''Lost Ollie'' is an American

live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

computer animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...

miniseries created by Shannon Tindle. The series is based on the 2016 children's book ''Ollie's Odyssey'' by

William Joyce William Brooke Joyce (24 April 1906 – 3 January 1946), nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an American-born fascist and Nazi propaganda broadcaster during the Second World War. After moving from New York to Ireland and subsequently to England, J ...

. ''Lost Ollie'' was released on August 24, 2022, by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Synopsis

A lost rabbit toy, Ollie, finds himself at lost and found section at an antique shop. He remembered that he was separated from his best friend, Billy. Having only a few recollections of his past, Ollie decides to take a journey to find Billy. Meanwhile, he slowly rediscovers his own fond memories with Billy and his adopted family alongside their misfortunes and sorrows.

Cast

Voice cast

Jonathan Groff Jonathan Drew Groff (born March 26, 1985) is an American actor and singer . He began his career on Broadway, rising to prominence for his portrayal of Melchior Gabor in the original production of '' Spring Awakening'' (2006-2008), for which h ...

as Ollie *

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

as Rosy *

Tim Blake Nelson Timothy Blake Nelson (born May 11, 1964) is an American actor and playwright. Described as a "modern character actor", his roles include Delmar O'Donnell in ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000), Gideon in ''Minority Report'' (2002), Dr. Pendan ...

as Zozo

Live-action cast

Gina Rodriguez Gina Alexis Rodriguez-LoCicero (born July 30, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Jane Villanueva in The CW satirical romantic dramedy series ''Jane the Virgin'' (2014–2019), for which she received a Golden Glob ...

as Momma *

Jake Johnson Mark Jake Johnson Weinberger (born May 28, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, film producer and screenwriter best known for his role as Nick Miller in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'' (2011–2018), for which he was nominated for the Critics' Ch ...

as Daddy * Kesler Talbot as Billy * William Carson as young Billy * BJ Harrison as Flossie * Everett Andres as Mike Apple * Zoë Noelle Baker as Jolene * Isabel Birch as Suzy * James Pizzinato as Suzy's dad/Older Billy

Episodes

Production

Development

On October 6, 2020, Netflix director Teddy Biaselli revealed that ''Lost Ollie'' had been picked up by the streaming platform, mentioning that the series had been in the works since 2016.

Casting

On March 9, 2021,

was cast in the title role, with

, and Kesler Talbot also joining the series and production beginning in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

for the series began on February 1, 2021, with filming taking place inside and outside College Park Elementary from February 9 to February 11 in

Port Moody Port Moody is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It envelops the east end of Burrard Inlet and is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south a ...

. According to ''Production Weekly'', filming concluded in March 2021. Scenes were also shot in and around Tindle’s hometown of Shepherdsville, Kentucky.

Release

The series was released on August 24, 2022.

Reception

The series overall was received positively. Rendy Jones of ''

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times' ...

'' gave the series 3.5/4 stars praising its visuals, writing, and characterization. He emphasized the "breathtaking" visuals on the series as well as the dark and sentimental approach to the formula. Stephanie Snyder of ''

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

'' gave the series 4/5 stars praising its cinematography and storytelling while criticizing its "inauthentic" Southern accent of the characters. Joel Keller of ''

Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' *'' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machine th ...

'' similarly praised its visuals provided by the effects team of ILM while criticizing the characters' "unnatural" accent.

References

External links

* * {{Netflix original animated series and films 2022 American television series debuts 2022 American television series endings 2020s American animated television series 2020s American children's television series 2020s American television miniseries American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated drama television series American children's animated fantasy television series American television shows based on children's books American television series with live action and animation Animated television series about rabbits and hares English-language Netflix original programming Netflix children's programming Television series based on children's books Television shows filmed in Vancouver