Orion and the Dark Review Roundup

Netflix is entering 2024 with the hopes of at least one of their animated films striking critical gold like last year's Nimona. First up? Orion and the Dark, a film about a boy called Orion, and his greatest fear which revolves around the darkness. However, when his ultimate fear takes a tangible form and pays a visit, Dark takes Orion on a thrilling global roller-coaster journey, aiming to demonstrate that there is no reason to fear the night. So did Netflix knock it out the of park on their first try? Or was this better left in the dark? Here's the review roundup:  

Continue reading below for the written version.

THE UK TELEGRAPH (Tim Robey)
'A spin on a Pixar film, but with the downside that it can’t help imitating too many of them at once – which makes it equal parts sweet and hectic, and not a little overambitious.'

For the full review please visit here.

​THE GUARDIAN (Peter Bradshaw)
'It is a sweet-natured little tale, indebted to Monsters Inc and the whole Pixar canon but saved from being predictable with other borrowings (Back to the Future, Inception), as well as its various metafictional levels of storytelling.'

For the full review please visit here.

EMPIRE MAGAZINE (John Nugent)
'it might look at first glance like another goofy CG distraction-fest, but this is that rare family-friendly film bursting with ideas and challenging concepts. It’s Charlie Kaufman’s introspective existential dread — for kids!'

For the full review please visit here.

THE DAILY BEAST (Nick Schager)
'Adults will mildly smirk at its Kaufman-isms and children may be mildly charmed by Dark—brought to gregarious life by the charismatic Hauser—yet Orion and the Dark’s likely fate will be receding into the dimmest corners of one’s memory.'

​For the full review please visit here.

AV CLUB (Luke Thompson)
'Will kids enjoy it? Let’s just say that the references to David Foster Wallace, Saul Bass, and Werner Herzog (playing himself) probably aren’t for them—but they’re very much for you. The original book requires a parent’s judgment call as to whether their 4-year-old is ready to face fears of the dark; the movie requires one regarding their 11-year-olds’ abilities to deal with fear of death, bullies, climate apocalypse, and literally everything else they can think of ... and beyond. Or they may ignore all that and just look at the pretty pictures.'

For the full review please visit here.

MAMA'S GEEKY (Video Review)

In the end, the film amassed a pretty decent score of 89% from 18 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes 

If you had always liked Pixar's Monster Inc and Inside Out but whished they were a bit darker? Then it appears this Charlie Kaufman Dreamworks mash up is exactly what you were waiting for.

Orion and the Dark is an excellent start to Netflix's 2024 animation offerings.