Being a kid is scary: The world is wide and unfamiliar, everyone knows a little bit more than you do, and to make matters worse, things are just bigger. But for Orion, the protagonist of the new animated film Orion and the Dark, everything is scary — especially the dark. Soon, the nervous young man will be whisked onto a whirlwind adventure that might just cure him of his adolescent fears. You can get a sneak peek at that adventure in the trailer above; it sees Orion meet his greatest fear, only to learn that the Dark is much friendlier than he ever could have imagined. 

Based on the book by Emma Yarlett and written by Charlie Kaufman (I’m Thinking of Ending Things), DreamWorks Animation’s Orion and the Dark tells a story about looking what scares you in the eye –– and realizing it may not be that frightening after all. 

What’s Orion and the Dark about? 

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, 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 grow 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.

In the teaser above, we meet Orion and his many fears — just before he meets the Dark, who arrives with a bang and soon drags the frightened youngster off to meet the other night entities. The Dark, you see, has a list of all the kids who are scared of him, and you can bet he’s checking it twice. “You really think you can fix everything I’m afraid of in one night?” Orion asks. In response, the Dark makes a promise: “One night can change everything!”

Who’s in the cast of Orion and the Dark?

Orion and the Dark stars an ensemble voice cast including:

• Jacob Tremblay (Good Boys, Room) as Orion
• Colin Hanks (King Kong, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) as Adult Orion
• Paul Walter Hauser (Richard Jewell, I, Tonya) as Dark
• Angela Bassett (Malcolm X, Black Panther) as Sweet Dreams
• Ike Barinholtz (Blockers, The Mindy Project) as Light
• Natasia Demetriou (What We Do in the Shadows, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem) as Sleep
• Golda Rosheuvel (Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte) as Unexplained Noises
• Nat Faxon (Disenchantment, Bad Teacher) as Insomnia
• Aparna Nancherla (BoJack Horseman, Corporate) as Quiet
• Carla Gugino (Spy Kids, Sin City) as Orion’s Mom
• Matt Dellapina (For Life, Bull) as Orion’s Dad
• Jack Fisher (You, NCIS) as Richi Panichi
• Werner Herzog (Jack Reacher, Cave of Forgotten Dreams) as The Narrator

When will Orion and the Dark be released?

Orion and the Dark is now streaming on Netflix.