Existentialism in children-targeted films isn’t a new concept. Why, Pixar managed to craft their entire identity around exploring themes deemed too difficult or deep for most pre-adolescent minds. But this latest film is not from Pixar. The company’s inconsistent competitor, Dreamworks, has decided to have a crack at the ol’ therapy approach with this latest adaptation of Emma Yarlett’s slyly coveted self-help book for small children.
Don’t let the primary target audience sway you away; this film still manages to pack plenty of introspection for even the most cynical of adults. A large part of this is due to the writing prowess of Charlie Kaufman, a writer who has made a niche for himself for bringing to life allegorical tales of his own woes through films like Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. An odd pairing, for sure, but one that works quite well. It’s a film that teaches kids the importance of not being so fearful and challenges those fears upfront-an existential problem that some adults can even face.
Though many seem to be overlooking this Netflix-original gem, I’m here to give it the attention is so rightly deserves…even if it’s not entirely amazing. This is Sean Charmatz’s Orion and the Dark.
This fantastical tale focuses on the titular Orion (Jacob Tremblay), a young kid who is seemingly afraid of everything. Whether he’s suffering from the persistent taunting of bullies or dealing with germs and other irrational fears at home, Orion can’t seem to shake this anxiety-ridden existence. But the thing that scares him most is the dark, and said entity has a problem with that.
As it turns out, Dark (Paul Walter Hauser), is a sentient being that only shows himself when he wants to teach a kid a lesson. Complaining of how everyone seems to hate him, and his bitter rivalry with Light, he wants to give Orion the chance of seeing what good a bit of darkness can do. Taking this paranoid hypochondriac on a journey across the world, we’re introduced to a host of other spirits that make up the night life. There’s Sweet Dreams (Angela Bassett), Sleep (Natasia Demetriou), Insomnia (Nat Faxon), Unexplained Noises (Golda Rosheuvel) and Quiet (Aparna Nancherla), all of whom are angered at Dark’s choice to show Orion this unseen world.
As the journey goes on, with the story being told from the perspective of an adult Orion to his daughter, the spirits grow fond of Orion. But for every bit of good he may do, and every fear he may overcome, Dark can never seem to convince him that he’s just as important.
A big part of why this film has been so overlooked appears to be how nonchalantly it’s been pushed to Netflix with very little fanfare. For Dreamworks, this is shockingly small in scale. The subject matter and imagery is certainly fantastical, but the internal conflicts are far more grounded, lacking in conventional villains or a high-stakes goal. The film tells you occasionally that this is merely a story that Orion is telling his daughter to stop her own fear of the dark. This is such a risky choice that I think it does damage the film’s credibility.
But if we put cynicism aside for a moment, you’ll find that there is something special and rather whimsical about the whole thing. As the movie is adapted from a very young children’s book, it’s only natural that the framing device would be so outright. On a very simple level, this film is helping kids overcome their fear of the dark, so a comprehensible framing device can help to reach kids on a more personal level. That said, it doesn’t take away from the story. Other films have used the story book structure as a way to engage children: it allows them to enter this world the film makers have created.
The film is surprisingly deep. Almost the entire reason for why I wanted to watch this was Charlie Kaufman. With every film he’s written and directed being high up in the ranks of my favourite films of all time-Adaptation being my literal favourite-I was thrilled to see how he would adjust to a more family-friendly setting. His usual projection is very much here. Kaufman often conveys himself into the films he’s writing, so it’s not hard to imagine that Orion is simply another allegory for the openly self-aware writer. With a constant sense of overreaction and dismissive behaviour, a fan like myself will turn their minds back to his previous works.
That panicky mind is what elevates this film from being a simple exploration of emotions, like Pixar’s Inside Out, into a more existential piece. Orion is an exaggerated case of childhood anxiety, but it’s never to the point of losing relatability. Orion panics over nearly everything, overthinking to the extreme. As somebody who suffered as a kid-as an adult as well-with constant overthinking and social anxiety, there’s a lot to admire. Kids often can’t fathom their own emotions and won’t look too deep in themselves. Both Kaufman and Charmatz understand this, elevating the source material into being something with a heap of maturity.
When the film reaches its middle point, it begins to shift into something more comfortable. When we’re introduced to Dark, he’s this jovial, misunderstood guy that wouldn’t feel out of place in a more conventional animated flick. Obviously, the entire film wasn’t going to be this introspective character study that remains as grounded as possible, but one can’t help but latch on to that content more so.
This isn’t to say that the more fantastical side of the film isn’t plenty of fun. Dark is a memorable and enigmatic character, providing an excellent parental connection to Orion. As much as Orion is an avatar for the kids out there, we adults can attach ourselves to Dark, wanting to teach Orion that there’s nothing to fear. But even Dark is treated with the same sense of insecurity. The only reason he takes Orion on this trip, really, is to boost his own morale. Darkness is always seen as this imposing alternative to the much more popular Light, and it’s conveyed well with how the personalities of both reflect that. It definitely hits those predictable beats, but there’s a host of wisdom there for anybody to soak up.
The other spirits that inhabit the night are all very memorable as well. If you think too hard about why they only exist at night when all could easily apply to the day, then you might find yourself a little aggravated. Putting nit-picks aside, each one is nicely defined and creatively utilised. Obviously the personalities of each one reflects their abilities, sometimes leading to rather repetitive gags, but they all provide some fun scenarios. The dream sequences that Sweet Dreams creates are particularly fun and tout some of the most visually striking pieces of imagery.
That’s certainly something to celebrate: the animation. While clearly on a lower budget than what Dreamworks is used to, the art-style is very distinct and picture-bookesque. It differs from the original book, but it uses a style that invokes the simplicity of those types of media. Everything is well-drawn, with slight exaggerations in the environments and moments for the characters to explode in frames of elasticity. Dark is a particularly shining example of how eye-pleasing the animation can be. His expressions make up such a canvas of emotions, with two-dimensional faces illuminating the more standard CGI look.
While certainly not the most amazing thing to grace the studio’s library, Orion and the Dark still manages to be a thoroughly entertaining and introspective family film that could help quell a few fears. It speaks to the kids that never quite found a place to fit in or let their fears get the better of them. There’s even a few lessons the adults can learn.
It isn’t always a tight film, suffering with rather predictable plot beats and a final act that, while sensical in the context of the story, can feel very lazy and wears a shield of excuses. But for its problems, it always comes with a reminder of what really matters: exploring your fears. The idea that you should go out and chase those things you dread so much is a difficult lesson to learn no matter the age. With Kaufman airing his anxieties in every film he writes, there’s an immediate feeling of unity that many other writers wouldn’t be able to achieve.
Though possibly Kaufman’s weakest film, it’s a solid, underrated gem that deserves a little spotlight now and then.
Written review by Conor Johnson.