Orion And The Dark (2024) Dir: Sean Charmatz
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When this arrived on Netflix in early 2024, I heard some quite good things from those who saw it. However, it wasn't until right at the end of 2024 that I found the time to watch Sean Charmatz's animated comedy adventure. Critical reception for the film varied from fairly good to excellent, so I set my expectations neatly into the lower echelon of those parameters.
Dreamworks have produced some excellent animated films in the last few years, so I had a lot of hope for this one as well. I liked the idea behind the animation style, but not so much it's execution. It resulted in some aspects of the film looking nice and crisp, while others looked unfinished and a little messy.
I quote enjoyed the comedy elements of the film; I think the writers managed to to produce some genuinely funny moments, without sacrificing the integrity of the story, or losing the wonderful sense of innocence formed by the characters. I won't say this was an exceptionally funny film, but it entertained me quite easily.
The story itself was a little wild, and threatened to lose focus at times, but, ultimately, it managed to rangle itself into a compelling children's adventure. I must admit, the ending lost me a little bit, but managed to pull itself back on track again before the credits rolled. It made me smile a lot, and I thought the message was a pleasant one, so that is certainly a plus.
Jacob Tremblay certainly felt sincere in his portrayal of a young boy who struggles with his anxieties and fears. I found his constant screaming a little grating, but some of Tremblay's dialogue was delivered really well, in my view.
I must say, I did rather enjoy the voice acting of Paul Walter Hauser, in this key role. He conveyed a lovely sense of both wonder and adventure, which gave his character a friendly, trustworthy, feel. As such, it was a more than pleasant performance from Hauser.
The young Mia Akemi Brown was wonderful in her supporting voice acting role. I almost wish she was more involved, because I thought she did an excellent job with her character, who felt endearing, sweet and caring. If I were her, I'd feel very happy with my performance. She was genuinely very good, in my opinion.
The supporting cast was full of talent, but I couldn't help but feel like a lot of them were underutilised. The film boasts voice acting credits from the likes of Angela Bassett, Colin Hanks, Natasia Demetriou, Golda Rosheuvel, Ike Barinholtz, and Carla Gugino, but none of them had particularly substantial roles unfortunately.
Overall, while this wasn't a world-beating children's adventure, in my mind at least, it was a very enjoyable and easy-to-watch children's film. I loved the sense of adventure throughout the film, as well as the message to 'do it scared', which is something even adults can learn from. It was a lovely film, either way.
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