Orion e il buio

This Netflix production, scripted by Kaufman is formulaic but manages to work. If the animation is nothing special, the script is better than what drives most animated movies aimed at a young audience. It is a sweet-natured little tale, indebted to Monsters Inc and the whole Pixar canon but saved from being predictable through different borrowings, as well as its various metafictional levels of storytelling. It's nicely personal as his spin on a Pixar film, but the downside is that he can't help imitating too many of them at once - which makes it equal parts sweet and hectic, and not a little overambitious.

My Rating : 6.3/10.

Orion and the Dark is a surprisingly heavy and layered animated film until you see who has a screenplay credit and then it all makes sense. 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.

Jacob Tremblay is almost too good at portraying Orion's fear of everything early on but that actually makes his newfound love of adventure all the more enjoyable. Paul Walter Hauser makes Dark so loveable, turning a concept that's scary to so many into a gentle giant with his own fears and doubts.

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.

A unique journey into darkness, personifying the darkness, allowing us to see reflections of real life within it.

Darkness is no longer merely the absence of light but has transformed into an emotional entity. It blends into the protagonist's life in a mysterious guise. This novel concept not only offers solace to those who fear the dark but also prompts a reexamination of our ingrained dread of it.

In terms of the plot, it profoundly interprets the significance of the balance between two sides. There is no absolute good or bad; light and darkness are interdependent and complementary. The subtlety of this balance, precisely the coexistence of these opposing elements, constitutes a colorful world.

Orion and the Dark is a sweet and charming film, dealing with anxiety in a unique cross generational way. There are moments where it almost captures peak Pixar (think Up), which is a first for Dreamworks. A very good family film, that will age wonderfully as your family grows up. Especially good for families with ND children / parents or families with children / parents who suffer from anxiety.

The sudden non-linear nature of it might seem jarring, but trust me - stick with it - it makes beautiful sense at the end. Voice acting was on point too... not celebrity ridden like Dreamworks films tend to be.

Loved it (and my kids did too).

We all have fears that we struggle with throughout our lives. Perhaps the biggest contribution to overcoming these fears was the support of our parents. The things that scared Orion and his narrative were very attractive and made us feel close to him.

But darkness has been the common point of most people at a young age. What we always had in mind from darkness was a scary and emotionless creature with a strange voice. But the story we had here was exactly the opposite of our childhood imagination. Darkness is a reliable, kind and helpful friend.

The border of creativity in the screenplay was not limited to darkness, and the night team of Darkness was really pleasant. This team included everything that happened to us at night and with extremely creative methods, they can make the night painful or relaxing for us. I had a lot of trouble with insomnia :)

This is a movie that appeals to everyone, regardless of age. From the beginning of the story to the end, the audience was accompanied by the story moment by moment, and both adults and children could communicate with it. Thanks for creating a safe space for families to enjoy a movie together.