Netflix’s Lost Ollie review: If Toy Story messed you up, brace yourself

“Real isn’t how you are made… It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become real,” says the Skin Horse, the oldest, wisest toy in Margery Williams’ The Velveteen Rabbit, a children’s book that turned 100 this year.

Stories about toys being real and having feelings are a staple of children’s media, and for good reason. Stories like these show that children have a special bond with their favourite toys. The Velveteen RabbitToy Story Calvin and Hobbes, Winnie the PoohPlease see the following: Edward Tulane’s Miraculous Journey Each illustrates that bond differently.

Netflix’s Lost OllieThe latest version of this genre is here. From creator Shannon Tindle, a character designer on Kubo and The Two Strings Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Lost Ollie is a loose adaptation of William Joyce’s children’s book Ollie’s Odyssey. While Lost Ollie touches on familiar beats of toy-focused stories, it also plunges further into some of the darker implications of a world where toys are alive and fleshes out the child’s point of view. This is how you can help your child. Lost Ollie It is a reminder of how powerful a well-worn tale can be if it is given sufficient detail and care.

[Ed. note: This review contains setup spoilers for Lost Ollie.]

Image by Netflix

Lost Ollie The story follows the titular rabbit, portrayed by Jonathan Groff. He wakes up in a thrift shop and has no memory of his journey. Ollie is certain that Billy (Kesler Tallbot), the boy to whom he belonged, needs him back. Ollie can only remember a few things about Billy and how he got lost, but he teams up with Zozo (voiced by Tim Blake Nelson), a toy clown who’s also looking for someone he lost. After they escape the shop, they find tiny pink teddy bear Rosy (voiced by Mary J. Blige), who used to be Zozo’s traveling companion. They set out on their search, and Ollie gradually begins to reconstruct what happened to Billy.

There is a big difference in the quality of Lost Ollie other movies and books centering around toys is that Billy’s story makes up a big part of the narrative as well. From both Ollie’s memories and the scenes happening concurrently from Billy’s point of view, we learn that Billy’s mother (played by Gina Rodriguez, doing a mildly painful Southern accent) has cancer. Sometimes these scenes end up being a little clunky, if only because a starry-eyed dying mother paired with a gruff, serious father (played by Jake Johnson) who can’t emotionally process the oncoming grief is a bit of a cliche at this point.

While the flashback scenes with Billy and his parents go exactly where you think they will — especially after we learn that they don’t have health insurance to cover Momma’s hospital visits — this insight to Billy’s story adds more poignance to the overall show. Ollie has a purpose and needs Billy the way Woody and Buzz do. Billy is the one who needs Ollie. Also Ollie needs his comfort because he’s a small boy in a difficult time.

Photo: Diyah Pera/Netflix

It is one of the most picturesque parts of Lost Ollie The toys communicate not just with one another, but also with other children. It’s never really explained, but it doesn’t have to be. Children share a special bond with their most beloved toys and Ollie and Billy’s bond is clearly strong. While the idea of talking toys is fantastical, the idea of children talking to their toys isn’t, which makes Lost Ollie You feel that it can actually be a part of your world. Although animated, the toys look more real than stuffed animals. The live-action elements are juxtaposed. Lost OllieThis becomes a wonderful story. Could be real — and certainly, as a little kid, one wants to imagine their lost toys searching high and low for a way home. The flashbacks could do more to explore Ollie and Billy’s connection, especially since the current-timeline scenes mostly deal with Ollie and his two companions on their quest. The scenes where the toys are simply just toys are a different kind of evocative — especially the third episode, which dives deeper into Zozo’s past and what he’s looking for.

That episode features: Lost OllieToy Story is just the beginning. Toy Story 4: The end movie, Woody and Bo Peep have sworn off children and go gallivanting around on their own; that’s just where Lost Ollie starts. While Ollie, Zozo, Rosy, and Rosy may be looking for the perfect someones for them, Zozo and Rosy were left on their own for some time and have had to live rough and difficult lives. They don’t have children to love them, nor do they speak of children from their past. They’re what happens to the toys in bins at antique stores, the ones gathering dust on shelves, forgotten in lost and found boxes.

Image by Netflix

Zozo and Rosy’s backstory gets pretty dark, taking this soft, whimsical story into haunting territory. Similarly, Billy’s story turns from some rosy-colored memories of his family to how they cope with tragedy. This is possible by incorporating these heavier themes and more poignant moments. Lost Ollie This harkens back a similar somber time. Velveteen Rabbit. Toy stories are always poignant. Children grow up and toys become lost. Life moves on. Lost Ollie doesn’t cushion the blows — and boy, there are some devastating blows. While the first two episodes are sweet and charming, a fun exploration of the world through a toy’s point of view, the last two don’t hold back to diving into the heavier aspects of this setting.

Ollie continues his search for Billy throughout it all. He loves Billy and knows Billy love him. Ollie’s quest is simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking. The show might tread on familiar territory in the setup, but by the end it’s so evocative that any overdone tropes feel fresh, like they’ve just hit for the first time. Lost OllieIt captures childhood’s joy of trusting in your favorite toys, even through all the lows and highs. And just like the Skin Horse told the Velveteen Rabbit, sometimes it does hurt — becoming real, growing up, being loved. It is well worth the effort. Lost Ollie He manages to demonstrate that everything has its joy and also sorrow.

Lost OllieAvailable on Netflix Now