Dark & Light

***Dark & Light*** is a 2013 American computer-animated musical fantasy drama film produced by Rivera Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by the Rivera sisters from a screenplay by Jennifer Lee, Jordan Roberts, Jonathan Roberts, Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow and a story by Valeria Rivera. The film stars the voices of AnnaSophia Robb, Dakota Fanning, Peter Dinklage, Julia Roberts, Richard Kind, Elizabeth Banks, and Jennifer Garner. Set in an ancient fantasy times, the film follows Alina Hopes, a teenage girl who accidentally discovers the hidden magic that transformed her into light creature while encounter her long-lost sister who also transformed into dark mutant creature. After two sisters encounter each other, Alina and Dracy need to find a way to change them back, with a help of a friendly monster, before it's too late.

*Dark & Light* was originally intended as a 2D animated film developed by Walt Disney Animation Studios, but eventually ends up produced by Rivera's own studio Rivera Studios. Pre-production began in 2009, with Cynthia and Valeria were selected as co-directors. *Dark & Light* and its art style and tone were also influenced by animated films by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar. The musical score was written by Alan Menken, with songs written by lyricist Stephen Schwartz.

*Dark & Light* premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on January 14, 2013, and went into general release on February 8. The film was well-received by critics for its animation, musical score, writing, and character development. The film also went on to become a huge unexpected box office success, grossing over $1.1 billion worldwide on a budget of $103 million, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 2013, the nineteenth highest-grossing film of all time, the sixth highest-grossing animated film of all time, and Rivera Studios' highest-grossing film, all records held at the time of its release. The film's success has since helped spawn an expanded franchise including several short films, a television series, two sequels—*Dark & Light 2: The Rise of Dawn* (2019) and *Dark & Light: The Enhanced Night* (2023), video games, merchandise, and other media.

## Cast

* AnnaSophia Robb as Alina Hopes, a teenage girl who was transformed into a white creature.
* Dakota Fanning as Darcy Hopes, Alina's younger sister who was taken by the mutant monsters after she wandered in the dark forbidden forest and was transformed into a dark mutant creature.
* Richard Kind as Might, a friendly shapeshifting monster who helps Alina and Darcy to find the way to change them back.
* Elizabeth Banks as Sarai, a skill mutant creature who is the leader of the friendly mutant monsters.
* Jennifer Garner as Tabitha, a beautiful and lovely woman who "recently" tried to change Alina and Darcy back to their normal ways, and the hidden (and true) main antagonist, who reveals to be a dark mutant creature and the leader of the dark underworld.
* Peter Dinklage as Frank Hope, Alina and Dracy's father.
* Julia Roberts as Madalyn Hope, Alina and Dracy's mother.

*More coming soon!*

## Production

### Development

*Dark & Light* was initially set up in the mid-1990s at Walt Disney Studios via its feature animation division Walt Disney Feature Animation and later Pixar, based on a pitch originally created and developed by animator Valeria Rivera who interested in a long-lost sibling-style about a girl who finding her sister; while she working on *The Lion King*. In January 1995, after Cynthia and Valeria left the studio to set up their own independent studio, Rivera Studios. The studio worked, at first, out of Rivera's house and garage, but moved to a headquarters at Los Angeles, several months later.

While they started making *Me & Maddie*, Valeria wanted to continue the project after it was dropped in 1999. She gives the story to Cynthia and make a film that was inspired by her sister's story. The success of *Me & Maddie*, as well as Rivera's short films, *Dear Diary*, *Just Me & You* and *Cabin Fever*, gained Disney's attention, and the company's CEO Bob Iger and the new team at Walt Disney Animation Studios—then-COO John Lasseter and then-president Edwin Catmull—began a quest to get the Rivera sisters to come back. Cynthia, grateful for faith in her, felt compelled to stay with her own independent studio, telling Valeria, "We can come back to Disney and be a director for their films, or we can stay here and make history just like Pixar did in the past." Iger realized he could not lure the Rivera sisters back to Disney and therefore set plans into a production deal with Rivera to produce a film alongside Disney.

*More coming soon!*

### Casting

The film's voice cast consisting of Dakota Fanning, Peter Dinklage, Julia Roberts, Richard Kind, Elizabeth Banks and Jennifer Garner were first announced in September 2011, while casting was underway for the lead character Alina.

*More coming soon!*

### Music

The film's score was composed by Alan Menken, who previously scored most Disney animated films. Originally, Thomas Newman was set to compose the score, but he left out the project in favor for other projects, with Menken replacing him. However, Newman was only credited under "Special Thanks" in the film's end credits.

The official soundtrack for the film was released on February 8, 2013, by Walt Disney Records.

## Release

*Dark & Light* was originally scheduled for release on June 21, 2013, but was pushed back four months earlier to February 8, 2013, with Pixar's *Monsters University* taken its original slot. The film was shown alongside *Once*, a short film also directed by the Rivera sisters in 2012.

### Marketing

The teaser trailer for *Dark & Light* was released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 16, 2012, via YouTube and was shown in front of *Brave* a week later. The first official trailer was released on August 12, 2012, followed by a second trailer on October 31.

*More coming soon!*

### Home media

*Dark & Light* was released on Blu-ray (2D and 3D) and DVD on June 18, 2013, while a digital release was released on May 21, 2013. In addition to the short *Once*, the releases also include two new animated short films: *Darcy's Nature* and *Light Hopes*. Extras include audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, music videos, and short promotional clips.

Upon release, the film sold over 2.8 million Blu-ray and DVD units in its first week, making it the highest-selling home entertainment animated film for Disney of 2013 as well as the second-highest-selling home entertainment film for Disney behind only *Frozen*. Across all digital and physical formats, *Dark & Light* generated $74.2 million in its first week. At the end of 2016, it was named the third-highest selling video of the year in the UK, selling 88 million copies since its release. It was the fourth-highest-selling DVD and the third-highest-selling Blu-ray in the country.

*Dark & Light* was released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on March 26, 2019.

## Legacy

### Expanded franchise

*Main article: Dark & Light (franchise)*
A sequel titled *Dark & Light 2: The Rise of Dawn* was confirmed by the Walt Disney Studios on January 14, 2016 and was released on April 5, 2019. The Rivera sisters returned to direct with a script written by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow. All of the main cast also reprised their roles in the sequel, and are joined by Tom Holland, Zoe Saldana, Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher, Nicole Kidman, with Daisy Ridley and Josh Gad. The sequel takes place 4 years after the events of the first film, where Alina and Darcy go on a journey as they travel to a mysterious realm where they searched for the legendary person to stop the darkest overlord who threatens their home.

A Christmas special titled *Dark & Light Holiday* premiere on ABC on November 20, 2015. Directed by Karen Hall and written by Erica Rivinoja, all of main cast from film reprised their roles in special. A traditionally animated TV series based on film titled *The Tales of Dark & Light* debuted on July 1, 2020 on Disney+.

## Transcripts

### Main

To see the main transcript of the film, click here.

### Trailers

To see the transcript for the trailers of the film, click here.