6.3
A journey deep into an uncharted and treacherous land, where fantastical creatures await the legendary Clades—a family of explorers whose differences threaten to topple their latest, and by far most crucial, mission.
Jake Gyllenhaal
Searcher Clade (voice)
Dennis Quaid
Jaeger Clade (voice)
Jaboukie Young-White
Ethan Clade (voice)
Gabrielle Union
Meridian Clade (voice)
Lucy Liu
Callisto Mal (voice)
Alan Tudyk
Narrator / Radio Host 1 / Duffle (voice)
Jonathan Melo
Diazo (voice)
Abraham Benrubi
Lonnie Redshirt (voice)
Karan Soni
Caspian (voice)
Adelina Anthony
Pulk (voice)
Nik Dodani
Kardez (voice)
Francesca Reale
Azimuth (voice)
Emily Kuroda
Ro (voice)
Reed Buck
Rory (voice)
Katie Lowes
Radio Host 2 (voice)
LaNisa Renee Frederick
Client #2 (voice)
Dave Kohut
Client #3 (voice)
Alice Kina Diehl
Client #4 (voice)
Director
Don Hall
Head of Story
David G. Derrick Jr.
Screenplay
Qui Nguyen
Story Artist
Burny Mattinson
Story Artist
Amy Henkels
Story Artist
Hannah Leung
Story Artist
Carrie Liao
Story Artist
Teny Issakhanian
November 23, 2022
6
The last fifteen minutes or so do redeem this to a certain extent, but otherwise it is a curiously disjointed story that seems drawn from "Island at the Top of the World" (1974) with bits of "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" (1959) and "The Lost World" (1960) thrown in for good measure. We start with the legendary explorer "Jaeger Clade" who is determined to find a way past the enclosing mountain peaks of their community. Like many a father, he drags along his unwilling son and when things come to an head, he proceeds alone leaving the younger man "Searcher" with his newly discovered crop of radioactive Brussels sprouts. Twenty-five years pass, and he has now grown up and successfully developed a farm of these particularly useful vegetables. He even has his own statue! Suddenly, though, the plants start to die and it falls to him and his own young son "Ethan" to embark on a perilous mission to the heart of the plant's root system and save it before it dies. These escapades are nicely and creatively animated with some fun to be had along the way, but there is simply too much sentiment, familial discord and cheesy dialogue to sustain this - as well as a dog that really annoys after a while. The characterisations are really undercooked and just about every box you can imagine is ticked as the story ultimately concludes with a bit of a nod to Oriental mythology. It is certainly watchable, but there is no need to shell out on a cinema ticket for it. Disney+ will do fine in due course when you can safely leave the kids to watch.