Of course, Lost in Random isn’t an animated film, it has to weave a game around its dark streets and flashy personalities, and on that count, it doesn’t have quite the same sparkle.
But plenty of humour in Lost in Random does land, not least a comedy narrator, which is no mean achievement. Admittedly, I was less enamoured of Mannie Dex, a travelling salesman who wears his store cupboard like an overcoat and reveals its wares as you approach like a leering flasher. The populations within are also a suitably twisted menagerie of stick-limbed, sunken-eyed beings.Īmong them are some fun characters, either stuffed with lovable charm, like Seemore, a goofy three-eyed monster, or delicious menace, like the evil nanny of the Sixer children who reminded me of aunt Lydia from The Handmaid’s Tale. The world has the same mix of sinister and whimsical, from the murky, downtrodden Onecroft, where everyone lives in giant cracked teapots, to the neon lights of cutthroat gambling hive, Fourburg. The parallels in Lost in Random with the visual design of The Nightmare Before Christmas are hard to ignore. Specifically, one made by Tim Burton, using puppets and stop-motion animation. It’s the kind of plot that could make for a great animated film. But not before an unplanned detour into some ancient ruins teams her up with a magical walking, squeaking die of her own, which she names ‘Dicey’. Even – that’s you – sets out to reunite with her lost sibling, on a journey that will take her through every district.
Onecroft-born sisters Odd and Even are separated when Odd rolls a six and is whisked off to the top town. The kingdom is divided into six towns, from the lowly Onecroft to the apparently prestigious Sixtopia, and all children are forced to roll the queen’s decisive die on their 12th birthday to determine where they’ll spend the rest of their lives. It doesn’t seem fair on anyone when every district, high or low, is stifled by oppression, and is as awful in its own way as the next.īut it’s a good setup for a dark fairy tale. In Lost in Random’s Victorian-style fantasy world, chance has replaced freedom, as everyone is assigned their social status by the roll of a die, under the watch of a tyrannical queen. Just as long as we didn’t end up like the kingdom of Random.
There’s a certain fairness in leaving the workings of society to chance.
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