Shaun Tan, The Lost Thing

Speaking of amazing author/illustrators, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to see Shaun Tan's animation The Lost Thing at the Melbourne Film Festival two weekends ago. Like all Shaun's work, this was a labour of love - many years of work for only ten minutes of viewing - but the result is exquisite. There is so much detail in every scene, full of Shaun's gorgeous painterly textures and colours, curious characters, signs and symbols, that I wanted to go back and freeze each frame just to absorb it all. Plus, on screen, the story seemed even more moving than I remembered.

If you missed The Lost Thing's only Melbourne viewing, don't despair, as DVDs will be available for sale in November - just in time for Christmas! Meanwhile, here is the trailer, as a taster, and don't forget to visit the website for more information.