The Boxtrolls is a 2014 American 3D stop motion animated fantasy-comedy film based on the novel Here Be Monsters! by Alan Snow. Produced by Laika, it was directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi. The film tells the story of Eggs, a human boy raised by trash-collecting trolls, as he attempts to save them from Archibald Snatcher, a pest exterminator. The film stars Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade and Tracy Morgan. It was released on September 26, 2014, to positive reviews. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature.
Plot
In the fictional town of Cheesebridge during the Victorian era, rumors abound that subterranean trolls known as Boxtrolls kidnap and kill young children. Pest exterminator Archibald Snatcher strikes a deal with the city's mayor Lord Portley-Rind, offering to exterminate every Boxtroll in exchange for membership in the city's cheese-loving council the White Hats while disregarding his severe allergy of cheese that causes swelling.
In actuality, the Boxtrolls are peaceful creatures, wearing cardboard boxes, who emerge from underground at night to scavenge through the trash for items they can use to make useful inventions. A baby boy named Eggs lives among them, cared for by a Boxtroll named Fish. As Eggs grows up over a period of ten years, he becomes dismayed over the disappearing Boxtrolls as Snatcher captures them.
Lord Portley-Rind's neglected daughter Winnie notices Eggs rummaging through trash with two Boxtrolls. Snatcher chases the trio and captures Fish. Devastated, Eggs puts together a disguise and sneaks back up to the surface to find him. Eggs emerges in the midst of an annual fair to commemorate the disappearance of the "Trubshaw Baby" ten years earlier â€" presumed kidnapped and killed by Boxtrolls. Disgusted by the town’s inaccurate portrayal of the creatures, he follows Winnie away from the fair. She recognizes him as the boy she saw the previous night and directs him to Snatcher’s headquarters, an abandoned factory.
Sneaking into the factory, Eggs finds Fish locked in a cage and frees him, but they are caught while trying to escape. Snatcher recognizes Eggs as the Trubshaw Baby and reveals that all the captured Boxtrolls are still alive and building a machine. Winnie overhears this exchange, having followed Eggs to the factory. They and Fish escape from Snatcher and take shelter in the Boxtrolls' underground cavern.
Winnie is surprised to learn the truth about the Boxtrolls and convinces Eggs that he is not one of them. Fish explains that Eggs' father had given him to them as a baby in order to keep him safe from Snatcher, and Winnie agrees to help Eggs tell Portley-Rind the truth. At a ball held to commemorate the purchase of a giant cheese wheel called the Briehemoth, Eggs tries to confront Portley-Rind, but inadvertently knocks the cheese down the stairs so that it rolls into a river. Eggs announces himself to the party as the Trubshaw Baby, but no one believes him and Lord Portley-Rind throws him out for losing the cheese.
Eggs returns to the cavern and tries to persuade the remaining Boxtrolls that they need to flee for their own safety. Snatcher digs into the cavern using his machine, captures the entire group, and takes them back to the factory. Eggs awakens to find his real father, Herbert Trubshaw, who was captured years ago by Snatcher and held prisoner ever since, hanging next to him. He sees the Boxtrolls stacked in a crusher and begs them to run, but the crusher activates and flattens all the boxes. Snatcher drives his machine to Lord Portley-Rind’s house, shows him the flattened boxes as proof of the Boxtrolls’ extinction and demands Portley-Rind’s white hat once he kills the very last one (actually Eggs disguised as a Boxtroll).
The Boxtrolls suddenly arrive with Herbert, having sneaked out of their boxes just before the crusher activated, and free Eggs. Snatcher, infuriated, tries to take Portley-Rind’s hat by force, but Eggs, Herbert and the Boxtrolls disable the machine. The two adversaries are thrown clear and land on the Briehemoth, freshly fished out of the river. Snatcher then swells into a horrifying giant from his allergy and forces Lord Portley-Rind to give up his hat in exchange for Winnie's safety. He triumphantly enters the cheese-tasting room, but explodes after taking one bite of cheese.
The townspeople no longer recognize the Boxtrolls as monsters and come to live in harmony with them. Winnie tells the tale of Snatcher's end to a crowd, while Eggs and Fish drive off in one of Herbert’s contraptions.
Voice cast
- Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Eggs, an orphaned human boy raised by the Boxtrolls.
- Elle Fanning as Winnie Portley-Rind, Eggs's first human friend and the daughter of Lord Portley-Rind and Lady Portley-Rind.
- Ben Kingsley as Archibald Snatcher, a ruthless and cunning pest exterminator
- Toni Collette as Lady Portley-Rind, Winnie's mother.
- Jared Harris as Lord Portley-Rind, Winnie's father and leader of the White Hats.
- Nick Frost as Mr. Trout, Snatcher's corpulent, bumbling, yet intellectual henchman.
- Richard Ayoade as Mr. Pickles, Snatcher's spindly, well-meaning but misguided henchman.
- Tracy Morgan as Mr. Gristle, Snatcher's diminutive and maniacal henchman.
- Simon Pegg as Herbert Trubshaw, a brilliant inventor and Eggs's father.
- Dee Bradley Baker as Fish, Wheels, and Bucket, three Boxtrolls.
- Steve Blum as Shoe and Sparky, two Boxtrolls.
- Nika Futterman as Oil Can and Knickers, two Boxtrolls.
- Pat Fraley as Fragile and Sweets, two Boxtrolls.
- Fred Tatasciore as Clocks and Specs, two Boxtrolls.
- Max Mitchell as Baby Eggs
- Maurice LaMarche as Sir Langsdale
- James Urbaniak as Sir Broderick, Male workman #1, Male workman #2
- Brian George as Boulanger, Male aristocrat
- Lori Tritel as Female aristocrat
- Laraine Newman as Female townsfolk #1, Female townsfolk #2
- Reckless Jack as Background boy
Production
In June 2008, Laika unveiled a slate of projects in development, among which was also an animated feature film adaptation of the Alan Snow novel Here Be Monsters!, eventually to become The Boxtrolls. The animation technique wasn't yet decided upon, but Anthony Stacchi was set to direct the film. Laika announced on February 7, 2013, that the adaptation would be their next 3D stop motion feature, under the title The Boxtrolls. Directed by Stacchi and Graham Annable, it was scheduled for release on October 17, 2014, before it was moved up in May 2013 to September 26, 2014. Focus Features holds worldwide distribution rights to The Boxtrolls, and Universal Pictures International released the movie overseas (with eOne Distribution handling Canada).
Release
On June 11, 2014, two new trailers, one for the US and one for the UK, were released by the studio. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on August 31, 2014.
Home media
The Boxtrolls was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 20, 2015 by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Music
On December 4, 2013, composer Dario Marianelli was hired to score The Boxtrolls, the first animated feature film of his career. On August 30, 2014, it was announced that Back Lot Music would release a soundtrack album for the film on September 23, 2014.
- Track listing
All music composed by Dario Marianelli, except as noted.
Reception
Box office
As of January 21, 2015, The Boxtrolls earned a gross of $50,769,750 in North America, and $57,418,465 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $108,188,215 against a budget of $60 million.
- North America
The film was released on September 26, 2014 in North America and earned $17,275,239 ($4,987 average) from 3,464 theaters during its opening weekend, debuting at number three at the box office behind The Equalizer ($35 million) and The Maze Runner ($17.5 million). It is the biggest opening weekend for Laika surprassing 2009's Coraline ($16.8 million) opening weekend gross. Its opening weekend gross is the second biggest for a stop-motion animation film behind Laika's 2006 co-production, Corpse Bride ($19.1 million).
- Other territories
In other territories, The Boxtrolls earned $5.1 million from 1,806 screens in 16 territories. The Boxtrolls has become Laika's highest grossing film overseas, surpassing ParaNorman's $51.1M overseas tally, when it reached $51.6M.
Critical response
The Boxtrolls received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a "Certified Fresh" rating of 75%, based on 146 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's consensus states: "While it's far from Laika's best offering, The Boxtrolls is still packed with enough offbeat wit and visual splendor to offer a healthy dose of all-ages entertainment." On Metacritic, the film has a rating of 61 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Tom Huddleston of Time Out gave the film three out of five stars, saying "Breathlessly paced and surreally funny, The Boxtrolls fizzes with visual invention and wild slapstick. But the grotesquerie is overbearing." Alonso Duralde of The Wrap gave the film a negative review, saying "A surprisingly charmless and aimless movie from Laika Studios, who previously crafted the wonderfully dark Coraline and ParaNorman, this latest venture seems destined to disturb young viewers while thoroughly boring their parents." Amy Nicholson of LA Weekly gave the film a B+, saying "The Boxtrolls is a kiddie charmer that makes you laugh, cower and think of Hitler. That's an unusual trifecta, but then again, this is an unusual film." James Rocchi of Film.com gave the film a 5.8 out of 10, saying "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." Jake Coyle of the Associated Press gave the film a positive review, saying "The Boxtrolls, despite a rather uncertainly structured story by screenwriters Irena Brignull and Adam Pava, has its pleasantly demented charms." Kyle Smith of the New York Post gave the film two out of four stars, saying "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!""
A.A. Dowd of The A.V. Club gave the film a B+, saying "In an age when most cartoon companies have traded pens for pixels, the magicians at Laika continue to create fantastically elaborate universes out of pure elbow grease." John Hartl of The Seattle Times gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Visually the film is a feast, stuffed with little jokes and surprises and the kind of black humor that Alfred Hitchcock heartily enjoyed." Brian Truitt of USA Today gave the film three out of four stars, saying "A delectable treat that balances themes of identity and class warfare with Monty Python-style political skewering, quirky humor and dairy jokes." Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film two out of four stars, saying "One gets the sense that directors Anthony Stacchi and Graham Annable have their hearts in the action sequences and not in the characters, and that's a problem." Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two out of four stars, saying "The Boxtrolls remains relentlessly busy up through its final credits, and it's clever in a nattering way. But it's virtually charmless." Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post gave the film three out of four stars, saying "The story of The Boxtrolls, in lesser hands, might have turned out only so-so. Under Laika's loving, labor-intensive touch, it takes on a kind of magic." Richard Corliss of Time gave the film a positive review, saying "The Boxtrolls has its penny-dreadful moments, but it's mostly a larkish stroll through a cemetery where the monsters are the good guys."
Ethan Gilsdorf of The Boston Globe gave the film a positive review, saying "Like one of its wondrously designed steampunky contraptions, The Boxtrolls is a marvelous thing to behold, and watch spin, even if it doesn't go anywhere terribly interesting." Bruce Demara of the Toronto Star gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "From Laika, the animation studio that brought you such memorably quirky classics as Coraline and ParaNorman comes another totally offbeat and original tale for kids (and adults) looking for something a little more challenging and completely off the wall." Rafer Guzman of Newsday gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "The Boxtrolls has moments of humor and imagination, but American children may not be its ideal audience." A.O. Scott of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, saying "In The Boxtrolls, old-fashioned stop-motion animation is combined with new-style 3-D cinematography to charming effect." David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a mixed review, saying "There’s a crucial shortage of heart here, from the messy storytelling to the hit-or-miss humor and unattractive visuals." Steve Persall of the Tampa Bay Times gave the film a D, saying "The Boxtrolls is a visually repellent pile of stop-motion animation, populated by grotesques and filmed in the palette of an exhumed casket's interior. It can frighten small children and bore anyone, with its cracked, cackled British wit." Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News gave the film two out of five stars, saying "Kids who get a kick out of the macabre will enjoy this exquisitely crafted but tedious film."
Accolades
References
External links
- Official website
- The Boxtrolls at Focus Features
- The Boxtrolls at the Internet Movie Database
- The Boxtrolls at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- The Boxtrolls at Box Office Mojo
- The Boxtrolls at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Boxtrolls at Metacritic
