COURTESY: MOVIEPOSTERDB.COM
Rating: B+
From Oregon-based stop-motion animation studio Laika – the same studio that brought audiences “Coraline” in 2009 and “ParaNorman” in 2012 – “The Boxtrolls” wields dark humor and twisted story-telling expertly and, when combined with top-notch special effects and colorful characters, creates a quirky, heartfelt film that transcends merely being an animated children’s movie.
Or maybe I’m just a sucker for animation.
Either way, “The Boxtrolls” manages to be a theatrical surprise and arguably, with its oddly disturbing charm, officially kicks off the Halloween box-office season. Sorry, “Annabelle,” but these dolls had your throne before you even came out of your creepy box.
Set in a fictional European town called Cheesebridge, which is, in fact, so preoccupied with cheese that it’s a mark of aristocracy, “The Boxtrolls” centers upon surprisingly mature themes intertwined in the complex social structure of the city.
At the bottom of the proverbial cheese platter are the boxtrolls, who live with an orphaned human boy named Eggs, voiced by Isaac Hempstead-Wright a.k.a. Bran Stark from “Game of Thrones,” in a series of caverns underneath the city. While the denizens of Cheesebridge believe the trolls to be monstrous, the boxtrolls have their own social system in place and have accepted Eggs as one of their own. Named after the labels on their respective boxes, they are nocturnal creatures that scavenge the trash of Cheesebridge to create mechanical feats unmatched by the human minds of the city.
The hatred and fear that the people of Cheesebridge feel for the boxtrolls is traced back to Archibald Snatcher, voiced by Ben Kingsley, the city’s resident boxtroll exterminator and ambitious social climber. By exploiting the people’s fear of the actually adorable boxtrolls, Archibald hatches a plan to become a White Hat – the highest social position in the city, and for whom the best cheeses are reserved.
However, his plan is derailed by unlikely duo Eggs and Winnie Portley-Rind, voiced by Elle Fanning a.k.a. Princess Aurora from this summer’s “Maleficent,” who has a morbid fascination with the boxtrolls and their frightening reputation. She also happens to be the daughter of the leader of the White Hats – a fact that gives Eggs an edge in saving his boxtroll friends from Archibald.
While the story does have its fair share of predictability, some aspects involving true identities (and cross dressing) are actually pleasant surprises and inspire some of the best laughs of the film.
Even though this is a child’s film at heart – or at least as child-friendly as any film from Laika Studios is – kid-friendly adult humor is sprinkled throughout to maintain appeal across all ages.
However, what’s most refreshing about “The Boxtrolls” lies in the overarching social message threading the plot together. Instead of viewing either side as strictly being good or evil, the film allows the viewer – even children – to see relatable humanity in every character, including the villain Archibald Snatcher. At the center of it all, we are just people wanting to be happy and wanting to be included.
This all leads to the greatest triumph of the film: the focus on family. While the classic trope of appreciating your biological family is very present, “The Boxtrolls” simultaneously shows that family is what you make it. Eggs finds a loving family in a different species entirely, and the boxtrolls eagerly take him in as a helpless infant. In this age of bullying – both cyber and old-fashioned person-to-person – showing children that they can find their place in the world is pretty cool.
But the film doesn’t shove these values into your face. It cleverly infuses lasting life lessons through a creepy atmosphere and quirky characters.
Overall, no matter what your age is, “The Boxtrolls” is enormous fun and – despite being set in a town called Cheesebridge – never cheesy.
If you want to relive your childhood but aren’t committed to re-watching a saccharine sweet Disney movie, “The Boxtrolls” fits the dark, confusing space between adulthood and childhood rather nicely.
Don’t be a troll – see the movie.
