Lost & Found

I love the croched toys. For the flavor about a lost time. But this short film... . It gives one of the most powerful love stories who you imagine. It is impecable crafted. And the emotion created by it remains, for long, lomg time, as a splendid refuge and magnificent eulogy of love. A gem. An admirable, sad and great one.A foxxy, her friends , the dinosaurus and an Japaness inn and garden. A sacrifice out of words. And the fruit of it. All - just superb.

"Lost & Found" is a short animated film by Andrew Goldsmith and Bradley Slabe. I am not sure if they actually used stop-motion or used CGI to make it look like stop-motion. Regardless, it's a simple and somewhat depressing tale.

The story begins with a cute toy, a knitted fox, falling into a fountain and it appears to be drowning. Its friend, a stuffed knitted T-Rex, tries to come to the rescue but becomes entangled on a nail...and unravels more and more as it tries to get to its friend.

The stuffed creatures and set look great. The music is also quite good and really works well. The only reason I gave this marvelously made film a score of only 6 is that it is depressing and the ending left me very flat. However, considering how lovely the picture is, I sure hope to see more from these folks.

I'm not sure why stopmotion animation impresses me more than other types - perhaps it is because I can understand how it was made to the point where I am amazing anyone can do it like that and make it so good. That is the case here, where the animation is wonderfully real and tactile. The wool of the two main characters (stuffed toys) is one thing, but the animation of water and other elements adds another layer. You may not notice this on your first watch through though, because the film does a good job of engaging in the drama and tragedy of the moment.

This scene involves one of the toys at risk, and the other putting themselves at risk to try to save them, because of love. It is simple but dramatic, and it is not afraid to hurt the viewer either, giving a good dose of the tragic while also managing to be touching and bittersweet. There isn't really a weak link in the delivery - the animation is impressive, the content is convincingly real and accessible, and the viewing experience is rewarding. Great little short.

If you're made out of crocheted yarn, a simple nail or peg in the wall can put you out of business. In this one, a green dinosaur is friends with a red fox. One day, as the dinosaur jumps off a shelf, a bit of him catches on a nail and he soon begins to unravel. His friend begins to do what he can to stop the process.