Orion and the Dark Review: Be Afraid on Missing Out of this Movie!

Copyright © Netflix, DreamWorks Animation


Title: Orion and the Dark
Director: Sean Charmatz

Based on: Orion and the Dark by Emma Yarlett

Release Date: February 2 2024


    Whoever made this movie is more than just fighting pandas or flying dragons! While "Kung Fu Panda 4" is the trending buzz from DreamWorks Animation, it is time to talk about DreamWorks' other animated offering, "Orion and the Dark", a new Netflix movie based on Emma Yarlett's successful children's book of the same name. This new film focuses on Orion as he befriends a dark entity named Dark, as well as some other entities, to overcome his fear of nighttime in an exciting journey. With its creativity and messages being clumped together into one movie, "Orion and the Dark" is a simple and fun adventure for both kids and adults to enjoy.



Summary

    11-year old Orion (Jacob Tremblay) has many fears, from murderous clowns to heights, but his biggest (and most relatable) fear is the dark. One night as he was about to go to sleep, he meets Dark (Paul Walter Hauser), a dark (get it?) entity who takes him places to shows the wonders of nighttime. He does this in order for Orion to overcome his fears. Along the way, he meets other nighttime entities - like Sweet Dreams and Insomnia, who are also part of every sleep. Throughout this dreamlike adventure, Orion learns valuable lessons like overcoming his fears and getting used to the unknown.


Reasons

    The core strengths are the story, messages, and its characters. First, it uses relatability about Orion in the first act to get the audience to keep going on watching the movie. As the movie continues, the movie teaches how to face fears that are normal parts of the world. It does so in an whimsical adventure format to be both fun and deep all at once. The characters were also a big highlight of this movie. We have Orion, a boy who is afraid of the dark, and Dark, who takes him on the journey to overcome them. They were both relatable and likable as role models. Even the other nighttime entities (like Sweet Dreams) were fun as well. The fact that they are personifications of nighttime experiences is a creative idea if it needed more characters included in the journey. 
    Some more strengths would be the animation and world-building. The Garfield-esque art style and the vibrant color palette (combined with the magic) are what make the movie look appealing to kids as well as adults. Every character design is expressive and meaningful like Orion's everyday man appearance and Dark's scary but soft duality. Even some show hidden meaning like Sweet Dreams who looks sparkly and enchanting to complement the occurrences of dreams. Quiet is another one of these who is a mouse to hide the simile of quiet as a mouse which was a genius idea. Its world-building is rich and visually attractive enough to give us an emotion. For example, the city gives off a nostalgic mood thanks to its colors for both daytime and nighttime. Another example is the nightmare sequences which gives us both funny and scary moods.
    While the movie is amazing (without a doubt), there are some minor flaws to discuss about from it which are only from the story. They are the predictable plot points and the human side characters. Some of the story elements can be predictable such as the other nighttime entities quitting Dark and the plot structure of overcoming fear. It can be easy said that the latter is justified because of how this premise is barely even used in kids media other than Uncle Grandpa (which also teaches about facing the dark in one episode) and Monsters Inc. For the latter, because it only focuses on Orion's journey, these people were somewhat blank states other than being their respective personalities. We do not learn much about Sally or Richi Panichi but at the end of the day, they are not major.



Conclusion

    "Orion and the Dark" may be kind of scary at first but in reality, it is overall a simple and fun nighttime adventure for every age to enjoy! Its biggest strengths are the story and messages which can make everyone overcome their fears (including the dark) and be more brave out there at night. The vibrant colors and animation make the movie whimsical and appealing to kids. Well, not only to kids but also to adults, especially those who get pleasure from animated movies like this. Sure, it does have predictability and blank states of characters but that does not stop it from being a magical ride! Remember, before you go to sleep today, go join in on this journey! You will overcome your fear of missing out (aka...FOMO) on this movie!


    Score: 9.5/10



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