Film Review – Orion and the Dark

There’s always been some type of rivalry between DreamWorks Animation and Disney, resulting in movies that were similar, perhaps intentionally so, going back to the “Antz” and “A Bug’s Life” collision of 1998. There’s some of that feeling surrounding the release of “Orion and the Dark,” which, at times, plays much like 2015’s “Inside Out,” following the adventure of a child getting used to the reality of the world around him. He’s joined by the creatures in his mind, but instead of emotions, the eponymous character interacts with multi-colored “Night Entities.” There are moments when the pictures are quite similar, but “Orion and the Night” isn’t quite as close to the heart as “Inside Out,” with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (making his family film debut) offering a slightly less enthusiastic understanding of growing pains and phobias. It remains a charmingly animated endeavor with a welcome message on the ways of bravery, but it also feels a little too tired at times, and not because the subject matter involves sleep. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com