‘LOST OLLIE’ Review: A Deeply Felt, Deeply Immersive Toy Story

Courtney Howard / Film Critic

LOST OLLIE

Rated TV-PG, 4 episodes

Directed by: Peter Ramsey

Starring: Jonathan Groff, Jake Johnson, Gina Rodriguez, Tim Blake Nelson, Mary J. Blige, Kesler Talbot

There’s nothing like your first formative relationship with a favorite toy. Pixar’s TOY STORY series explored a ragtag group of toys’ secret life and friendship with their young human owner. And while author William Joyce’s “Ollie’s Odyssey” traverses some similar territory, it expands the world and, in turn, widens the emotional scope. Director Peter Ramsey’s LOST OLLIE, based on the aforementioned novel, further magnifies its source material’s brilliant facets. This one will have you reaching for the tissues – and possibly even leave you sobbing profusely in front of your kids.

The series begins on a dark day: when young Billy (Kesler Talbot) loses his best friend, Ollie (voiced by Jonathan Groff), a soft, floppy, handmade rabbit with a tiny jingle bell for a heart. The pair had been thick as thieves since Billy was born, carrying each other through many years of play and fun, but had recently been feeling the growing pains of onset adolescence. Ollie, suffering from substantial memory loss, awakens in a sleepy consignment store not remembering many details from his past, except that he desperately needs to get back home to his bestie. This proves easier said than done as he and his new toy friends – resourceful carnival clown Zozo (Tim Blake Nelson) and weary warrior Rosy (Mary J. Blige) – quickly discover.

Though there are no demarcated title cards, each of the four episodes is constructed to feel like a chapter in a children’s bedtime story. The series (adapted and created by Shannon Tindle) is binge-able in one sitting, but spacing it out over a few nights holds added treasure, allowing the broader overarching themes and emotional heft to land properly. The series tackles big and often scary issues like grief, growing up, toxic masculinity, bullying and illness in an enlightened, genuinely meaningful manner. Ollie’s flashbacks that appear when fond and flawed memories of his human family return aren’t jarring. They reveal clues at a good pace as the mystery unfolds – one that leads to a satiating, earned finale.

Series creators and writers handle tone marvelously, balancing and modulating the source material’s dark and light underpinnings. They also don’t fear leaning into those extreme emotional notes, embracing the somber and the sweet in equal measure, gently and respectfully. The series never condescends to its audience (of any age) – a true feat given Joyce’s book is targeted to tweens, or really anyone who loves imaginative whimsy and fantasy. Action, intrigue, adventure, humor and heart are all infused into the narrative of this spirited journey.

The animation is captivating and compelling. Every image is like a painted illustration. So much so, that if you need to pause any episode (as we all do in the comfort of our own home), your screen will look like a fine art display. Visual cues subtly hint at context clues, foreshadowing events and pivotal character development. C. Kim Miles’ cinematography is sparkling, guiding us through Ollie’s quest with grace and nuance. The animation and visual effects teams at Industrial Light and Magic, who seamlessly blend live-action backgrounds with the animated characters in the foreground, have done a terrific job, breathing life, authenticity and expression into this picture. Adding to the aesthetic, Scot Stafford’s swelling symphonic score is grounded in honesty and humanity.

Performances from the voice actors and humans give the picture a beating heart. Groff perfectly embodies Ollie’s gumption, wonderment and childlike naiveté. Nelson turns in work that’s tragic, tender and occasionally terrifying. Talbot holds his own against seasoned performers like Jake Johnson, who plays Billy’s harried father, and Gina Rodriguez, who plays Billy’s indomitable mother.

Perhaps the most powerful lesson this series teaches us is that love and loss are threads in the fabric of life that bind us together, providing us with necessary connection. The meta context of what Ollie represents also resounds loudly. There may always come a time where we must leave childish things – the talismans of our past – behind. Yet that doesn’t mean we can’t rediscover that sense of joy again.

Grade: A-

LOST OLLIE begins streaming on Netflix on August 24.