The Lost Thing

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.

I have just finished reading The Arrival by Shaun Tan and I am so impressed. Looking for interviews with him, I have found on youtube The Lost Thing and watched it. Amazing. Very well done. Nice story. Nice parable. I come to find out this short took an Oscar. And that Oscar was won against The Gruffalo. I still like The Gruffalo better, but this one is somehow deeper. I guess the old men and women of the Academy Awards Jury went for the old man sadly looking behind to the lost youth instead of the wise youth theme. Still, it was a tough choice and I can name a few years when all the candidates were of lower quality. But that is life!

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Perth Comedy Muso Tim Minchin narrates this charming, if somewhat bizarre animated short. It's only about 30 minutes long and it's based on a children's book by Shaun Tan, also from Perth.

A boy discovers a large and rather strange contraption on the beach. The only way to describe it would be like a 12ft crab-like industrial boiler... with tentacles. It doesn't say much, but it seems to love playing fetch. The boy can't understand why everyone around him is totally oblivious to it. They must have more important things to pay attention to. The boy spends a bit of time with it, they form an instant bond and it soon becomes clear that this inexplicable thing... is lost. The boy tries taking it home with him but his parents are none too pleased to have a large unidentified lodger. What is a boy to do? Surely this thing... belongs somewhere.

The Lost Thing is a cool little toon for all ages. The animation is a bit like Pixar meets Aardman. You can view a low budget, subtitled, Minchin-less version on YouTube, but if I were you, I'd hold out for the real deal. I must admit that I'm from Perth and I'm a huge fan of Tim Minchin so my review is a bit biased, but now I've discovered a new homegrown talent. Shaun Tan has a uniquely brilliant imagination. Let's hope that he makes a full-length feature or at least a collection of shorts soon, because the only problem with Lost Thing... is that it's too short. The DVD contains a few extra features that make up for the short running time and there's also a bonus sketch book that's definitely worth thumbing through. Just consider it to be a preview of things to come. Watch this space!

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

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!