What is a Boy to do when a Penguin turns up at his door? Find out where it came from, of course, and return it— even if it means rowing to the South Pole …

Such is the premise of Oliver Jeffers multi-award-winning children’s picture book and the starting point for this wildly successful adaptation (BAFTA for Best Children’s animation, Annecy Crystal for Best Television Special, & a total of 61 International Awards!).

Lost And Found is one of those fortunate projects that happened out of the blue when executive producer Joan Lofts proposed making a half-hour film of Oliver’s book. Oliver was exceptional in his trust that we could adapt his original short story to the longer length required and based on the shared belief we had that a half-hour is a perfect micro-feature length for young children.

The decision to interpret the originally hand-drawn book into a 3D CGI film was borne out of a desire to leave the original book ‘untouched’ and let the film, with its adapted storyline, be a stand-alone companion piece rather than simply a ‘moving version’ of the book. 

Tasked with interpreting the world of Oliver into a more dimensional version, we devised a look that kept true to Oliver, with a nod to classic stop-motion. We knew that the ocean setting needed to be by turns epic, beautiful, terrifying, and ultimately location – and we felt that CGI would deliver the dimensionality and space to express that.

The team produced countless sketches and studies for the sets & characters, and the build, lighting and compositing team at Studio AKA did an amazingly delicate job on the whole film, allowing the animation team to pour their hearts into the performances. We were exceptionally fortunate that Oliver provided a multitude of original artworks for use in the film, ranging from the pages of a book through to signage and more, a contribution that helped enormously to underline his signature across the film.

The journey to the South Pole proves arduous in the boy’s rowboat. Along the way, there are comedic moments involving the correct etiquette when offered fish, thoughtful non-sequiturs involving plastic ducks, and some stark reminders of just how scary the ocean can be. After a mildly terrifying encounter with a giant octopus ( no spoilers, but all is not what it seems) the boy delivers on his promise and returns the penguin to the South Pole. This does not pan out entirely as expected, and the boy comes to realize what he has really left behind.

The resulting 26-minute film features narration by the great Jim Broadbent and a soundtrack balanced between the beautiful (and award-winning) music written by Max Richter – who amazingly agreed to score the film – and the incredible sound design of Adrian Rhodes from De Lane Lea Studios. The project benefited immensely from this collaboration, and while Adrians details draw you into the world, Max’s themes provide the heart to the film’s emotional narrative.

 THE 61 AWARDS FOR LOST AND FOUND…

• UK – BAFTA 2009 – Winner: Children’s Animation.
• USA – ASHVILLE Int. CHILDREN’S FILM FESTIVAL 2011 – Best Story
• ECUADOR – CHULPICINE FILM FESTIVAL 2011 – First Prize 3-6yrs
• IRAN – TEHRAN INT. ANIMATION FESTIVAL 2011– Best Children’s Animation
• USA – CHILDREN’S FILM FESTIVAL SEATTLE 2011 – Audience Prize
• USA – WILD & SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL 2011– Best Children’s Film
• KOREA – ANIMPACT ANIMATION FESTIVAL 2010 – Best Audience Prize
• SPAIN – EL MEU PRIMER FESTIVAL 2010 – Jury Award
• USA – MAVERICK MOVIE AWARDS 2010 – Best Picture
• SPAIN – FILMETS BADALONA 2010 – Venus de Badalona – Premi del Public
• SPAIN – FILMETS BADALONA 2010 – Premi ’Amics de la musica’
• SLOVAKIA – BRATISLAVIA ANIMATION BIENNIAL 2010 – Victor Kubal Award
• POLAND – GALICJA 2010 – Best Film
• IRAN – Intl. FESTIVAL OF FILMS FOR CHILDREN 2010 – Golden Butterfly
• DENMARK – BUSTER FILM FESTIVAL 2010 – Best short Film
• MEXICO – NINOS KIDS FILM FESTIVAL 2010 – Best Short Animation
• JAPAN – HIROSHIMA 2010 Special Intl. Jury Prize
• KENYA – 5TH LOLA KENYA SCREEN 2010 – Best Animation
• KENYA – 5TH LOLA KENYA SCREEN 2010 – Audience’s Choice Award
• KENYA – 5TH LOLA KENYA SCREEN 2010 – Bronze Mboni
• CROATIA – ZAGREB ANIMAFEST 2010 – BEST FILM For Children
• CROATIA – ZAGREB ANIMAFEST 2010 – MR. M Audience Award
• CZECH REPUBLIC – ZLÍN 2010 – GOLDEN SLIPPER for Best Animated Film
• CZECH REPUBLIC – ANIFEST 2010 – Grand Prix
• CZECH REPUBLIC – ANIFEST 2010 – Best TV Film & Serial
• SPAIN – ANIMABASAURI-ANIMABASQUE 2010 – Best Short Film
• USA – CALIFORNIA INDEPENDENT FILM FEST 2010 – Best Animation
• USA – SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL 2010 – Best YouthFEST film
• INDIA – CMS Intl. CHILDRENS FILM FESTIVAL 2010 – Best Short Animation.
• UK – BRITISH ANIMATION AWARDS 2010 – Best Animation Special.
• USA – CLEVELAND Intl. FILM FEST 2010 – Best Animated Short Film
• USA – Intl. FAMILY FILM FESTIVAL 2010 – Best Foreign Animated Short Film
• USA – BAMKIDS Int. FILM FEST 2010 – Best Animated Short Film
• USA – NYICFF 2010 – Audience Award
• USA – DURANGO FILM FESTIVAL 2010 – Juried Award for Best Family Film
• USA – DURANGO FILM FESTIVAL 2010 – Audience Award for Best Family Film
• BELGIUM – ANIMA 2010 – Audience Award & Grand Prix Special Mention.
• MONACO – IMAGINA 2010 – Best Short Film
• USA – BAICFF 2010 – Children’s Choice Award
• N. IRELAND – CINEMAGIC 2009 – Best short Film
• ARGENTINA – EXPOTOONS 2009 – Best short Film
• PORTUGAL – CINANIMA 2009 – Best medium-length film
• UK – BAF 2009 – Best film for children
• CHINA – SICHUAN TV Festival 2009 – GOLD PANDA Best animated short film.
• BRAZIL – CURTACINEMA 2009 – Audience Award
• CHINA – CICDAF 2009 – Grand Prix for best Children’s program
• USA – CHICAGO Int. Children’s film festival 2009 – Children’s Jury Award
• USA – AUSTIN Film festival 2009 – Animated Short Jury Award
• JAPAN – SAPPORO Short film festival 2009 – Best children’s short
• JAPAN – SAPPORO Short film festival 2009 – Children’s choice: GOLD award
• JAPAN – SAPPORO Short film festival 2009 – Audience award
• NETHERLANDS – PLAYGROUNDS Int Digital Arts Fest 2009 – Best Short
• CANADA – OTTAWA Int animation festival 2009 – Best Children’s TV film
• USA – PALM SPRINGS Int Short Film Fest 2009 – Audience Animation Shor
• FRANCE – ANNECY 2009 – Annecy Crystal for Best TV Special
• AUSTRALIA – MELBOURNE Intl. animation festival 2009 – Best Kids Film
• AUSTRALIA – MELBOURNE Intl. animation festival 2009 – Audience Award
• ITALY – UMBRIA Film festival 2009 – Best Short Film for Kids
• KOREA – S.I.C.A.F 2009 – Special Distinction in TV Films
• BRAZIL – ANIMA MUNDI – Sao Paolo – 2009 – Best short for Children
• USA – RHODE ISLAND Film festival 2009 – Grand Prize -Best Animation