Children’s programming is one of the mainstays of Netflix’s digital catalog (along with cooking shows and true crime formats). No wonder we regularly expect films and series that are specially tailored to young viewers. Today this seems to be the case Sean Charmatz staged animated adventure”Orion and the dark“ with a subscription to the streaming service with the big red N. But movie buffs should keep their ears open!
The fact that ‘Orion and the Dark’ should also appeal to an adult audience is mainly due to the film’s screenwriter: Charlie Kaufman! Not only did he deliver the absolutely excellent “I’m Thinking Of Ending Things” for Netflix, but he also attracted attention with masterpieces such as “Forget My Not” and “Synecdoche, New York”. In addition, legendary director Werner Herzog (“Fitzcarraldo”) is also present and acts as narrator.
That’s what “Orion and the Dark” is about
The somewhat reserved and modest elementary school student Orion (originally voiced by Jacob Tremblay) has a big problem: the actually smart boy is afraid of almost everything. Whether it concerns bees, dogs, the sea, radiation from mobile phones or even clowns. But the worst thing for him is what he faces every night: the darkness!
One day in the dark, he is visited by Dark (Paul Walter Hauser), who is literally the embodiment of night. He takes Orion on a wild journey around the world to prove to him that his fears are completely unfounded. And as the unlikely duo becomes friends, Orion must decide whether he can accept the unknown and grow beyond his fears…