D: Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi
W: Irena Brignull, Adam Pava
S: Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Elle Fanning, Ben Kingsley, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Tracy Morgan
From the studio that brought you ParaNorman (2012, dir. Chris Butler, Sam Fell) and Coraline (2009, dir. Henry Selick) comes another delightful and fun movie, The Boxtrolls.
When night falls on the town of Cheesebridge a mysterious and mischievous group of creatures, the eponymous Boxtrolls, roam the city at night and collect random bits of garbage to construct random gizmos and thingamabobs. Unfortunately all is not well in Cheesebridge as Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) wrongly tells the leader of Cheesebridge, Lord Portley-Rind (Jared Harris), that the Boxtrolls have captured and eaten a small child and murdered his father. The reason? So he can rise the social ranks and become a 'White Hat.' This of course turns out to be false as the baby turns out to be fine and is raised by trolls after his father mysteriously disappears. The boy, named Eggs (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), along with the Lord Portley-Rind's daughter Winnie (Elle Fanning), attempts to right the wrongs and clear the Boxtroll's name.
Like a lot of studio Laika's movies it deals with the theme of outsiders and misfits. In this case not only is the main character a misfit but also the villain, with Snatcher wanting to belong to the higher ups by any means necessary. He even cross dresses as a woman named Madame Frou Frou. Why? I'm guessing because he'll do whatever it takes to belong to the upper society *shudders*.
This movie also ties in the topic of nature vs nurture. With people assuming the Boxtrolls are evil because they aren't the same nature as the humans so they think their natural way of thinking is more savage. Whereas they think they're are just the good guys without question which is brought up by two of Snatcher's henchmen, Mr. Trout (Nick Frost) and Mr. Pickle (IT Crowd's Richard Ayoade). By the way, these two along with the third henchmen, Mr. Gristle (Tracy Morgan) get a lot of laughs.
Not only is the film great in the story telling department but it's also great from a technical and artistic standpoint. I have nothing but respect for anyone who does stop motion animation, because this style requires a lot of time and patience, there's a great bonus clip during the credits that show how long it takes to get a small scene filmed. They do a great job at building and showing the world of the Boxtrolls in an excellent about detailed design.
If there are any negative aspects about the film is that some character development isn't as strong, mainly the plot line involving Lord Portley-Rind and his daughter's relationship.
The film is wonderful treat with some splendid comedic moments and enough charm to satisfy both kids and adults. Give it a watch. Also, if you haven't seen Corlaine or ParaNorman you totally should!
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