Movie Review: Orion and the Dark

Movie Review: Orion and the Dark                                                                                                    2-3-24

WARNING! THIS REVIEW HAS SPOILERS FOR ORION AND THE DARK!

This movie is about a boy named Orion, a boy who’s afraid of everything. One day, he meets the Dark, a giant black character who’s actually a very nice guy. With his friends, including the Muppet-like Sleep, the insect-like Insomnia, the mouse-like Quiet, the robotic Unexplained Noises, and the bioluminescent Dreams, they show Orion that there’s nothing to fear but fear itself.

Orion and the Dark is a great way to start the new year with a compelling story, a unique art style, engaging characters, and top-notch voice acting.

In a similar fashion to The Princess Bride, the story in the movie is actually a bedtime story that Orion (depicted as an adult) tells his daughter, Hypatia. While we know from the gecko that The Princess Bride is a story within a story, it takes about 17 minutes into the movie to find out that Orion’s adventure may not be true after all. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing: It’s just something that I haven’t seen before.

Another thing to point out is that while ‘Orion’ is a DreamWorks movie, it doesn’t really take place in modern times or have any pop-culture references. The only other times DreamWorks did this was with Kung Fu Panda, How To Train Your Dragon, Rose of the Guardians, and the 2D films.

If I were to complain about one thing, I felt that the pacing was a bit slow. However, this is justified since it’s Orion telling Hypatia a bedtime story.

In conclusion, even though it skipped theaters like jump ropes, I’m more than willing to watch Orion and the Dark again for DreamWorks’ 30th anniversary later this year. It’s a good movie to show kids who are afraid of the dark.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5