Nighttime doesn’t have to be frighttime… written by Oscar winner Charlie Kaufman, the 3DCG animated feature tells the story of an average kid and his not-so-average all-consuming fears; coming to Netflix in 2024.
Today, in a packed presentation before a raucous, appreciative audience at Annecy 2023, DreamWorks Animation shared a first-look at Orion and the Dark, coming to Netflix in 2024. The 3DCG film, directed by Sean Charmatz and written by Academy Award-winning author and filmmaker Charlie Kaufman (Anomalisa, Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), is produced by Peter McCown alongside executive producers Walt Dohrn and Bonnie Arnold.
The rather exhuberant crowd was wowd (actually, it’s wowed) by the filmmakers as they shared clips, images, and details about the comedy adventure.
Produced by DreamWorks Animation and based on a book by Emma Yarlet, the film features the voice talent of Jacob Tremblay as “Orion” and Paul Walter Hauser as “Dark.”
In the movie, Orion seems a lot like your average elementary school kid – shy, unassuming, harboring a secret crush. But underneath his seemingly normal exterior, Orion is a ball of adolescent anxiety, completely consumed by irrational fears of bees, dogs, the ocean, cell phone waves, murderous gutter clowns, and even falling off a cliff. But of all his fears, the thing he’s the most afraid of is what he confronts on a nightly basis: the dark. So, when the literal embodiment of his worst fear pays a visit, Dark whisks Orion away on a roller coaster ride around the world to prove there is nothing to be afraid of in the night. As the unlikely pair grows closer, Orion must decide if he can learn to accept the unknown – to stop letting fear control his life and finally embrace the joy of living.
Source: DreamWorks Animation
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
