It's time to unravel the mysteries of this animated adventure flick. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be examining the conclusion of Netflix’s animated fantasy film, “Orion and the Dark.”
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00:00 "Hi, my name's Orion. I'm a kid, just like you."
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're examining the conclusion
00:07 of Netflix's animated fantasy film Orion and the Dark.
00:10 If you've yet to see the movie, this video contains something
00:13 much scarier than the absence of light. Spoilers.
00:17 "Is this your latest attempt at trying to convince the world
00:19 that you're not so bad?"
00:20 From a screenplay by that Charlie Kaufman and based on the children's book
00:26 of the same name, Orion and the Dark tells the tale of how an 11-year-old boy
00:31 overcame his many, and we mean many, fears.
00:34 You see, young Orion's long list of irrational fears includes bees,
00:38 tormentors, dogs, falling-off skyscrapers, locker rooms, public speaking,
00:43 and the ever-dreaded murderous gutter clown.
00:46 "Murderous gutter clowns are high on my list."
00:48 The overly anxious child is even fearful of talking to his classmate crush Sally,
00:54 who has invited him to sit next to her on the upcoming school trip
00:57 to the planetarium.
00:58 "To be frank, I've never wanted anything more. But to do that,
01:01 I'd have to be able to not constantly obsess over every negative thing
01:05 that could possibly happen."
01:06 "Oh, that's my mom. I gotta go."
01:08 But the thing Orion fears the most is the Dark.
01:12 And so one fateful night, the physical embodiment of his nightmare,
01:17 the literal Dark, pays him a visit to prove that he isn't so bad.
01:20 "Hello, I'm Dark. Ta-da!"
01:23 "Ahh!"
01:24 Through some clever coaxing, Dark convinces Orion to join him
01:28 on a magical journey so he can face his fears once and for all.
01:31 "Okay, I'll go. Mr. Dark?"
01:35 "I knew you'd come around."
01:41 It's then that we're introduced to the other night entities,
01:44 each with a specific role to play in maintaining the balance of the night.
01:48 They include sleep, quiet, unexpected noises, sweet dreams, and insomnia.
01:54 "Well, I'm pretty sure I'm getting fired."
01:56 Unfortunately, Orion's ongoing fears hinder their nightly duties.
02:01 Despite this, however, the boy and his Dark begin to form a genuine bond.
02:06 "I'm not scared of you."
02:09 "See? That's what I'm talking about."
02:12 Unfortunately, the bond quickly shows cracks
02:16 as Orion lets the other entities know that he actually prefers light over dark,
02:21 as it makes him feel safe and warm.
02:23 "He makes me feel safe, like I'm wrapped in a warm blanket."
02:26 It's not long after this inadvertent confession that the entire night crew decides to stop
02:33 working at nighttime altogether. In a desire to embrace the light,
02:36 they abandon Dark, leaving him on his own.
02:39 This leads a dejected Dark to give up.
02:42 As light approaches bringing about a new day, Dark doesn't move out of the way,
02:46 despite the desperate pleas from Orion.
02:49 By letting the light wash over him, Dark vanishes, seemingly marking the end of Orion's story.
02:55 "No, Dark!"
02:56 "Dark!"
03:00 However, that ending is short-lived.
03:06 That's because we have since learned that this tale about young Orion facing his fears
03:11 is actually being told by an adult Orion to his daughter Hypatia,
03:15 in an effort to help her with her own fears.
03:17 "You're telling me a story about how you overcame your fear of the dark
03:20 to try and help me overcome my fear of the dark."
03:23 Hypatia isn't shy about letting her dad know that she doesn't like this ending.
03:28 In fact, she has ideas of her own.
03:31 "Oh yeah? Well, let's hear it."
03:32 "Really? Are you sure?"
03:34 "I'm very sure."
03:36 Inserting herself into the story, Hypatia uses a poem to show young Orion
03:41 the chaos that occurs when there's nothing but light in the world.
03:44 "Maybe the world has become too bright.
03:46 Too loud, too selfish, and ready to fight."
03:52 To bring Dark back, Hypatia and Sweet Dreams enter the subconscious of Orion.
03:59 While they are able to successfully summon him,
04:02 a black hole attempts to consume everything.
04:05 It's then that Orion conquers all his fears by ultimately saving Dark from an unknown fate.
04:10 "Hang on, Dark! I'm coming!"
04:12 Once out of the dream, Dark returns to do his work,
04:17 restoring much-needed order to the world in the process.
04:21 After a tearful goodbye between Orion and Dark,
04:24 it's then time for Hypatia to find her way back to the future.
04:27 This comes in the unexpected form of a boy in a time machine, Tico.
04:31 "I'm Tico. I came to help.
04:34 I have my time machine out on your lawn. I can take you home."
04:38 The young time traveler returns Hypatia to her home,
04:40 where adult Orion greets her with open arms.
04:43 The two embrace as Tico destroys a pesky interdimensional time monster in Hypatia's bedroom.
04:48 Which brings us to the movie's ending, and yet another jump to the future.
05:02 This time, however, it's revealed that the story is being told by an adult Hypatia to her young son.
05:08 And, you guessed it, his name is Tico.
05:11 Naturally, it was Tico who added the time-traveling element to the bedtime story.
05:15 "Thank you for figuring it out. I was stuck."
05:18 When Hypatia leaves her son to sleep with the door closed,
05:22 we see a series of framed photos leading down the home staircase.
05:25 It's essentially a timeline of events showing Hypatia growing up,
05:29 from having braces to graduating high school to moving out.
05:33 The last photo shows her with a baby of her own.
05:35 As she steps outside to the porch, we find an elderly Orion reading among the stars.
05:41 "Hey, Dad."
05:41 "He asleep?"
05:43 "Almost."
05:45 What's more, it's revealed that he's not alone.
05:48 Yup, Hypatia's mom, Orion's wife, is also there.
05:52 "Goodnight, Mom."
05:53 "Goodnight, Hypatia."
05:55 But who is this woman?
05:57 While never mentioned by name,
05:59 the reveal clearly shows it to be an elderly Sally, Orion's school crush.
06:05 If you'll recall, before his adventures with Dark,
06:07 young Orion was asked by a young Sally if he wanted to sit next to her
06:11 on the trip to the planetarium.
06:13 Orion was not only too scared to respond,
06:15 but was too afraid to attend the school trip,
06:18 going so far as to hide his permission slip from his parents.
06:21 "Your father found it stuffed under the couch."
06:24 "I think you mean in between the couch cushions."
06:27 The final moments of the film take us back in time to the school planetarium trip,
06:32 where we see young Orion and Sally sitting next to one another as they look up at the stars,
06:37 much the same way elderly Orion and Sally do on the porch.
06:40 The planetarium, of course, has special meaning in the story.
06:44 This is the place where Orion grew most comfortable, and would eventually work.
06:48 We see him take young Hypatia there and pass on various ideals.
06:52 "We're looking at a ceiling."
06:55 "It's a really good illusion, though." "And highly educational."
06:58 It's also no coincidence that their names are linked to astrology.
07:02 Yep, the planetarium became a fitting spot for Orion,
07:06 one that always reminded him of the world's beauty.
07:09 Whether Orion's magical adventure with Dark was real, in part or whole,
07:13 the filmmakers leave it up to us to decide,
07:16 the desired outcome of the journey was definitely achieved.
07:19 The young boy had taken the steps needed to live a life free of debilitating fear.
07:23 "Am I okay in the future?" "Yeah, you're doing good."
07:26 "So I don't have to worry so much is what you're saying?"
07:29 "I guess that's what I'm saying."
07:30 And because of that, he went on to marry his school crush,
07:34 have a child with her, and grow old as a grandfather.
07:37 The best part, however, is that he was finally able to fully embrace the beauty of the dark.
07:42 "I thought I would just enjoy the night for a bit."
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07:59 Orion and the Dark's ending shows how anxiety and fears are universal themes,
08:06 spanning all generations. It lets us know that fear is a natural part of life.
08:11 "Fear of the dark is an evolutionary adaptation that people develop to
08:15 protect themselves from nocturnal predators."
08:17 However, one doesn't need to walk through it alone.
08:19 While it's up to each individual to conquer their anxieties,
08:23 family and friends will always be there to help, whether they succeed or not.
08:28 Have you seen Orion and the Dark? What did you make of the film's ending?
08:31 Don't be afraid to share your thoughts in the comments below.
08:34 "Is it too much stuff? Like you're already traveling around the world with magical
08:38 night entities and now you can predict the future too?"
08:41 "Gilding the lily."
08:44 "I don't know what that means."
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08:53 [Music]