The environmental message is fine, but honestly it's mildly horrifying how culturally we're already at the point where kids movies are pitching "you should be willing to accept a much lower standard of living to save the planet." Not totally this movies fault, but that is where we are.

The opening sequence is really nice though, I'll say that.

Disney has been taken over by incompetence it seems. There's no story or creativity here. I realize not every film is going to be fantastic but this must not have been screened anywhere. I'm not even sure it should have been released on streaming because it essentially devalues the subscription. Everything was forced. I should say something nice about it so I'll say the voice acting was okay. Now they just need to hire some writers. My kids and I gave up halfway through. They were excited to see a new movie available, but I didn't read the reviews beforehand. A lesson I won't soon forget. I bet soon you'll be able to take the synopsis and hand it to AI and get a better result than what they came up with here.

I honestly don't get all the hate for this movie, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's definitely not fantastic but it's not terrible neither, it's a better effort from Disney compared to recent outings. Yes the characters aren't as well developed as they could have been, the story is just a rehash of everything that's been done before, the ideas don't really go anywhere, and certain situations just conveniently resolve themselves without much effort. But what did you expect from Disney these days? Just turn off your brain and keep expectations low and you'll find there's a lot to like; I love the Star Trek vibe, the creatures in the strange world were pretty cool, the blue blob was a lot of fun, the three-legged dog was awesome, I'm not sure why he was there and why he had to be three-legged but what the heck, he's a good boy! Just like the movie, it's flawed and you're not sure why it's there, but it's enjoyable.