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7

BikerjamesSep 28, 2014

The animation is great, the voice characterizations excellent as well. However, when I watch an animated film I expect to laugh. I never laughed out loud once, only a chuckle here and there when the boy interacts with his fellow humans forThe animation is great, the voice characterizations excellent as well. However, when I watch an animated film I expect to laugh. I never laughed out loud once, only a chuckle here and there when the boy interacts with his fellow humans for the first time during a party. In fact, I laughed more during the preview of the SpongeBob Squarepants movie before this movie started than I did for the entire Boxtroll film. I'm sure you will be asking yourself the same question I did - how did this boy learn to speak perfect English since he was raised by trolls that don't speak English? I also thought the filmmakers were trying to cash in on the Minion craze, and Minions are much funnier. Still, I appreciated all the work put into the film and I didn't get bored so I give it a pass. Barely.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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5

beingryanjudeNov 22, 2014

Far from a visual masterpiece, the Boxtrolls misses the magic of the animated classics which have come before it. There are charming moments--but they are easy to miss amidst some grotesque visuals.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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7

MattBrady99Mar 13, 2015

You know in those Claymation movies where the characters have skinny arms and legs, but they have big belly's, um... something is not right about that.

The story is about a young orphan, raised by subterranean trash collectors, must findYou know in those Claymation movies where the characters have skinny arms and legs, but they have big belly's, um... something is not right about that.

The story is about a young orphan, raised by subterranean trash collectors, must find the hero inside when an evil exterminator threatens his family.

The beginning of this movie started a bit slow and I wasn't feeling it, but as the film went a long it became better. The voice acting in the film was well done. The villain in the film to me had a really stupid plan that didn't make scenes at all, and he was a cliche messed up villain with nothing really new to him, but Ben Kingsley did a good job voicing him. The jokes worked at times and sometimes they don't. But overall the Boxtrolls is a solid family movie with so dark scenes and such messed parts that might scary kids a little.… Expand

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5

YellowKirbyNov 30, 2015

Although the Boxtrolls is visually stunning and funny at times, it is still quite forgettable, with some unlikeable characters and a few unnecessarily random jokes. And, like most movies nowadays, Boxtrolls has the need to get all loud andAlthough the Boxtrolls is visually stunning and funny at times, it is still quite forgettable, with some unlikeable characters and a few unnecessarily random jokes. And, like most movies nowadays, Boxtrolls has the need to get all loud and noisy like some superhero movie towards the end.… Expand

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9

chesaroSep 26, 2014

Very very nice movie, its weird as hell, but that's what you should expect after Coraline, Paranorman and the night before Christmas. The downside its that this movie is not for everyone and its absolutely not aimed to children, it is goingVery very nice movie, its weird as hell, but that's what you should expect after Coraline, Paranorman and the night before Christmas. The downside its that this movie is not for everyone and its absolutely not aimed to children, it is going to have a lot of bad reviews just because the target population is not as broad as a disney-pixar movie.… Expand

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

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10

judahjsnOct 12, 2014

A masterpiece. I can't understand why this doesn't have a perfect critical score. So funny and smart and beautiful to look at. Really loved it. I love that movies for children are evolving in the substance of their messages.

6 of 8 users found this helpful62

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6

TVJerrySep 27, 2014

The first film from Laika was the wonderfully gloomy "Coraline." They got even darker with "ParaNorman" and have moved into the grotesque territory this time. A strangely quaint village is terrified of the underground trolls who wear boxesThe first film from Laika was the wonderfully gloomy "Coraline." They got even darker with "ParaNorman" and have moved into the grotesque territory this time. A strangely quaint village is terrified of the underground trolls who wear boxes like turtles. When an orphan who they raised surfaces, he sets out to make things right. There's no denying that the stop-motion animation is amazing, but the art direction and character design is downright bizarre. Some of the thick British accents present challenges, especially at the beginning. This variation on a traditional story is framed in a twisted creation. NOTE: Stay thru the credits for a fascinating look at an animator working.… Expand

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7

joaogerundoSep 27, 2014

The Boxtrolls has many of the hallmarks of the previous films; bizarre angles, strange-looking characters, and a kind of fearlessness, an ability to gaze at darkness head-on.

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7

CapnAmarSep 29, 2014

The Boxtrolls features an almost entirely English cast, the rest donning false yet convincing accents, in a stop-motion fantasy-comedy from the animation team responsible for Coraline and ParaNorman, two of the finest animated films of recentThe Boxtrolls features an almost entirely English cast, the rest donning false yet convincing accents, in a stop-motion fantasy-comedy from the animation team responsible for Coraline and ParaNorman, two of the finest animated films of recent years in my opinion. This is a team that knows what they are doing when performing stop-motion. Here blending it seamlessly with computer-generated effects, lead animator Travis Knight is joined by Open Season director Anthony Stacchi and newcomer co-director Graham Annable in producing a creative and joyful, if a tad underwhelming, film with a look and color palette that can best be described as grimy; although since that is the point, this description is meant as a positive.

In the town of Cheesebridge, a town largely obsessed with one thing (and it is not bridges), there live an underground group of creatures called Boxtrolls, strange little goblins who wear cardboard boxes for protection and who come to the surface at night to steal and collect garbage. One night, they are seen kidnapping a baby boy. Town exterminator Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) reports this to the town’s leader Lord Portley-Rind (Jared Harris), who charges Snatcher with the task of eliminating all of the Boxtrolls in exchange for a seat of power. Ten years later, the kidnapped boy (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), named Eggs after being fitted with a cardboard box of…well, you can imagine…is seen living happily as one of the Boxtrolls. He is spotted in town by Lord Portley-Rind’s daughter Winnie (Elle Fanning), who follows him. After realizing who he is, and that Snatcher is sure to try to kill him, Winnie helps Eggs and the rest of the Boxtrolls to fight back, and also to find peace with the humans.

Reading this description, I realize you may be tempted to tag this movie as predictable and move along. This is perfectly understandable, and the film absolutely falls in line with many family film conventions in terms of story. However, it is the heart and humor of The Boxtrolls that sell it. I must remark on the first act of the film, showing us the underground world that the Boxtrolls have built, and Eggs adjusting to it. With the Boxtrolls speaking largely in grunts and guttural noises and Eggs at this point being an infant, this sequence is done almost entirely without dialogue. The filmmakers knew to let the scene rely on music and visuals alone, and it was a perfect choice. The first ten or fifteen minutes are enthralling as a result; heartwarming as we see the Boxtrolls bonding with Eggs, and humorous with seeing the creatures’ everyday activities and quirks. Unfortunately, it is when the plot kicks in that the film begins to slip.

With the exception of Elle Fanning’s Winnie, the humans in the film are dependent on stereotypes and caricatures in order to keep the story moving. Winnie’s father, for example, is a caricature of the stuck-up royal father who won’t listen. With proper writing, that type of character can work very well; here, however, he is exaggerated beyond the point of return, and becomes exceedingly frustrating, more so than I think the movie intended. Ben Kingsley does bring out a supremely entertaining villain in Snatcher, and in terms of character, hits all the right notes. Snatcher is intimidating, and over-the-top in all the right ways; ways that make him wonderfully theatrical. Once again, though, writing creeps in and a running gag is introduced involving Snatcher and his love of cheese which frustrates once again, as well as disgusts with some of the imagery involved. If you read my previous review, you know I love disgusting imagery when it works, but here it is grotesque, unnecessary, and annoying.

The film does admittedly attempt to comment on the absurdity of some cinematic stereotypes with a running joke regarding Snatcher’s henchmen, constantly wondering whether they are the good guys or the bad. Some of these jokes are funny and poignant, however the gag runs its course very quickly and becomes a bit too on-the-nose to sustain the humor that it wants to.

The Boxtrolls picks up again in its third act and the final action sequence. One impressive thing about the film is that, where most animated family films of today would shy away from portraying death, this film is refreshingly blunt about it. As someone born in the early 90’s, I grew up with plenty of family films which showcased death proudly. One of my earliest movie memories is The Lion King, and although Mufasa’s death did strike me as a child, I don’t believe it to have had any sort of negative effects. In fact, I admire the film today even more because it didn’t shy away. For that very reason, I must give The Boxtrolls a level of respect and gratitude for not patronizing its audience. Without giving too much away, the third act gives us a rather shocking display of death, and the way it is dealt with and later resolved is very well done.

Thus, although drooping in quality in the middle section with a slow-moving story and frustrating character, The Boxtrolls is a worthwhile experience for its beautiful opening, its captivating animation, and its mature, respectable conclusion. Since it is classified as a comedy, I must stress that the quality of the humor varies greatly throughout the film, however those funny moments which work are in fact very funny, and worth the groaners. I doubt this will leave much of a mark in terms of great animated films, but, for what it is, it is at the very least worth a rental.

Thanks for reading!… Expand

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8

jswesslerNov 23, 2014

This movie has really good animation for a stop motion and the plot is emotional at the beginning. Though the entire plot is iffy and the suspense is weak, This movie is really good. 7.7

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0

Jay777Jan 19, 2016

I saw this movie in cinemas with a family member and I regret going. I thought this movie was terrible very boring. I don't think any kid should see this movie. I'm very disappointed. I thought some scenes of the movie weren't necessary. ItI saw this movie in cinemas with a family member and I regret going. I thought this movie was terrible very boring. I don't think any kid should see this movie. I'm very disappointed. I thought some scenes of the movie weren't necessary. It didn't have much of a fun story. But if you are going to see it warning some scenes are dark.
Dont get this movie its very disappointing. WORST movie I've ever seen!… Expand

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9

ClariseSamuelsFeb 1, 2015

This 3D stop motion animated film is for children, although some parts of it might give the kids bad dreams, even though all's well that ends well. The viewer is enticed by a richly dark vision of the streets of London circa late 1800's,This 3D stop motion animated film is for children, although some parts of it might give the kids bad dreams, even though all's well that ends well. The viewer is enticed by a richly dark vision of the streets of London circa late 1800's, when the townsfolk were undereducated, vulgar, and easily seduced by myths, superstitions, and local legends. There are well-defined class strata characterized by the aristocracy, who eat the finest cheese in the town of Cheesebridge and who wear white hats, and the working class shmegegges, who speak a thick brogue, are quick to initiate witch hunts, and wear the inferior red hats. At the center of their low-class hysteria is the knowledge that the town is infested with little monsterlike trolls who live in the sewers and who are said to snatch children and valuables; the trolls are purported to have once eaten an abducted baby. The little monsters have no clothes, and they hide their nakedness by wearing boxes around the midriff, taking their Christian names from whatever product appears on the box labels—hence, Fish, Oilcan, Wheels, and Shoe, among others. The boxes have a dual function because at any time they can hunker down and snap the lid closed in order to hide in plain sight, which they do whenever they feel threatened or scared. They speak a funny alien language understood by only one human, Eggs (Isaac Hampstead Wright), the baby they abducted but did not eat; in fact, they lovingly raised the child as their own, having abducted him only to rescue him from a malevolent force.

Back in town the aristocratic mayor, Lord Portley-Rind (Jared Harris), feels that the boxtrolls are vermin who have to be exterminated. The trolls are safe in their underground lair by day, but by night they emerge to rifle through garbage cans for interesting odds and ends that they use for a surprising purpose—they are in fact brilliant engineers. Their underground cavern has a ferris wheel, fantastic gadgets, and they have strung the roof of the cavern with light bulbs that mimic the stars in the night sky. The trolls are a loving community of harmless little imps, so ugly that they are almost cute. They snack on ladybugs, their favorite meal. But a menace is at work in the land of the humans, as the mayor enlists the help of a ruthless businessman named Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) to use his mobile contraption to wipe out the trolls. It is a long and arduous process that goes on for almost ten years. As the troll population dwindles, Eggs turns 10 and begins to understand that he is different from the trolls, a human who tragically lost his parents as a baby. He becomes an advocate for his surrogate troll parents, and it is his destiny to save the trolls from extinction. In the process, he meets the mayor's daughter, who befriends him and supports his mission, little Winnie (Elle Fanning).

Snatcher longs to trade in his red hat for a white hat, the equivalent of ditching his Honda Civic and buying a Ferrari, a goal he will attain if he wipes out all the boxtrolls. In Cheesebridge, another symbol of ultimate class is having the luxury of eating the finest cheese at cheese-tasting parties. The mayor spends many tax dollars on acquiring the world's best cheeses, even if it means canceling the plans for a children's hospital. Ironically, Snatcher aspires to this cheese-loving elite even though he is violently allergic to cheese, which causes his face to become dangerously swollen.

Snatcher's henchmen are the ones who have to actually take the adorable monsters by surprise and capture them as the trolls sit helplessly shaking with terror in their little boxes. The trolls are as innocent and as playful as pups, and Snatcher's henchmen become vaguely aware of this dilemma as they continue their roundup. They have been convinced that the trolls are evil and that humans are good, and that it is for the good of human civilization that all trolls should be exterminated. In reality, Snatcher postpones killing the trolls and takes them back to his factory where he employs their engineering skills through forced labor, a bit like a concentration camp. The henchmen gradually become more and more uncomfortable with their reign of terror and their Gestapo tactics, as they begin to glean the true nature of the trolls, and it is up to Eggs to save the day.

The children may end up having nightmares, nevertheless the film is an interesting child's morality play on the nature of good and evil, as well as a subtle commentary on racism, antisemitism, and intolerance.… Expand