Boxtrolls
Many children’s movies will work in a joke here and there for the parent or babysitter who has been reluctantly dragged to a matinee showing. Yet there are rare films that are so intelligent, clever and entertaining that they feel almost like they couldn’t possibly be meant for children alone. The Boxtrolls is of that latter species.
The stop-motion animated film, which opens today, is, of course, full of enduring childhood lessons that encourage young audiences to be themselves and accept others. Still, the writing conveys something that feels genuinely earnest, unlike a large number of cartoons that often feel more like merchandising opportunities than films.
Based on the children’s novel Here Be Monsters! (The Ratbridge Chronicles) by Alan Snow, The Boxtrolls is about Eggs, an orphaned human boy who, raised by the underground community of trash-loving trolls, attempts to save them from an evil kidnapper determined to rid the city of trolls altogether.
The film begins a bit sluggishly, likely a result of the initial lack of dialogue. After all, the titular boxtrolls speak a funny nonsense language reminiscent of the infamous Despicable Me Minions.
Though slightly confusing at first, the film is worth wading through, eventually picking up the pace as it peppers in more English-speaking characters. It ultimately builds to an action-packed finale sequence that not only wraps up the plot nicely and succinctly, but also is brilliant to watch from a purely aesthetic perspective.
Of recent cartoon (or more often, CGI) movies, The Boxtrolls features easily some of the most impressive animation — and better 3-D, too. And, unlike its predecessors from LAIKA animation studio, the film replaces a subdued palette with vibrant color. If the backdrops of Coraline and ParaNorman resembled a haunted house, The Boxtrolls’ is an amusement park.
The Boxtrolls also boasts an impressive voice cast — Ben Kingsley, Tracy Morgan, Toni Collette, Simon Pegg and others. In an uncommon turn of events, they don’t let their own celebrity personalities overshadow their characters, each of whom is surprisingly fleshed out for a movie that clocks in at less than 100 minutes. They are funny but flawed, kooky but complicated.
Winnie (Elle Fanning, Maleficent), Egg’s sole human friend, is particularly important. Both emotional and daring, she’s the kind of strong, take-charge girl character that more films, especially those for kids, need.
It’s been a while since Hollywood has produced a movie the entire family can enjoy together, but The Boxtrolls successfully fills that void.
