Lost and Found is a charming story about a little boy who wakes up one day to discover a little penguin waiting on his doorstep. Concerned that his unexpected guest is lost, the boy is determined to return the penguin to his home on the South Pole. The pair sets off in a row boat from the boy’s quaint little fishing village on their long and eventful journey with only a couple small suitcases, an umbrella, a radio and a small map to guide them.

Beautifully illustrated and animated, Lost and Found is a heartwarming tale of friendship, forgiveness, discovery and loss. The film is almost entirely silent except for a wonderful score and brilliant narration by Academy Award-winning actor Jim Broadbent.

It was an entertaining adventure that had my girls (aged 4 and 6) captivated from start to finish. You could have heard a pin drop and their eyes never left the screen, except perhaps to be partially covered by a blankie during one slightly scary sequence.

Also included with the 24 minute short film is a 29 minute making of featurette that talks about the inspiration behind the story and the technical aspects of the film. It does a particularly nice job of showing the various aspects that go into adapting a book into a longer CGI animated film. It was nearly as entertaining and fascinating as the film itself. There was a little bit of aliasing effects in the video during this feature, but the film itself looked very rich.

The timing of watching this extra content couldn’t have been better since we had just recently attended a PIXAR exhibit on some of these same topics at Boston’s Museum of Science a week prior. I found it to be a really interesting piece, which adds some nice value to this DVD package.

What’s Included on the DVD:

Features (24 min)

• Video: 16×9 1.78:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English 2.0 Stereo
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

• Making-of-Featurette (29 min)

Final Thoughts:

The whole family really enjoyed this heartwarming story and I’m sure that my daughters will want to watch it again soon. I am not familiar with the original book by Oliver Jeffers, but I will definitely be seeking out some of his other works at the library to read with my girls at bedtime.

The CGI animation used the film adaptation is absolutely gorgeous, even better than the source book’s 2D illustrations, bringing so much life to the characters. You’ll be captivated by the beautiful seascapes and vast panoramas. Lost and Found is a memorable experience, worthy of the many accolades it has already received. Just short of an actual Blu-ray release, Entertainment One’s DVD presentation is top notch, with crisp clear video and an engaging added ‘Making of’ Bonus that clocks in at just a bit longer than the film itself.