Zach and his friend Reiko find an old film reel and take it to his Grandpa Joe to try and figure out what it is.
In an effort to discover what is on that film Grandpa takes it to his friend, Brody, a cat hating, cineaste.
After watching what turns out to be the first reel of the Japanese film “King Kong in Edo” Brody’s eyes light up. He offers Zach fifty thousand dollars for the canister. Zach politely declines.
As they leave, Zach, Reiko and Grandpa Joe talk about finding the second reel, which they discover, may be somewhere in Japan.
They set off on an adventure to Tokyo to find the second reel.
The unscrupulous Brody follows them with the intention of uniting the film for himself and selling it to the highest bidder.
In the vein of The Goonies and Home Alone, “The Lost Reel” is a fast paced, multi-generational, family adventure set between LA and Tokyo.