The Lost Thing

I was forgetting to write about this - but I figured it's better late than never.

Symbols:
The Lost Thing- Childish characteristics, such as imagination, purity, and creativity.
Train- Mind-numbing everyday routine that adults go through
Arrow Sign- Sliver of hope
Gray Smoke- A sense of deprivation
Colorful world- Childhood memories

Theme(Message):
The director Shawn Tan, as an artist himself, is warning people of the loss of childish characteristic. The society, through its dull environment and boring routines, takes away the purity that was once in our hearts, and makes us "adults". We consider this as "growing up", but there are always some "lost things" behind this process. They are the things that are depicted with colors in the film, and it is so valuable yet we cannot get it back once we lose them. It might be true that we need "adults" more than we need creativity. However, we should always know to cherish the childish characteristics, and not suppress them.