When I was still in high school, Shaun Tan’s animated short film "The Lost Thing" amazed me. My decision to study animation at Seneca was more or less affected by "The Lost Thing" and many other terrific animations and feature films that I enjoyed and was motivated by.
Shaun Tan’s short film "The Lost Thing" was based on his book of the same name. I knew it, but I had never gotten a chance to read the book itself. I recognized Shaun Tan when I read his book "The Red Tree" in class. I couldn't say which one is better. I like "The Red Tree" as much as I like "The Lost Thing". They are two different stories yet similar in many ways. Both of them happen in an industrialized world; people were numb and depressed in there. They lost their curiosity and stopped noticing interesting things in their lives. Both stories were about looking for answers about who you are meant to be and where you belong. My favorite line from "The Red Tree" was "Suddenly there it is, right in front of you bright and vivid quietly waiting,", and then the red leaf grew to a red tree. The red tree symbolizes hope to me. This line also reminded me a scene in "The Lost Thing". When the gate opens, a dramatic, bizarre and colourful world is suddenly revealed and the lost thing find the place where it belongs. That was an enormous difference compared the depressed and ordinary world. Similarly, in "The Red Tree", the little girl saw the red tree grow up and she was no longer depressed. These endings also brought up ideas that besides depression, feeling lost and confusion; there is also happiness, hope and excitement in our life.
I enjoyed reading and watching Shaun Tan's works. I like how detailed and entertaining his artwork were, such as the trail of red leafs in every page and Chinese newspaper prints in the background. I also like how Shaun Tan built up the whole story with depression but gave us such warm contrast by the end.
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