I would have liked this concept to go to basically anyone but who actually made this. Arguably, even Dreamworks knows they didn’t stick the landing, which is why you are just now hearing about this as a Netflix original. It’s Dreamworks Animation. This is the same parent company that was more than happy releasing Ruby Gilman Teenage Kraken last year, and had no problem putting Megamind Vs The Doom Syndicate straight to Peacock. Meanwhile, they ditched this. Joke is on them, because it is better than that Megamind sequel (more on that in its own review).
Orion and the Dark features primarily the voices of Jacob Tremblay and Paul Walter Hauser as the titular Orion and the Dark. Orion is afraid of everything, and writes about his fears, narrating it often to the audience. It’s a little like a kids version of something like American Splendor, as the world seems to be shaped through the lens of Orion. Or, better yet, Orion Is Afraid.
But this idea of Orion being afraid of everything, and having to face his fears in this fantastical journey really makes me with Studio Ghibli had stolen this from the beginning. The legendary studio has already capitalized thematically on this concept numerous times, and the anime style would have brought out so much in this film. Miyazaki and his direction could have really made something special from something that never quite gets off the ground.
There is so much potential here.The audio description is fine, giving your kids the kind of experience they would get from one of Netflix’s mid-tier animations. Remember, they did acquire this, and then abandoned it to die in January. There’s no faith in this project at all. I feel lucky just that it has audio description, or really that this film wasn’t used as a WBD tax write off, and sent to film jail where no one will ever see it along side Coyote Vs ACME.
The potential is here. And, I didn’t see a lot of potential in Ruby Gilman. I didn’t understand what Dreamworks saw in that story, but I can see that here. And that’s what frustrates me, is that the potential is much higher, so the lack of reaching it hurts more. With Ruby Gilman, it would have been surprising to turn nothing into something, but when nothing gives you nothing, it also doesn’t shock you as much.
Final Grade: C+
