Why Netflix's Orion and the Dark is the Latest Animated Movie That Makes You Think

MsMojo

"Orion and the Dark" is a dream come true. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be examining the latest thought-provoking animated movie to come our way - “Orion and the Dark.”

Transcript

00:00 "I don't know how you keep making all this stuff up."

00:02 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we'll be examining

00:05 the latest thought-provoking animated movie to come our way,

00:09 Orion and the Dark.

00:10 If you have yet to see the Netflix fantasy film,

00:13 beware as this video contains something a lot scarier than the Dark.

00:17 Spoilers.

00:18 "Hello, I'm Dark. Ta-da!"

00:20 Based on the novel of the same name,

00:23 Orion and the Dark transcends conventional storytelling

00:26 by presenting a tale that not only inspires intellectual engagement,

00:30 but offers a plethora of emotional messages.

00:33 "Dark!"

00:36 It should also be noted that the film's screenplay was penned by

00:40 cinema auteur Charlie Kaufman,

00:42 as in the writer of such films as Being John Malkovich

00:45 and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

00:48 And like those works,

00:49 Orion and the Dark is layered with metaphor and meaning.

00:52 Plot.

00:53 The film follows Orion, a young boy grappling with

00:56 a laundry list of fears and anxieties.

00:58 "Page 14, for example. My fear of clogging the toilet

01:02 and flooding the whole entire school."

01:04 However, above falling-off skyscrapers and murderous gutter clowns

01:08 (we see he's been watching It),

01:10 Orion fears the Dark the most.

01:12 "Curse you, darkness!

01:14 What cruel aberrations hide within your inky cloak of darkness?"

01:19 But when the physical embodiment of his worst fear

01:21 pays our anxious hero a visit,

01:23 Orion embarks on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected friendships.

01:27 He's forced to face his fears and alter his perspectives,

01:30 for the better.

01:32 "Not scared of you."

01:32 "See? That's what I'm talking about."

01:36 Of course, Orion isn't the only member of his family

01:39 touched by this adventure,

01:40 but more on that later.

01:41 Central theme.

01:43 At the heart of Orion and the Dark lies the exploration of

01:46 confronting one's fears as a catalyst for personal growth.

01:49 "I can't just jump in there. What's gonna happen?"

01:51 "I have no idea, but I think that's the point."

01:56 The film expertly navigates the mindset of children,

01:58 and even portrays Orion's journey as a metaphor for the human experience.

02:03 In the end, our young protagonist must overcome

02:05 all of his anxieties to save his friend.

02:08 "Hang on, Gork! I'm coming!"

02:10 The story encourages its viewers to look inward

02:14 and embrace their own fears as opportunities for self-discovery.

02:18 After all, fear is a natural part of life.

02:20 "Oh, sweetie, what's wrong?"

02:22 "I got scared. I hate the Dark so much."

02:25 However, as Orion and others learn,

02:29 one doesn't need to go through it alone.

02:31 Family and friends will always be there to help.

02:33 "Maybe it's not such a good idea to put the fate of the world

02:36 in the hands of an 11-year-old kid with severe performance anxiety."

02:40 "Don't worry. I'll be right there with you."

02:42 Imagination.

02:43 Orion and the Dark is a movie bursting with imagination

02:46 and clever personifications.

02:48 Take, for instance, the Knight entities,

02:50 the physical embodiments of everything that brings the Knight to life.

02:54 "You're gonna love us. Heya, gang, what's up?"

02:56 "Heya, Dark!"

02:57 In addition to Dark, they include sleep, quiet, insomnia,

03:01 "Well, I'm pretty sure I'm getting fired."

03:03 "Huh?"

03:04 sweet dreams, and unexpected noises.

03:06 "I'm thinking this moment calls for a crunching sound,

03:09 with the tiniest hint of scraping."

03:14 The quirky characters go a long way in making sense of these

03:17 often unexplainable things.

03:19 The movie is also able to seamlessly integrate fantastical elements

03:23 with the challenges of the real world.

03:24 And by using young Orion's adventure as a bedtime story

03:27 within the film's larger picture,

03:29 it allows characters and viewers alike to reflect on the interplay

03:33 between imagination and reality in shaping one's perceptions.

03:36 "You nervous?"

03:37 "Terrified.

03:43 But I'm going anyway."

03:44 Generational Storytelling

03:46 One of the highlights of Orion and the Dark is its unique storytelling techniques.

03:50 "Dark has existed for over 500 million years,

03:54 since early life on Earth developed light-sensitive proteins."

03:59 Just when we think we're watching a straightforward story

04:03 about a young boy's existential journey,

04:05 the movie adds an intriguing layer.

04:08 We learn that this tale, about a young Orion facing his fears,

04:11 is in fact being told by an adult Orion to his daughter Hypatia,

04:15 in an effort to help her remedy her own anxieties.

04:18 "You're telling me a story about how you overcame your fear of the dark

04:21 to try and help me overcome my fear of the dark."

04:23 With ideas of her own, Hypatia inserts herself into the story

04:28 and goes on to play a key role in restoring harmony to the world.

04:31 The generational jumps don't end there, though,

04:34 as a later reveal shows the story is being relayed by an adult Hypatia

04:38 to her young son Tico, who has also added himself to the bedtime tale.

04:42 Who else was going to take out those pesky interdimensional time monsters?

04:46 These revelations make for fun twists,

04:52 but they also show how dread and fear are generational,

04:55 passed down from one to the next.

04:57 Relationships

04:59 The unexpected friendship that blossoms between Orion and the Dark

05:02 serves as a truly powerful symbol for the transformative nature

05:05 of relationships.

05:06 "No, my daughter's gonna love that we're becoming friends."

05:09 "I knew you'd start warming up to me.

05:12 Hold on, aren't you too young to have a daughter?"

05:14 "My future daughter."

05:15 It's through empathy and understanding that Orion eventually comes to embrace Dark,

05:20 realizing that he's not harmful, but is in fact quite the opposite.

05:24 Naturally, this resonates on a universal level,

05:27 bringing forth valuable lessons about compassion and acceptance.

05:30 The relationship between Orion and Sally is also special.

05:34 At the start of the film, Sally, Orion's crush,

05:37 asks if he'd like to sit with her during the school's

05:39 upcoming trip to the planetarium.

05:41 A petrified Orion couldn't even muster an answer

05:44 and tried to get out of the trip altogether.

05:46 "How'd that get there?"

05:47 "Your father found it stuffed under the couch."

05:50 "I think you mean in between the couch cushions."

05:53 But after the young boy took the steps needed to live a life free of debilitating fear,

05:58 he was able to go on the trip.

06:00 Heck, he would go on to marry Sally, have a child with her,

06:03 and grow old as a grandparent with her.

06:06 "Mind if I sit with you?"

06:07 "I would love that."

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06:35 Worldly Beauty

06:36 Another important message the film imparts revolves around hidden beauty.

06:40 Sometimes it's the parts of the world that we don't understand,

06:43 or are too afraid to look at, that are the most wondrous.

06:47 Dark lets Orion see all that the night has to offer,

06:50 from illuminating jellyfish to shining stars in the night sky.

06:53 "You'll see me in new ways. Ways that are even better."

06:58 "Yeah, I can see that now. And I can appreciate it."

07:01 Speaking of the latter, the planetarium featured in the movie stands as a special metaphor.

07:06 "These visible patterns amongst the stars came to be known as constellations."

07:12 This is the spot where Orion grew most comfortable

07:14 and would eventually work at later in life.

07:17 We see him take young Hypatia there too.

07:19 It's where he passes on various life ideals.

07:22 And hey, it's no coincidence that their names are linked to astrology.

07:25 Orion and the Dark shows us that sometimes all we need to do

07:28 to feel inspired is to just look up.

07:31 Ultimately, the movie is about accepting fear as a part of life,

07:35 and the shared bonds we make in our journey along the way.

07:38 Through a multi-layered story and plenty of emotional twists and turns,

07:41 Orion and the Dark can firmly be stacked alongside several other

07:45 nourishing family-friendly tales with themes around personal development.

07:48 "Open or closed?"

07:49 "Hmm, closed tonight."

07:51 "Okay. Sleep tight."

07:55 Like Where the Wild Things Are, Inside Out, and Soul,

07:58 Orion and the Dark uses a magical world of pure imagination

08:02 to help children understand how this crazy world works.

08:05 Plus, it gives them the tools on how to knock down the doors of existential dread,

08:09 with all the requisite charm and heart, of course.

08:11 "You're the best mommy ever!"

08:13 "That was one hell of a presentation, Irene."

08:16 So when it comes to choosing the next film for your kids,

08:20 or yourself, we say, don't be afraid of Orion.

08:23 "Is it too much stuff? Like, you're already traveling around the world

08:27 with magical knight entities, and now you can predict the future too?"

08:31 "Gilding the lily."

08:33 "I don't know what that means."

08:34 What parts of Orion and the Dark made you think the most?

08:37 Don't leave your thoughts in the dark, drop them in the comments below.

08:40 "Is this your latest attempt at trying to convince the world that you're not so bad?"

08:44 "Uh."

08:45 Do you agree with our picks?

08:46 Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.

08:49 And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified when we post new videos.

08:54 "I'm so excited to be here."

08:55 "I'm so excited to be here."

08:56 "I'm so excited to be here."

08:58 "I'm so excited to be here."

09:00 "I'm so excited to be here."

09:02 "I'm so excited to be here."

09:04 (upbeat music)

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