'The Boxtrolls' Is Perfect For All Audiences

By Staff in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 26, 2014 9:35PM

'The Boxtrolls,' courtesy Focus Features.

The Boxtrolls is the latest stop animation movie from Laika, the studio that made Coraline and ParaNorman. The Boxtrolls tells the story of a young orphaned baby, called both Eggs and Trubshaw Baby (voiced by Isaac Hempstead-Wright), raised by underground trolls that are mechanical tinkers. The nemesis of the story, Archibald Snatcher (Sir Ben Kingsley), plays upon the town’s fears of the Boxtrolls and the disappearance of the Trubshaw Baby as his devilish plot to earn his way in to the cities elite, cheese circles.

Archibald Snatcher goes about trying to exterminate the Boxtrolls with his band of misfit snatchers, Mr. Gristle (Tracy Morgan), Mr. Pickles (Richard Ayoade) and Mr. Trout (Nick Frost). The snatchers perception of reality is often a topic of discussion amongst them as they determine which side of good or evil they are really on. Snatcher has alternate plans for the Boxtrolls and aspirations past being just a member of the local elite. When Eggs learns of Archibald’s plans, he employs the help of his lone human friend Winnie Portley-Rind (Elle Fanning), to try and foil the evil plot.

The Boxtrolls is a wonderful story that is entertaining for kids and adults alike. The hilarious dialogue of the Snatchers is well played by the actors, but that shouldn’t be a surprise considering their comedic pedigrees. The battle of good and evil for Gouda’s best interest echoes a larger, societal theme—how do we find our place in the world? This theme may seem lofty but is relevant with Eggs’ speech at the end of the movie where he discusses choosing your own destiny, “You being you.”

The Boxtrolls is an adapted story based upon the book Here be Monsters by Alan Snow, and is the directorial debut for Anthony Stacchi and Graham Annable. To learn more about the filmmaking process of stop animation and the challenges of directing such a movie, check out our interview with both directors. Also, stick around the theater after the movie ends— during the credits, there’s a time lapse scene demonstrating how stop animation works. The incredibly arduous process to make a film like this is fascinating to see.

By: Joeseph Campagna