Behind the landscapes of "Lost Ollie" lies a serious background with various emotions centered around loss, home, betrayal and friendship. The four-part Netflix miniseries at first glance may seem simple but it is done pretty well with depth and you can judge by the prism of WS Merwin's opening quote "Your absence has gone through me Like thread through a needle. Everything I do is stitched with its color."
The main plot line revolves around Ollie (bringer of peace) who with the help of Zozo, Rosy and a Map reconstructs his memory and prowls the streets in search of his best friend Billy. The film goes on a quest intertwined with the flashbacks, tragic events, without making them adults only or overtly comical keeping in mind the TV-PG 7+ rating. The first two episodes strongly leans towards relationships and the character introductions and apart from obvious theme of loss, this is first and foremost a story about the process of grief and overcoming it.
My favorite is the 3rd and 4th episode, i Loved the Bali Hai introduction as Zozo dances with Nina against the background of a fair, with inanimate toys as it begins to rain - accompanied by an amazing score, it will definitely put a sincere smile of joy as the sequence is filmed so beautifully. Right after this the tone of the series changes as it moves into a bleak territory, it reveals how the difficult fates of Zozo, Ollie, Rosy are closely connected with each other. On the other hand, Zozo really wants to settle a pending account with the past and it really gets interesting with the connections that are revealed. By the way, bleak doesn't mean it plunges into despondency and depression. It makes no sense to tell further, because there is a mix of emotions and timeline in the good sense of the word.
As for the cons, there aren't many except for a little acting, staging problems in few scenes. Also, it seemed the soundtrack could have been better catering to all ages, but this is a purely subjective opinion.
In closing, this is another pleasant surprise from Netflix after The House (2022), Bogdan Boner: Egzorcysta (2020), Kotaru Lives Alone (2022) and The Summit of the Gods (2021). I know many will draw comparison to The Velveteen Rabbit, Sweet Tooth, Toy Story and Where the Wild Things Are. But trust me, in the balance between loss, tragedy and love of life lies the simplicity of Lost Ollie. For young viewers, this mini-series is full of adventures, enveloped with mystery, friendship that will be fascinating. Adults will draw parallels to the incidents that we have encountered in life as it explores the very structure of the human emotions. This will be a good watch with family, friends or if you have little couch time for yourself, it will be worth the time.
