The 2010 winner of Best Animated Short Film looks at a boy who befriends a thing that looks out of place. Everyone around him is too wrapped up in their personal affairs to even notice the thing. "The Lost Thing" shows a stark contrast between the boy's world and the place where the thing fits in. Basically, the boy's world is a reflection of our own: a concrete environment where people are too distracted by the latest whatever to notice what's right in front of them. I guess that as we age, we lose the ability to see the fun in everything. As the boy puts it "I haven't seen any more of those things. Or maybe I just haven't noticed." Really good cartoon.

This film is the 2010 effort from Asian-Australian writer-director Shaun Tan that won him the Oscar in the animated short category over such prestigious competition like Pixar or the Centre National de la Cinématographie. I wouldn't want to be the judge if it's the best of the year, but it's surely a cute piece of animation with an interesting story and it fits story-wise very well in with Toy Story 3 winning the full-length animation prize that year.We meet a boy who finds a giant red creature with tentacles, plays with it for a while just as if it's a dog. They have a fun time at the beach building sandcastles, but as the moment of farewell moves closer and everybody would go his way again, the boy realizes that his new companion is lost and has nowhere to go. So he first takes it home, then, after the parents complain, puts it in the shed while trying to find out where it came from, on his own and with the help of a friend. But no success. Finally, he takes it to a lost property office hoping somebody came asking for it. But is this how it ends? It's a nice little tale on misfits that offers an uplifting ending and an interesting moral (maybe that was what lifted this one above the other nominated films to Oscar glory) that finds a good balance and is not too much in the viewer's face. It's not a real standout in regard to anything, animation, story or voicework, but the combination of all the aspects resulted in a thoughtful overall result. Recommended and I'm curious about Tan's work in the future. I'd really like to see a feature film from him, maybe even centering around The Lost Thing.

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

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!