The Boxtrolls (2014)

Genre

Adventure | Animation | Comedy

Directors

Graham Annable | Anthony Stacchi

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Elle Fanning, Ben Kingsley, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Tracy Morgan, Simon Pegg, Dee Bradley Baker, Steve Blum

Storyline

A young orphaned boy (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) raised by underground cave-dwelling trash collectors tries to save his friends from an evil exterminator (Ben Kingsley).

Opinion

In a world where animation basically means Pixar, Disney or DreamWorks, this film, Laika's third film, captured my attention with its being different. Having not seen neither "Coraline" nor "Paranorman", I didn't know exactly what to expect, other than the film to be good because of the nominations it got, but I really liked what I saw. "The Boxtrolls" indeed is maybe dark, but very fun, charming and entertaining animation flick.

Based on the children's book "Here Be Monsters" of which I've never heard of, the story is simple yet quirky, smart and original. Sure, it does have some plot holes and some things don't make a lot of sense, but it's still above-average, and the storytelling is beautiful.

Along with the original story go original characters, the Boxtrolls. They were developed in a different, unique way because of their limited form of communication but they are just adorable, and even though they are just a bunch of indistinguible characters, it comes natural to pick their side.

However, the over-the-top villains are the most interesting and fun, maybe because they are lead by Ben Kingsley's Snatcher, a hideous, diabolic man who wants to exterminate the Boxtrolls.

Maybe "The Boxtrolls" is a little too dark for kids, but it deals with some themes quite well. It teaches not to be afraid of what we don't know or understand, but, more important, not to judge someone or something based on what other people say. The film in fact shows how easily people are manipulated, and how they choose not to think for themselves. That's our society in other words.

Having not seen the previous films from Laika, it took me a while to get used to it, but eventually I've fallen in love with this film's stop-motion animation which is simply amazing.