I’m trying to watch more kid-friendly movies lately, but have been struggling to find anything.
Apparently, late winter is a bit of a desert when it comes to those sorts of films.
However, when “Orion and the Dark” popped up on my Netflix home page last weekend, I leapt at the chance to catch it.
After all, who doesn’t remember being scared of the dark as a kid?
While the overall story is aimed at children, adults can appreciate it, too.
Plus, there are a few jokes that can resonate with an older audience.
Orion and the Dark is an animated fantasy adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation, animated by Mikros Animation, and distributed by Netflix.
It was directed by Sean Charmatz (in his feature directorial debut) and written by Charlie Kaufman, based on the children’s book of the same name by Emma Yarlett.
The film stars the voices of Jacob Tremblay, Paul Walter Hauser, Angela Bassett, Colin Hanks, Natasia Demetriou, Golda Rosheuvel, Nat Faxon, Ike Barinholtz, Aparna Nancherla, Mia Akemi Brown, Shannon Chan-Kent, Shino Nakamichi, Ren Hanami, Matt Dellapina, and Carla Gugino.
Clocking in at 93 minutes long, the movie is rated Y7, which is designed for children ages 7 and older.
Eleven-year-old Orion (Tremblay) has a seemingly never-ending list of anxieties and irrational fears, such as bullies, the ocean, cell phone radiation, murderous gutter clowns, falling off tall buildings and the fear of being rejected by his school crush, Sally (Nakamichi), at an upcoming planetarium field trip.
But of all his fears, the thing he’s the most afraid of is what he confronts on a nightly basis: the Dark (Hauser).
One night, Orion becomes startled by a sudden blackout and, when he frantically curses the dark, the embodiment of his worst fear appears before him, having grown irritated of hearing Orion complain about him, and offers to help the reluctant boy conquer his fears by showing him the benefits of darkness.
During their travels, Dark introduces Orion to his other associates; Sleep (Demetriou), Insomnia (Faxon), Quiet (Nancherla), Unexplained Noises (Rosheuvel), and Sweet Dreams (Bassett).
The others scold Dark for bringing Orion, knowing too well of his neuroticism.
Dark can convince them to let him tag along to witness their work, to which they reluctantly agree.
As they travel, Dark shows Orion what each of the night entities do.
Quiet removes surrounding sounds, bringing nothing but silence; Sleep induces people to sleep; Insomnia induces anxiety in those who are sleeping, waking them up in the night; Unexplained Noises makes various noises outside homes; and Sweet Dreams creates dreams.
However, things start to go wrong when Orion, due to his own anxiety, interferes with the other entities’ jobs.
Eventually, Orion warms up to Dark and they start to become friends, and the young boy helps the night entities in their tasks.
During a break in China, Orion learns that Dark has a nemesis named Light, who brings daylight in the mornings while Dark brings night-time in the evenings.
Continuing their journey, Orion inadvertently remarks that Light seems much more preferable to Dark, as Light makes him feel safe and warm.
From there, Dark and the other night entities have some personal processing to go through while Orion reconciles his fears, too.
I think it’s a pretty decent flick for parents and kids alike that can provide some good talking points and positivity.
If you’re even a little curious at how the film plays out – head to Netflix!
