Tim has narrated a 15 minute animated short film, by Shaun Tan and Passion Pictures Australia, called The Lost Thing. It is based on the acclaimed picture book by multi award winning author and illustrator Shaun Tan. It is a modern fable about a boy who discovers a bizarre looking creature on the beach. He realises that is is lost and tries to find out where it belongs or who owns it, only to be met with indifference from everyone else. A synopsis, trailer and more about the book, film directors, cast and crew can be found here.
The Lost Thing will be available, in Australia, 10th November 2010 via Madman. The DVD is region free, however, so it can be played on PAL-compatible DVD players worldwide.
A few videos for your enjoyment: Interspersed with short clips from the film, Shaun Tan talks about his story, the themes and the creation of the film. In the first he talks about Tim, as the narrator, with footage of Tim during a voice record session.
The Lost Thing has already won a string of awards:
Annecy Int. Animation Festival (France, June 2010): The Annecy Crystal (Best Short Film) *
Sydney Film Festival (Australia, June 2010): Yoram Gross Animation Award*
Palm Springs Int. Festival of Short Films (USA, June 2010): Second Place for Best Animated Short
Anima Mundi (Brazil, July 2010): Best Soundtrack
Melbourne Int. Film Festival (Australia, July/Aug. 2010): Grand Prix for Best Short*
Australian Effects and Animation Festival (Australia, August 2010) : Best Short Film
2010 Qantm Desktop CREATE:Awards (Australia, September 2010) : Creative of the Year, and Best Animation
Image en Vues (Canada/Qubec, October 2010): Winner Best Film by the Public
Anaheim International Film Festival (USA, October 2010): Best Animation Short Film
Australian Screen Sound Guild Award (Australia, October 2010) for “Best Achievement in Sound in an Animated Film”.
ANIMACOR 2010 International Short Film Competition (Spain, November 2010) FIRST PRIZE and also the THE SPECIAL AWARD OF CHILDREN TO THE BEST SHORT FILM
Austin Film Festival (USA, November 2010) – Animated Short Jury Award
Chicago International Childrens Film Festival (USA, November 2010) – 1st Prize Animated Short & Best Film By an Emerging Director.
Screen Music Awards (Australia, November 2010): Best Music in a Short Film
*Academy Accredited Awards
Samsung AFI (Australian Film Institute) Nomination: Best Animated Short Film
(Australian Film Institute (Australia, awards announced December 2010)
Inside Film Awards Nomination (Australia, September 2010): Best Animated Short Film
Academy Awards (2011) (Oscar) Nomination: Best Animated Short Film
(Edited to update the Awards)
16 Comments
Seven Stories on 9th of April 2014
Moving Stories – Children’s Books from Page to Screen has just opened at Seven Stories – National Centre for Children’s Books in Newcastle, UK. It features Shaun Tan’s fantastic original illustrations from The Lost Thing and looks at how the book was turned into a Oscar winning film voiced by Tim!
Georgia Roberts on 2nd of March 2011
I love the music at the end with all the other lost things, where can i get this?
susan beltramo on 28th of February 2011
Where can I buy the short film??? I loved it and want to show it to my class in the U.S.. Where can I purchase this film?
Mohamed on 28th of February 2011
won oscar !
congratulations :)
Tim Minchin · The Lost Thing has found itself an Oscar Nomination! on 26th of January 2011
[…] playing the part of the narrator. We’ve already posted some videos about the making of it here, including footage of Tim during a voice record […]
The Lost Thing | CMIS Evaluation Fiction Focus on 24th of November 2010
[…] 15 minute DVD of Shaun Tan’s The Lost Thing, narrated by Tim Minchin became available November […]
yvonne on 10th of November 2010
sounds good. exciting times for tim and tim fans!
The Lost Thing – Shaun Tan meet Tim Minchin | David Maybury | Blog on 10th of November 2010
[…] Tim Minchin voices a 15 animated film of Shaun Tan’s The Lost Thing. […]
Tracey/rm on 10th of November 2010
wow.
Simon Ross on 9th of November 2010
A great collaboration of Perth artists, I hope this is just the beginning of bigger and better things to come.
Gaynor on 9th of November 2010
love it….when will it be available in UK?
Carina on 9th of November 2010
so excited~! :D i adore shaun tan’s artwork – his pictures already ‘feel’ animated in my head… this is just the most amazing next step. yay!!
the film music is also just exquisite…
Helen Sumner on 9th of November 2010
I love The Lost Thing. Will be an absolute treasure to watch. And yes, it does remind you of WA !.. xo
Charley on 9th of November 2010
Thats my Christmas present off my sister sorted then! She can send it me!
Elaine on 9th of November 2010
Looking forward to getting hold of this. It looks wonderful.
Andrea on 9th of November 2010
Sounds great, yet more tim stuff to get excited about! What a month!