The most-watched movie on Netflix worldwide (as Feb. 4th) is the animated comedy-adventure “Orion and the Dark,” according to FlixPatrol. The film, which is an adaptation of the children’s book of the same name by Emma Yarlett, reached the top spot only two days after its release.
“Orion and the Dark” was written by Academy Award winner Charlie Kauffman, and it has received excellent reviews from critics. Directed by Sean Charmatz (in his feature directorial debut), the movie features the voices of Jacob Tremblay as Orion and Paul Walter Hauser as the Dark.
Angela Bassett, Colin Hanks, Natasia Demetriou, Golda Rosheuvel, Nat Faxon and Carla Gugino complete the cast. Here’s all you need to know about this film, produced by DreamWorks, that is perfect to remind ourselves that the best thing we can do is face our fears.
‘Orion and the Dark,’ a must-watch coming of age tale
The movie follows Orion, an elementary school kid who, despite his seemingly quiet exterior, is dealing with anxiety. He is afraid of many things: bees, dogs, the ocean, cell phone waves, murderous gutter clowns, and more. However, his biggest fear is the dark… And when the embodiment of the dark pays a visit, they take off in an adventure around the world to learn there is nothing to be afraid of at night.
In an interview with Cartoon Brew, director Charmatz talked about the tone of the film, which addresses big themes, such as death. “I think it was cool that the studio let us talk about death, let us have a character that asked ‘What happens after I die?’ which is a question I think all kids have,” Charmatz explained.
“Sometimes studios are afraid to really go for something that might emotionally affect the audience like that,” he added. However, the film not only isn’t afraid to touch those themes, it is also a great showcase of a different style of animation for the studio, known for big-budget movies such as Kung-Fu Panda, Madagascar and more.
In that regard, production designer Tim Lamb said that the team “wanted something that felt kind of handmade, that was unfinished with a natural quality. Something that wasn’t cleaned up and hyper-real,” as he explained to the outlet.
You can stream ‘Orion and the Dark’ on Netflix.
