Walt Disney Animation Studios must have known that Strange World wasn't exactly a winner.

The film was barely promoted before making its brief cinema appearance in late November, and now it's hitting Disney+ with just as little fanfare.

Strange World's prologue is reminiscent of the Pixar classic Up - not in its emotional impact (Strange World has very little of that) - but in its celebration of old-time adventurers.

Its early design and even the film's poster call on the schlocky adventure films of the 1950s and pulp novels of journeying to new worlds and making untold discoveries.

We learn of the famed Clades, a family of explorers whose exploits - led by father Jaeger - are second to none.

Jaegar Clade and crew, including reluctant son Searcher, are determined to find a way to help their home of Avalonia survive by making it past the treacherous mountains which surround the township.

But on one particular fateful trip, the group come across an intriguing plant with electrical properties which all but Jaeger believe can help Avalonia move forward. So they return and Jaegar journeys on - and is never heard from again.

Fast forward a couple of decades and Searcher is now a beloved figure who has transformed Avalonia into a prosperous city with all the mod-cons one could hope for. He's a farmer, producing his miraculous plant, and is married to a talented pilot, Meridian, and they share a 16-year-old son, Ethan.

Searcher grew up always feeling abandoned by his father's desperate need for adventure, so he tries to be as present and involved in his own son's life as possible.

But the good times can't last forever, and the Clades find themselves called to go on a new adventure - to find out what's causing their miracle crop (which powers their entire civilisation) to die out.

This is where things really kick into gear, as Searcher, Ethan, Meridian, their three-legged dog, and president Callisto Mal journey further than anyone has before and arrive in a place filled with creatures and plants they've never seen or imagined.

The art and design of the place is stunning, with vibrant colours, unexpected shapes and beautiful lighting.

Disney hits the nail on the head again with an odd little creature sidekick to capture the kids' interest. This time, instead of a talking snowman, dumb chicken or judgemental chameleon, it's a weird blue jelly-like blob called Splat.

Splat rolls around like a ball with tentacles, has no discernible face or way of speaking, and yet is easily the most enjoyable character in the film.

While there's no questioning the visual beauty Strange World has to offer, it's the story that doesn't quite land.

In a surprise to no one, the Clades and their adventuring crew find the long-lost Jaeger in this - ahem - strange world and the good old father-son conflicts of the past are brought right back to the surface.

Particularly concerning to Searcher is the new relationship between his son and father. Ethan has taken a liking to this adventuring business, and seems more at home in the foreign environs than anyone else.

The film has a strong conservation/sustainability message which becomes overwrought when the reality of their world is revealed in the final act. If you weren't already lost by the tired father-son dynamic, the ham-fisted approach to allegory should do you right in.

But all this will probably go over children's heads. They'll like Splat and the pretty colours.

Strange World features the voice talents of Jake Gyllenhaal and Dennis Quaid (father and son again after 2004's always enjoyable The Day After Tomorrow) as well as Gabrielle Union, Lucy Liu, Jaboukie Young-White and Karan Soni.