It tells the story of a lost toy searching across the countryside for his owner and blends live-action performances with computer-generated animation.

The series uses a mix of live-action and CGI to bring the toy characters to life, with visual effects crafted by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) to blend the animated and real-world elements seamlessly .

[4] 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.

[5] On March 9, 2021, Jonathan Groff was cast in the title role, with Mary J. Blige, Tim Blake Nelson, Gina Rodriguez, Jake Johnson, and Kesler Talbot also joining the series and production beginning in Vancouver.

The website's consensus reads: "Well-crafted and painfully poignant, the wistful Lost Ollie is rewarding family entertainment.

[14] Stephanie Snyder of Common Sense Media gave the series 4/5 stars praising its cinematography and storytelling while criticizing its "inauthentic" Southern accent of the characters.

[15] Joel Keller of Decider similarly praised its visuals provided by the effects team of ILM while criticizing the characters' "unnatural" accent.