Orion and the Dark has secured 100% score in Rotten tomatoes.
The film is based on a children's book by Emma Yarlett and is set to premiere on the streaming platform Netflix this weekend. It centers on an anxious school kid (voiced by The little Mermaidby Jacob Tremblay) who encounters the physical embodiment of his greatest fear: the dark.
First-time director Sean Charmatz directs from a screenplay written by Charlie Kaufman, whose previous credits include Adaptation, Being John Malkovich and I'm thinking of ending things. The voice cast also includes the likes of Angela Bassett, Bridgerton's Golda Rosheuvel and Black BirdPaul Walter Hauser.
The film has secured a 100% rating based on 10 reviews at the time of writing – and here's a rundown of what critics have been saying:
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“Despite its 3D CGI good looks, the film has an indie, hand-crafted feel that fits well with Kaufman's twisty, slightly meta story. Young children may struggle with the film's sudden narrator shifts, but the clever explorations of her fear and emotions are clear – cut, wrapped tightly in an epic adventure that pits the misunderstood Dark against Light's gleefully annoying nemesis.
“Sprinkled with movie winks (Werner Herzog makes an appearance, as does the Poltergeist closet that still haunts your dreams), this is a clever all-ages charmer.”
“It is a sweet fairy tale, to which we owe it monsters Inc and the entire Pixar canon, but it wasn't predictable with other borrowings (Back to the Future, Inception), as well as the various metaplastic levels of narration”.
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“To its bones, this is a Kaufman joint, and while it has an unusual sweetness – there's a downright wholesome father-daughter relationship – it's full of existential dread, big ideas and a strong resistance to anything too neat, too Hollywood. That a major studio allowed someone like him into the safe haven of children's movies should be celebrated; kids should be exposed to more of his dark material.”
“If Inside Out could be described as Pixar doing Charlie Kaufman, the new animated film Orion and the Dark is essentially Charlie Kaufman doing Pixar. Technically, the film comes from rival studio Dreamworks and makes premiering on Netflix.The spectacle, the anthropomorphization of abstract concepts, and its ambitions to tug at the heartstrings of children and adults alike, the play certainly feels like something out of the house that Woody and Buzz built.
“And part of its charm is seeing the mad genius behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich trying to work within the confines of the all-ages formula without being completely consumed by it.”
“While it may not be as visually stunning as something like Fantastic Mr. Wes Anderson's Fox and Isle of Dogs or Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are, Orion and the Dark fall into this line of films by notable filmmakers who strive to present difficult and complex ideas to younger audiences.
“It's a delightfully clever and ambitious story that's equally powerful for children and adults.”
Orion and the Dark premieres this Friday (February 2) on Netflix.
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