ETHAN
STRANGE WORLD
French and Belgian comics inspired the characters in Disney Animation’s Strange World, which follows three generations of explorers, including teen Ethan. “He’s designed to have more realistic proportions, in contrast to other, wiry Disney teens like Hiro Hamada or Mowgli,” explains director Don Hall. “He’s biracial, and we wanted his skin tone to reflect both his mother, Meridian, and father, Searcher, and our team worked with Black hair experts to get his locks just right.” Textiles, he adds, took a cue from woven fabrics from environments like the Himalayas, with buttons and ties instead of zippers. “Given Ethan’s journey from unsettled teen to conservationist, we opted for a kind of laid-back, ‘granola’ vibe, with his green cutoff farm pants being the only subtle clue as to his…
