The Boxtrolls
Focus Features | Release Date: September 26, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
14
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottSep 26, 2014
Boxtrolls stands reasonably well on its own, as a cool steampunk fairy-tale that serves as yet another testament to the artistry of the folks at Laika. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeySep 25, 2014
You can see the years of effort, the polish and precision that went into creating The Boxtrolls... But somehow it still doesn't add up to enough. Read full review
60
The GuardianMike McCahillSep 22, 2014
Set it against the shiny blandishments that have passed for family fun this season, and it starts to look vaguely radical. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonSep 9, 2014
Breathlessly paced and surreally funny, ‘The Boxtrolls’ fizzes with visual invention and wild slapstick. But the grotesquerie is overbearing. Read full review
58
Film.comJames RocchiSep 24, 2014
The Boxtrolls is a swing-and-miss for Laika; when you move forward with revolutionary techniques while standing still in terms of your themes, stories and settings, no amount of technical trickery or animation genius can bring the boring to vivid life. Read full review
50
SlateDana StevensDec 15, 2014
What ultimately brings down The Boxtrolls isn’t the film’s willingness to wade into grimmer, more gruesome waters than your average kids’ animated adventure. It’s the failure to anchor its often misanthropic story in a character or relationship strong enough to offer a glimpse of redemption—a place of respite in an ugly, cheese-obsessed world. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsSep 27, 2014
The Boxtrolls remains relentlessly busy up through its final credits, and it's clever in a nattering way. But it's virtually charmless. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSep 25, 2014
In many ways a beautiful movie, and yet in other ways it’s not very good at all. As an achievement in stop-motion animation, it’s stunning — seamless and detailed, so perfectly done that it’s easy to forget that you’re witnessing skill and not magic. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithSep 24, 2014
Engaging as it is to look at, this stop-motion animation film from the young Oregon studio Laika seems to have been masterminded by people thinking, “Everyone loves Pixar. So let’s do everything the opposite!” Admirably contrarian. Like being cast overboard and calling out for an anvil. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChris CabinSep 24, 2014
The flippancy toward the story's thematic concerns and character construction suggests that the film, like the boxtrolls' myriad gadgets and inventions, was largely built from used parts. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeAug 31, 2014
The meticulously crafted world is stunning to behold, imagined to the minutest detail and photographed with the sort of dramatic lighting and dynamic camera movement rarely seen in stop-motion. Trouble is, it’s not a place most folks would care to spend any time. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzSep 25, 2014
Enchantment is an essential ingredient of an animated film, particularly one that skirts dark edges. The Boxtrolls doesn't have nearly enough of it. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierSep 25, 2014
Kids who get a kick out of the macabre will enjoy this exquisitely crafted but tedious film. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyAug 31, 2014
There’s a crucial shortage of heart here, from the messy storytelling to the hit-or-miss humor and unattractive visuals. Read full review
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