Lost & Found from directors Bradley Slabe and Andrew Goldsmith I can say with clear certainty is my favorite animated short of 2018. Making the 2019 Oscar Animated Shorts Shortlist, though falling just short of a nomination, it’s clear to see why it was being considered. With an emotionally moving story and flawless execution in every element, Lost & Found is a sight to behold.
A Fox & A T-Rex
Beginning with lighthearted images cycling through on an iPhone, viewers are quickly caught up to the relationship between two knitted toys – a fox and a T-Rex. Seen playing together and embracing, the relationship they share is undeniable and unbreakable. Pulling away from the iPhone, the T-Rex awakens from his slumber, looking for his friend across the room. Blowing a kiss, the fox, who has been peacefully relaxing by a pool, catches it, reciprocating the sign of affection. Yet, with his back turned to the water turnstile, dumping water in weighted increments, his tail is soaked, falling back into the pool by the increased weight from the water.
Seeing his friend and the dire situation he is now in, the T-Rex launches into action, catching one of the threads in his netting on a nail. Faced with self preservation or unknitting himself to get to his friend, the T-Rex decides to risk it all, pulling as hard as he can, undoing the loops that created him. Weaving in and out of chairs to help him pull when he gets to his friend, he quickly begins to unravel, stuffing flying out by the pocketful. His friend, barely hanging to the edge, and pushed further down with more water each time it falls, sees the destruction his friend is causing to himself. Finding he can not allow his friend to sacrifice himself, he manages to close the door to the building with a rock, breaking the stick propping the door open.
With the success of saving his friend, the fox gives into the inevitable, sinking to the bottom of the pool. He has saved his friend and that is enough for him. Though determination is a powerful force, and the T-Rex breaks through the shoji door, unraveling his final thread (all while memories of their time together flash across the screen). With the tip of the thread landing in the water, the fox is able to pull himself out, glad to be alive but saddened by the remains of his friend he sees strewn before him. Gathering each piece up, the fox begins to knit his friend back together – but not without much difficulty.
The Technicals
Everything was technically sound within Lost & Found. Immediately, the first thing noticeable is the attention to detail. It makes the animation unbelievably exquisite, from the frayed hairs on the threads that comprise the creatures to the objects surrounding the T-Rex, from the fox to the pool of water, everything is mesmerizing. And it only gets better and more impressive as the short continues. The stuffing popping out of the T-Rex as he is running to save his friend and the water droplets running down the fox who has become oversaturated with water, all culminate into one impressive animated short.
Though it is not just the animation. The short’s score mirrors and heightens the emotions immediately portrayed through the iPhone and the long distance interaction between the friends. As the drama increases and the desperation heightens, the music crescendos into an epic score underlining the self sacrifice of both of these creatures. Even in the end, the score disappears and its absence is effective. It is a new day, the birds chirping the only noise to accompany the fox’s failed attempts to rebuild his friend. The score returns in the final seconds, as the fox tries once again, heightening his resolve to never give up. While a sad conclusion, it is also hopeful, the score brightening this belief that everything will eventually be alright.
None of the elements would have found the success they had if it wasn’t for the brilliant execution of its foundation – the story. Animated films have the unique ability to personify inanimate objects and draw emotions from an audience for them. We feel empathy, sorrow, anger. We feel their pain and their defeat, we root them on. Creating a brilliant story of two creatures desperate to save the other, yet caring enough to never give up, and without one word of dialogue, draws an audience in with precision, holding onto them until the final moments. Presented in a neat 8-minutes, it is perfectly timed and paced – at no point is the story rushed. Audiences are given the time needed to let the entire story surrounding these two toys sink in.
Lost & Found: Conclusion
Lost & Found is a story about friendships and what one is willing to do for a friend. It is also about loyalty. With his friend drowning in the pool, sinking further and further away, the T-Rex gave himself to save his friend, his loyalty strong enough to insight self sacrifice. The fox displays his loyalty as well, not just by trying to prevent the T-Rex from losing himself, but in the final moments by trying to put his friend back together.
It is in this moment, with the fox tirelessly trying to repair his friend, we see deeper meaning within the short. Relationships crack and break, but they are repairable if you truly want them to be. As the fox tries, failing many times, to fix his friend, he never gives up. His loyalty to the friendship drives him. Yet, like repairing most relationships, it is not always as easy as it seems. We may hit some snags along the way, but with dedication and time, we can repair them.
Lost & Found is an animated short I will definitely be recommending to those around me for quite some time. If you have not had the chance to see it yet, do. While you may need a tissue or two, it is worth the watch.
Have you seen Lost & Found? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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