“Orion and the Dark” is about a little boy who is afraid of almost everything. Fear of the dark, of clowns, of cell phone waves that cause cancer, of monsters, of haircuts, of mosquito bites, of getting infected, of falling from a skyscraper, of saying good morning and sounding like Goob dorning!, to the bees, to the dogs and to the ocean. He is anxious about being responsible for his team’s defeat and terrified by the locker room and by Richie Panic, who calls him Orion crying. Richie intimidates him, takes the art book from him and turns to a page where he has written all the things he fears, including Richie’s name. Just before Richie leaves after harassing him, Orion thanks Richie.

He doesn’t know why he did that, but he’s pretty disappointed in himself for not being able to fight back.

The school had to visit the planetarium, but Richie didn’t give his parents permission. He fears being on the school bus with his classmates. He is afraid that the bus will crash and, if they reach the planetarium, the giant models of the solar system hanging from the ceiling will fall on him.

He really likes Lisa but can’t get close to her. He is afraid that if he goes to the planetarium, he sits next to her and her hands touch, he will have a panic attack and it will become a running joke at school. So, he hides his permission from his parents. When his teacher asks him, he says that his parents don’t let him go to the planetarium and that they don’t believe in space, but it’s all a lie.

He is also afraid of returning home and finding out that his parents sold their house and moved away while he was at school. His fear prevents him from doing many things.

His father finds the permission slip under the couch but tells his parents that he doesn’t want to go. That night, his mother checks on him before going to bed. When she finishes, she turns off the light. He jumps out of bed and asks her to read him a bedtime story, but she doesn’t have time, so he asks her to leave the door open to let in the light, which she does.

When she leaves, he inserts different plugs which turn off due to high voltage and he panics. Of all the things he fears, the one he fears the most is the darkness. He takes cover and turns on the flashlight, but it doesn’t work well. Soon, he starts yelling, “Darkness, why can’t you leave me alone?” and darkness visits him.

Dark tells him that millions of children are afraid of him, but that he is harmless. Dark doesn’t like the way humans think about him. He says everyone is against him. He tells Orion that he’s just a normal guy trying to do his job. He says people hate him, but he’s just trying to do his job. He wants people to give him a chance.

Orion feels bad for Dark and starts talking to him. He tells Dark the list of people who harassed him. Dark wants to help him stop his fears and comes up with an idea that will help him appreciate the beauty of the night instead of being terrified all the time. Initially, Orion refuses, but after thinking about it and remembering how he was bullied, he agrees, and Mr. Dark takes Orion for a nighttime ride in the air.

They encounter the entities of the night and that’s when the story becomes even more interesting. One thing is evident: Mr. Dark also has his own insecurities, which he must overcome.

This animation will give you a different way of looking at things if you are very afraid of the dark but the story is a little confusing.