Orion and the Dark (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – Follows Orion, a young boy who is afraid of heights, pets, and rendered nearly catatonic by the worst of all perils: the dark. The Dark takes Orion on a nighttime trip to prove to the youngster that the only thing to fear is fear itself.

My Take – While Netflix has rightfully earned a reputation of releasing big budgeted star studded duds, but without a doubt, their animated features catalogue is just getting mighty impressive with every new release.

Their latest, a co-production with DreamWorks, the studio that has brought to life the worlds of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, Trolls, and How to Train Your Dragon, some of the strongest franchises in the animation landscape, is just as interesting, layered and ambitious the streaming giant has been attaching itself to.

Marking the directorial debut of animator Sean Charmatz, whose experience includes story boarding works on SpongeBob SquarePants, The Lego Film 2: The Second Part (2019) among others, the film is an adaptation of the 2015 children’s picture book of the same name by Emma Yarlett and is adapted by noted screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich), who marks his second time writing for animation following Anomalisa (2015).

Sure, at its core it is a very simple and straightforward story of overcoming ones fears, but while it features well-worn ideas it’s in the delivery of those ideas where the film really comes to life.

Resulting in a sweet-natured little tale, indebted to the whole Pixar canon but saved from being predictable with other borrowings, as well as its various Meta fictional levels of storytelling. You can certainly feel Kaufman’s neurotic touch on the material. This will undoubtedly appeal to children, and their parents will still find something peculiar to be entertained by.

The story follows Orion (voiced by Jacob Tremblay), an 11-year-old average boy, who is simply attempting to survive elementary school. He shows up every day, does everything possible to get good grades.

However, Orion has a huge secret, he’s afraid of everything. He’s afraid of the bullies at school who will pick on him, he’s terrified of talking to his crush, and he cannot even think about getting near a dog. If there’s something to be scared of, either rational or irrational, it’s on Orion’s radar and in his book of fears.

But, he’s most afraid of the dark. Even though his parents leave the door to his chamber unlocked at night, he continues to illuminate the space with his assortment of nightlights, making the evening as bright as the day. One night, when Orion should be sleeping, he’s confronted with his worst nightmare, the Dark (voiced by Paul Walter Hauser) himself, who voices his annoyance that out of all the people afraid of him the boy is by far the loudest and most obnoxious.

But in order to help Orion overcome his fear, Dark offers to join him for one night to see what a night is like for Dark. Reluctant at first, Orion agrees. Although he soon regrets his decision, his outing takes him on a wonderful journey of discovery.

What starts off as a film about how every aspect of life can be scary quickly morphs into something that celebrates the unpredictability of it whilst exploring how balance is essential. The friendship between Orion and Dark throughout the film is an endearing and entertaining one to watch as the two grow closer to one another and develop conversations regarding their insecurities and openness towards their feelings.

Despite having very different personalities, it’s enjoyable to watch the two onscreen and see how natural and mature their dialogue evolves throughout the film, which is refreshing for an animated family film to tackle openly.

Orion meets the other night entities as well: Sleep, Insomnia, Sweet Dreams, Quiet, and Unexplained Noises. Although a young audience might not entirely understand these characters, the film tells its story in such a unique manner that it will appeal to youngsters even if they don’t fully understand what it is about. And it helps that he characters are funny and likeable. Yes, the sudden non-linear nature of it might seem jarring, but it makes beautiful sense at the end.

Sean Charmatz‘s direction keeps things moving and manages to find an animation style that feels fairly original and more importantly, really nice to look at. In a perfectly fitting fashion, its greatest moments of visual beauty come from the scenes at night, which is essentially the majority of the film.

The use of more simplistic models is put to strong use by capturing the soft and gentle appeal of a children’s picture book while also incorporating 2D elements that allow for more playfulness such as Orion’s various flights of fantasy that come to life in the form of his journal drawings bring to life his seemingly never-ending list of fears.

Of course, the message in the film is universal, even if the delivery is not something we’ve all experienced. Not everyone might have experienced a fear of the dark, but each of us has experienced anxiety and nerves about something. We’ve all had to conquer those fears in some way or another or become ruled by them, which is the precipice that Orion is standing on.

The film serves as an excellent example for younger generations that with a bit of effort, we can overcome our anxieties. This film will be the prime film to watch for any child who is afraid of the dark because they’ll be able to look up to both Orion and Dark, who prove that there is nothing to be afraid of.

Voice performance wise, Jacob Tremblay is really good at portraying Orion’s fear of everything, and Paul Walter Hauser is immaculate as Dark, turning a concept that’s scary to so many into a gentle giant with his own fears and doubts. Colin Hanks as the adult Orion shares great chemistry with Mia Akemi Brown, who voices his daughter Hypatia.

In other roles, Angela Bassett, Natasia Demetriou, Ike Barinholtz, Golda Roshuvel, Nat Faxon, Aparna Nancherla, Matt Dellapina and Carla Gugino are delightful. On the whole, ‘Orion And The Dark’ is a charming and inspiring tale for all ages.