I want to see The Lost Thing. Here’s why:
- It’s by Shaun Tan. (I’d link to his site but bandwidth has been exceeded–probably by people trying to find The Lost Thing.)
- It’s based on a picture book. (Again, bandwidth exceeded there.)
- It won an Oscar this year (animated short film).
- I’ve seen Shaun Tan at a panel discussion and thought he was refreshingly modest and serious at the same time.
- It looks really good, based on the trailer.
However, I can’t seem to find The Lost Thing. The official website says it is available on DVD. But in order to get it I have to pay $29.95 Australian Dollars plus $8 shipping to get it in the US (based on the current exchange rate, that’s $39.30 USD). It is not available on Netflix in any fashion. There are blog posts about this short film all over the internet, but it looks like the distributer took down the full-length videos everywhere. It is not in the catalog of my city’s large public library system. It does not even appear to be available for purchase on Amazon (my search pulls up a bunch of Bear in the Big Blue House VHS tapes).
I am very sorry, Shaun Tan. I would like to see your award-winning film. I am willing to pay a bit for it, but not $39.30. If someone out there has seen it and can convince me that it is worth that much while I am “between jobs” then I would love to hear about it. If this makes me a cheapskate, please tell me. In the meantime, I sincerely hope the DVD distribution company releases it a bit more worldwide. And I will find a copy of the picture book at my local bookstore or library to tide me over until that happens.