The Boxtrolls

This film is recommended.

The Boxtrolls, a well-crafted stop motion animation film combined with the latest CGI advances, is an entertaining but somewhat safer and slightly sanitized film from Laika, the same studio that delivered Coraline and ParaNorman, two earlier children's film with a twisted Gothic edge. A pleasant antidote to the cheery Disney fare regularly served to the young set, the film is diverting fun.

There are still twists and turns in the film but it's less of a giddy roller coaster ride than expected. Based on Alan Snow's novel, Here Be Monsters, the darker tone of the book has been substantially altered and lightened up for a more crowd-pleasing effect, although there are some grotesque moments that may frighten the little ones.

Moviegoers are immediately transported to the dingy squalor of brick factories and small shoppes that line the cobblestone streets of Dicken's Ole Victorian London town, or, in this case, renamed Cheesebridge. The upper and lower class live here, both in fear of the Boxtrolls, a lower lower subspecies that dwell underground who are part monster, part cardboard. Living amidst them is Eggs, an abandoned child who was lovingly raised by these creatures that roam the night to recycle the discarded refuse left by people. They avoid human contact as much as possible. Who can blame them! There is the haughty and aristocratic Lord and Lady Portley-Rind, their inquisitive and precocious daughter, Winnie, and especially Archibald Snatcher, a scheming and hateful villain whose main goal is to do away with all Boxtrolls!

As with most animated films nowadays, the visual elements are far superior to the narrative story. The Boxtrolls are not the exception. While the script has some clever dialog, an involving tale, and its charming characters, the plot becomes too formula-driven and conventional. The screenplay by Irena Brignull and Adam Pava relies too heavily on slapstick and chase sequences rather than developing any deep characterizations. The Boxtrolls themselves lack any real distinctive personalities and that British droll humor is in short supply. Everything seems a tad too predictable and ordinary, except for the artistry of the filmmakers and their wonderful details with the elaborate settings, steam-punk gadgetry, and off-beat characters. Special kudos to the remarkable production design by Paul Lasaine.

The voice-over work by the actors (Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Elle Fanning, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Tracy Morgan) is highly accomplished and adds even more joy to the film, especially with Sir Ben Kingley's marvelous line delivery as the nasty baddie who completely steals the film. (In fact, Archibald is more interesting than our hero, Eggs, at least, as viewed in this film adaptation. Kingsley has created one of the best animated villains in years, although part of his great performance pays direct homage to Dame Edna.)

Directors Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi painstakingly create a unique world of grime and clutter. They also allow the surreal elements to emerge to maximum effect, particularly in the underground sequences. Though the film lacks some cohesiveness in its story-telling, The Boxtrolls, more often than not, does think outside the box. With all its creative energy and technical inventiveness on display, even Roald Dahl would be proud. GRADE: B

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For the potential viewers of this film, don't worry if you didn't read the book Here Be Monsters! first. The Boxtrolls movie stands on its own as an excellent story wrapped in visuals that pay homage to the craft of stop motion animation. It's funny, clever, gross, a bit cheeky, and a bit dark. Everything kids and many adults who accompany them or with others in the age group will enjoy. Whether it will be a classic or not, is hard to say.

The Boxtrolls are, well, basically trolls that have boxes they use as clothes and safety. They are a modest and timid sort. They are also industrious and like all kinds of gadgets. Since the story takes place around the time of the Industrial Revolution, there is no shortage of gears, crankshafts, bolts, wheels, or any manner of metal part they try to put to some other use. They also are good at babysitting. None more so than Fish and Shoe, the two de facto fathers of one young boy that goes by the name of Eggs (it should be noted that their names are the names of the boxes they wear).

Without getting into too much detail about the origins of their young charge, these three along with the other Boxtrolls have been labeled as kidnapping, baby eating, monsters by the fine townfolk of Cheesebridge. Led by the elite White Hats and their leader Lord Portly-Rind (Jared Harris) and the upwardly mobile Red Hat Archie Snatcher (Ben Kingsley), they have vowed to eradicate their hamlet of the Boxtroll vermin. The only thing more important than accomplishing this task is their love of all types of cheese. Some of the funniest and strangest scenes of the film is the discussions and consumption of cheese by the ruling class and the aforementioned Mr. Snatcher.

Besides a wonderful voice acting performance by Sir Kingsley, The Boxtrolls is full of great turns. Two of Mr. Snatch's henchmen Mr. Pickles and Mr. Trout, (Richard Ayoade and Nick Frost, respectively) offer up metaphysical and philosophical commentary musings about life and their career choices. On the other hand, the overzealous Mr. Gristle (Tracy Morgan) is a man of few words, rather letting his actions do the talking. Elle Fanning (Maleficent) and Isaac Hempstead Wright (Game Of Thrones) are a perfect match as Winnie, the daughter of Lord Portly-Rind and Eggs. She teaches him how to act in public, while he indulges her thirst for all things creepy and crawly.

The look of The Boxtrolls can be summed up in one word: amazing. Not in a super saturated color, larger than life way, but in a painstakingly meticulous, attention to detail way. Although the film is in 3d and might lose something when viewed on a smaller screen, the skill, reverence and affection the animation/modeling team poured into the sets and characters, along with top shelf screen writing and acting make this film one of the best animated features to come out in quite a while.

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If you haven't yet seen 'Coraline' or 'ParaNorman', it may take you a while to get used to the world of 'The Boxtrolls'. The third feature from Oregon-based studio Laika Animation, it is told using the same stop-motion technique (with some CG and hand-drawn work) as their earlier films, but the similarity doesn't quite stop there. Yes, once again, the animators have eschewed the cuteness of Disney or Dreamworks for something much darker than your normal kiddie fare at the Cineplex, and therein, we would argue, is the reason why it proves so uniquely charming.

Adapted from British children's author Alan Snow's fantasy adventure 'Here Be Monsters!', it retains the Steampunk setting of the novel but takes quite a few creative liberties. Instead of an over- industrialised Ratbridge, the city in question is Cheesebridge, so termed because the dairy product is what separates the rich in "White Hats" from the poor in red ones. What unites the humans across their class distinctions is the subterranean Boxtrolls, little blue- skinned fluorescent-eyed creatures who emerge from the sewers at night to swipe anything and everything they can get their hands on.

So named on account of the cupboard boxes they wear their bodies, the Boxtrolls are feared by the humans as much they fear the humans. The fear of the former is stoked by none other than Archibald Snatcher (voiced by Ben Kingsley), a truly detestable rascal who is responsible for spreading nasty rumours about the Boxtrolls in order to justify his eradication for a coveted place with the "White Hats" and a seat with them at the cheese tasting table. As you can probably guess, their leader is no saint either, but rather a self- absorbed aristocrat by the name of Lord Portley-Rind who cares more about his Gouda and Brie than the welfare of his citizenry.

It's a lot of setup, but co-directors Anthony Stacchi and Graham Annable deftly lay out the intricacies of their make-believe world while setting the narrative in motion. For reasons only revealed in a crucial flashback sequence later, a boy is taken as a toddler under the care of the Boxtrolls and is named Eggs after the carton he wears over himself. While on the prowl one night, Eggs runs into Lord Portley's precocious daughter Winnifred (Elle Fanning) who is shocked that a human would be associating himself with the dreaded Boxtrolls; but before she can make his acquaintance, Eggs is forced to flee from Archibald and his henchmen.

As such stories go, Eggs sets off on a quest with Winnifred in tow to convince the humans that the Boxtrolls aren't sinister beings who kidnap children. To top it off, Archibald turns out to have a nefarious scheme after all, building a contraption to assert his authority over Lord Portley and demanding that he be given the latter's white hat. But parents need not worry - writers Irena Brignull and Adam Pava don't deny the kids of a happy ending, though not before subjecting them to some grotesque images that may just make them swear off cheese for some time.

Consider this as fair warning - visually, this isn't cast in the same mould as the usual CG animation, and one might even go as far as to say that 'The Boxtrolls' operates in a realm of ugliness. But once you look past the cruder-than-usual designs, you're likely to find the cardboard-wearing critters surprisingly endearing by their guile and naivety. We urge you too to pay attention to the dazzling production design that makes up the world of Cheesebridge and the underground lair in which the boxtrolls call home; there is a whole cornucopia of details that will leave you wowed if you pay attention to them.

Still, compared to their earlier features, this latest lacks the heart and poignancy that made its predecessors memorable. Eggs never comes across as someone whose plight we would sympathise with, nor for that matter is Winnifred a likable enough character. The way the boxtrolls communicate in an Ewok-like language is amusing all right, but they are lacking individually in any defining personality. Because we never quite understand the reason why the humans so fear the boxtrolls, their eventual reconciliation doesn't quite resonate as it should.

It isn't that 'The Boxtrolls' is underwhelming though; against a surfeit of clean-cut CG animation, its stop-motion aesthetics make it a refreshing change of look. Rather, because its earlier two adventures were such singular accomplishments, Laika's latest seems more like a walk in the park. Yet its refusal to be boxed in (pun intended) by conventional animation features is still evident in its design as well as its choice of themes, and if there ever were need to prove that it is possible to be both grotesque and charming at the same time, then 'The Boxtrolls' would be it.

The "animation" genre now has a common trait: it is known for broader gags, bullet speed pacing, and eye candy visuals, but out of many animation studios out there, Laika Entertainment could be the only one that stays loyal to their own direction. Aside of the stop- motion animation and love to the horror movie camp, their storytelling and themes are equally unconventional, though charmingly daring at best. The Boxtrolls is no different from their last two movies, except this one might be gentler, but the strangeness is still there intact. And by those merit, the experience becomes special.

It might get immediately be assumed that the film has the same moral of 2012's ParaNorman. It does have that feeling: strange people being treated as outcasts by everybody and describes their fear to them out of caricatures. But the film tends to explore more messages beneath besides of that, if you can get behind with the whole rescue plan stuff, you may also get to notice that it's really about separating people's common views and expectations from the reality; like the Boxtrolls they're against with aren't actually bad creatures, or some fathers turn out to be not as supportive as they're supposed to be, or even the difference between being good and bad. The sentiment may sound a little familiar, but the delivery here is often steady and bitter to acknowledge its sincerity, and it indeed makes it remarkable.

As for the animation, there's no hiding for the love of the horror movie aesthetics. The world already looks magnificently whimsical as the filmmakers transcend their stop-motion animating abilities by making grander and crazier set pieces and physical comedy, but when it comes to featuring its creature and character designs, the camp just brings lots of it to life, some parent might find it a little creepy for smaller children, but if they don't even bother then there is no denying how beautiful they're designed anyway. In another angle, it offers a larger extent of warmth compared to many family movies today. The nearly wordless montage of the Boxtroll Fish raising young Eggs is one of the sweetest things you would see in recent memory, while the sadder montage at the middle act could surprisingly be affecting. These storytellers just know how to drive emotions. Among the voice actors, Ben Kingsley predictably becomes the best. He brings the main pizazz as both the villain and his hilarious drag disguise. Isaac Hempstead Wright and Elle Fanning are great as well, giving their characters the personalities they need. There are more big names (mentioning the favorites like Simon Pegg and Richard Ayoade) that bring the extra fun of the film.

The Boxtrolls is probably going to be the least attraction for the animation genre this year, mostly because it's nearly apart from the comfort zone of today's entertainment. If you don't care about trends, then this movie is a treat, and as usual from its studio, the overall film is dark, campy, but visually stunning and eventually endearing. They still haven't changed and I hope it always stays that way, especially the monster movie tribute and strong heart and perspective towards things. The Boxtrolls proves that these types of animated films shouldn't be antique yet, there is a huge value to its quality and moviegoers should once again encounter it.

Based on Alan Snow's children novel "Here Be Monsters", The Boxtrolls follows in the eerie and murky footsteps of Coraline and Paranorman for an animated caper with more quirkiness than a Come Dine With Me at Tim Burton's house.

Isaac Hempstead Wight voices "Eggs", a boy who grew up under the streets by a group of box-wearing trolls, who roam the streets at night finding anything they can to make into useful devices. Deemed a menace and a scourge, the city employs The Red Hats, a team of brutal Boxtroll-catching goons led by Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) - a ruthless and ambitious tyrant, who hopes to climb the social hierarchy in order to swap his red hat for a white one.

White Hats are the political strata of society, the decision-makers, who spend more time scoffing cheese in the Tasting Room than providing any worthwhile contribution to the town of Cheesebridge. When a White Hat's daughter, Winnie (Elle Fanning), falls in with The Boxtrolls and Eggs, the town becomes the setting for a rough-and-tumble adventure as the gang attempt to find and free the Boxtrolls who have been taken by the Red Hats.

Fun, funky, and full of creative freedom, The Boxtrolls delivers a meatier and more enjoyable family film than its predecessors, with a spectacular cast of voices, and some of the best animation in years. It is lively, perfectly-timed, and some of the weightier themes will keep even the snobbiest of film-watchers interested. The film delivers commentary on very relevant class issues and green themes, whilst keeping them tucked under a bombastic and explosive film for families.

The Boxtrolls themselves are like ugly Minions, speaking an incomprehensible dialect of baffling gibberish, whilst looking petrified by the harsh realities of human interaction. They are, in fact, more appealing than Minions as they each have subtle differences (like the one with false teeth, or the one with anger issues), and varying boxes - such as Fish or Eggs.

Just as The Boxtrolls roam the streets recycling garbage into new and useful things, the film itself has recycled some of its makers' past imagery (wouldn't quite call it garbage, although Paranorman tested this particular reviewer) and created a late summer film that thinks outside the box.