Why 'Chonky' And 'Juicy' Became The Key Words To Describe Disney's Strange World [Exclusive]
How do you describe a world that doesn't actually exist? That is a question that could be hard to answer for any creative, but it was one that loomed over the production of Walt Disney Animation's upcoming film, "Strange World." After all, it centers around a family of explorers that are tasked with exploring a world beyond their comprehension. One might say that this world is a bit on the strange side.
However, that titular strangeness wasn't the focal point for the animation team on the movie. In an interview with /Film's Vanessa Armstrong, Production Designer Mehrdad Isvandi and Head of Environments Sean Jenkins revealed some key terms thrown around when creating the various environments. Armstrong herself specifically described much of the film's look as ... juicy.
"Ironically it's not the first time I've heard juicy. It came up during the production as well," said Jenkins. "It really describes the feeling and the richness of the place."
Just how influential is the word "juicy" in the creation of this brand-new planet? According to Isvandi, it helps describe just how different this new world is from the characters' home world of Avalonia, a place characterized by rigid lines and shapes.
"In the Strange World, you have lots of organic and bubbly shapes," he said.
A more than substantial ship
The city of Avalonia, where the adventure begins, might be rigid, but it is also pretty massive. The same can be said for a critical ship called the Venture. While this ship might be big, it is also full of helpful tools that help our central characters conduct their expedition through the Strange World. If you have been online far too much over the past few years, you might recognize the word Jenkins used to best describe the Venture.
"We had this word 'chonky,' which really was the design language for Avalonia — just really heavy and substantial," he said. "And so the Venture is really chonky, too. And I think that helped with the overall shape of it. It's not super streamlined. It's more substantial and could go anywhere."
If you've seen the previously released trailer for the film, you can definitely describe the Venture as one chonky ship. However, much like the rest of the film, it definitely looks like something that from science fiction movies from the 1950s. However, the production team actually got an essential helping hand to ensure it effectively combined pulp and real-life efficiency.
"I think [visual development artist] Kevin Nelson started the design and we did and then [production designer] Cory Loftis nailed it," said Isvandi. "They are both great artists and Cory is a ship engineer. So he knew details that I would never think of about how things should work."
If you want to see these juicy worlds and chonky ships, see "Strange World" in theaters on November 23.