The Lost Thing

The lost thing rises as a breath of fresh air against an ever rising tide of wise cracking or sickly cute fur balls and violent comic animation fueled by the American market. At around 15 minutes in length "The lost thing" had a production time line sprawled over nearly ten years with the bulk of work done over three years. The required creative control in adapting and complementing a very popular book have clearly been kept in check buy the directorial hand of the original illustrator and author Shaun Tan and very small production team principally Leo Baker, the main animator and computer graphics artist Tom Bryant.

It is a simple story which reflects on human natures diminishing observation and appreciation of a world out side the day to day pathway we are all forced to travel by both greater authority and selfish ambition. Childlike observations laced with surrealistic circumstance create the distinctly dream like world of "The Lost Thing"

"The lost thing" is short but so visually rich with Shaun Tans remarkable eye for detail it feels complete and invites repeated viewing. If your a little over street wise dudes with stand up comic sarcasm, over blown CGI action coupled with misfiring plots take a medicinal shot of "The Lost Thing". You can not go wrong.

A lad is combing the beach for additions to his bottle top collection when he encounters a great big red metallic object - with tentacles. It looks something akin to an octopus stuck in a diving bell! He says hello and suddenly it comes alive. Armed with two great pincers up front, it just wants to play ball and build sandcastles with it's new human friend. As the day comes to a close, the boy realises that his pal has nowhere to go. No home, no friends, no nothing! He goes to his boffin mate to try and identify his tin friend, but in the end they have to conclude it's lost and so he will just have to take it home to his sceptical parents - dirty feet or not! Then he sees an advert on the telly for the "Federal Dept. For Odds and Ends". That became his plan - surely they'd know? Well they might have done had he not been weighed down by a ton of form-filling and red tape and then been warned off by the cleaner! Maybe the best chance is that it will actually remember where it's supposed to go by itself? Well, let's give that strategy a go... Tim Minchin's understated narration works wonders with this engaging mystery and as the pair spend the day exploring potential homes for "thing" the producers have a free rein to create a range of colourful and vivid scenarios using various styles of animation to create a myriad of creatures - human and otherwise, to enhance this simple story. I did enjoy this, even if it's a bit sad at the end.

This Australian film is about a young man who finds a very bizarre looking 'thing' at the beach. He has no idea WHAT it is and no one else seems to care or notice. He makes it his job to try to find out where it goes. In the end, he finds a strange land filled with LOTS of strange creatures.

While far from my favorite of the 2011 nominees for Best Animated Short, this is still a very nice film and I enjoyed seeing it. I went to the theater with a friend to see this and we both agreed it was not very likely to win the award--mostly because the story is its weakest aspect. But, I should say that it DID have amazingly wonderful animation. The computer animation is truly wonderful--high quality, unique and impressive. So, in my case, while I didn't love the story (it was a tad weak), the film looked so great that I didn't mind too much. My advice is that it you see it, turn off your brain and enjoy.

UPDATE: I was surprised, but just moments ago I saw that "The Lost Thing" won the Oscar for Best Animated Short. To me, this was a surprise!

Shaun Tan, is quite well known among Australian children and teacher/librarians for his contributions to the field of children's books and art work.

The Lost Thing was originally published as a children's book in 1999. The story revolves around a young man who finds a... well... Thing. Nobody else seems to notice the Thing, and the young man decides to find out where it is meant to be.

The film is set in a drab, dystopian world that is akin to Dali's impressionistic artistry.

For people that enjoy not only animation, but also art, this is a fantastic choice. The visuals and Thing are quite astounding to watch and the story is very well executed.

For people wishing to buy this film. It is purchasable from here http://www.madman.com.au/catalogue/view/13969/the-lost-thing

A well-made, layered animation short which asks questions about the things we elect to see (or not to see) in our lives. There's quite a vivid and fertile visual imagination at work here, but the work also seems rooted in a certain artistic tradition. I would not be wholly surprised to discover that the various makers of the movie were great admirers of the work of Hiëronymus Bosch.

The first scenes on the beach gave me a certain chill, because they reminded me of a real-life anecdote. A couple of years ago, a friend of mine was spending the weekend in a Belgian seaside city, together with his wife. The pair were spending a lazy midday demolishing a vast plate of seafood, when they suddenly noticed a tiny girl of four or five roaming the street all on her lonesome. My friend and his wife ran out of the restaurant in order to intercept the little girl, who was dressed only in sandals and a swimsuit. They immediately warned the various authorities guarding the beach. The child was soon reunited with her parents. So far this is an unremarkable little tale, but what makes the story so strange is that the girl had wandered off at least an hour earlier, without the parents noticing. How can two normal adults fail to supervise their offspring playing next to a vast body of water ? And, especially, how can they fail to notice one of their offspring getting lost for at least an hour ?

Questions to ponder...