Admittedly, the idea of Charlie Kaufman writing a children’s movie about a kid afraid of the dark didn’t sound like the formula for success to me. To my delight, though, Orion and the Dark proved to be not only a unique surprise but also a truly special film layered with themes of growing up. Kaufman, along with writers Emma Yarlett and Lloyd Taylor, delivers a wholesome, exciting experience while using Kaufman’s one-of-a-kind, nonlinear style of storytelling. 

In an extended introduction, we meet Orion (Jacob Tremblay), an overthinking middle-schooler who is afraid of literally everything, including, but not limited to, murderous clowns, bees, speaking in class, talking to a girl, clogging the toilet, bullies, and the dark. 

The film’s first half follows what I naturally expected from a children’s film. Orion is visited by Dark himself (Paul Walter Hauser), who is sick and tired of Orion’s whining and screaming. Dark, wanting people to be less afraid of him, takes Orion on a twenty-four-hour journey across the world to see what Dark does. In a very Inside Out fashion, Orion meets other concept characters, including Sweet Dreams (Angela Bassett), Sleep (Natasia Demetriou), Unexplained Noises (Golda Rosheuvel), Insomnia (Nat Faxon), Quiet (Aparna Nancherla) and Dark’s nemesis, Light (Ike Barinholtz). With the help of everyone, Orion begins to be less afraid of the world around him. 

What shocked me — or maybe what I should have expected from Kaufman — was that all of this occurred in the film’s first half. At the halfway mark, the story and plot slowly become more complex, almost to the point of absurdity. We are taken into the future, where we see an adult Orion (Colin Hanks) telling this story to his daughter, Hypatia (Mia Akemi Brown), another fearer of the dark and future writer herself. Adult Orion tells the story in real-time, making things up as he goes and allowing Hypatia to give her input – so much so that Hypatia has to rewrite the ending after young Orion finds himself alone, without Dark. 

Like many of Kaufman’s other works, the film explores not only humans’ most vulnerable thoughts about the unknown but also the concept of storytelling itself. Specifically, how storytelling evolves as we pass our stories to our loved ones. The film becomes a bit absurd, and so self-reflexive that it begins to lose balance. Admittedly, the finale was a bit underwhelming, considering the second act’s build-up. However, I found that Kaufman gave just enough existential delight that the film works for both young and mature audiences. 

The film’s animated charm reminded me of another Netflix-distributed project, The Mitchells vs The Machines (2021). The combination of 2D and 3D animation, the use of the child’s sketchbook that brought his thoughts and personality to life, and the bright colors, even in the Dark, made for a treat of a watch. It’s a shame some of these animated projects go straight to streaming. Projects like this need a big screen. 

Although Orion and the Dark has its flaws, including a rather underwhelming conclusion, a slightly corny concept-to-character storyline and an overstuffing of thematic elements, I found this coming-of-age via Charlie Kaufman to be an excitingly new experience. If anything, what for Orion’s narration and inner monologue, for a children’s movie, you may see more of yourself in the characters than you think. 

Review Courtesy of Sara Ciplickas 

Feature Image Credit to DreamWorks & Netflix