Orion (Jacob Tremblay) is a young man who is terrified of practically everything, from social humiliation to more abstract fears such as the nothingness of being. During a particularly dark night in which Orion loudly curses the darkness, a personified version of Dark (Paul Walter Hauser) approaches Orion to express his annoyance that, of all the people who fear him, Orion is by far the loudest and most unpleasant.
Dark makes a deal with the reluctant Orion to accompany him for a day of his work with the other Nocturnal Entities of Dream (Natasia Demetriou), Insomnia (Nat Faxon), Dreams (Angela Bassett), Quiet (Aparna Nancherla) and Inexplicable . Noises (Golda Rosheuvel) to show Orion that Dark is not something to be afraid of.
Orion and the Dark is a 2024 animated film co-produced by Netflix and Dreamworks Animation. The film marks the directorial debut of animator Sean Charmatz, who commonly works as a storyboard artist on everything from SpongeBob SquarePants to various Warner Bros. and Dreamworks animated films. The film is an adaptation of the 2015 children's picture book of the same name written by Emma Yarlett and is adapted by noted screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, marking his second time writing for animation after 2015's Anomalisa. In essence, Orion and the Dark is a very simple and straightforward story about overcoming one's fears, but while the film presents very tired ideas, it is in the delivery of those ideas where the film truly comes to life.
While the film's animation is not given the level of detail or experimentation as something like bigger-budget productions, the use of more simplistic models takes advantage by capturing the soft, gentle appeal of a children's picture book at the same time. which incorporates 2D elements that allow for more fun, such as Orion's various flights of fancy that come to life in the form of his diary drawings that bring his seemingly endless list of fears to life. The film features animation work from Mikros, who previously worked with Dreamworks on Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, and just as that film captured the frenetic childhood energy that made the books so popular, the same process is used to capture the childish feeling of fantasy. and mystique.
Orion and the Dark is as simple a story as possible, and Charlie Kaufman's script is aware of this in more ways than one, affectionately pointing out the recurring tropes of this type of narrative (including a rather blatant reference to the endings of animated films where the characters have a dance party). I don't want to go into too much detail because part of the fun is seeing the different directions the film takes in the story, but it goes without saying that the same joy shown in the animation can be felt in both the acting and the script. an approach that was very Princess Bride in its delivery.
I really liked Orion and the Dark for its simplicity and sweetness that managed to maintain a sense of intelligence without resorting to the cynicism or smug sense of self-awareness that characterizes several Shrek clones. While Orion and the Dark isn't the riskiest animated film, there's always a welcome place for simple stories that are well made and intelligent.
Watch Orion and the Dark 2024 Trailer
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