Orion e il buio

DreamWorks Animation's most recent release follows Orion, a boy with an active imagination who faces his fears on a journey through the night with some new friends. Written by Charlie Kaufman, the mind behind "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Being John Malkovich" I was intrigued to view his first animated film. Sadly, I will admit that this was kind of a letdown in the aspect of it not feeling original whatsoever. It did however illustrate kids struggling with fear and anxiety, and ways to face such fears. An ensemble of talented actors such as Jacob Tremblay, Angela Bassett, and Paul Walter Hauser would bring much attention to any film, however they couldn't do much to save this from just being an average film. Overall, this was nowhere near DreamWorks Animation's best work but was not there worst either.

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.

I tried my best to like and enjoy this movie really i watched it from start to end.

But it will fail to deliver in so many aspects, you will find yourself struggling to connect with the story.

There is nothing much to describe except i liked the idea this movie was tryna explain childhood fears, anxieties etc etc.

First 20 mins was somewhat enjoyable then it just went down so bad after.

This movie should have stayed fantasy with all the entities as they are should have a better story, better ending that way.

Rather they made it like it's all imagination of a man telling story to her daughter, and they just making stuff up anything ridiculous goes on.

It's a 5/10 for me only because of the idea this movie could have been so much better.

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.