Boxtrolls, The (2014) [Blu-ray]
Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline: Heroes come in all shapes and sizes...even rectangles.

From the creators of Coraline and ParaNorman comes a magical family adventure about heroes in all shapes and sizes: The Boxtrolls. Quirky, mischievous and good-hearted, these box-wearing creatures have lovingly raised a human boy named "Eggs" (voiced by Isaac Hempstead Wright) in a charming cavern below the bustling streets of Cheesebridge. But when evil Archibald Snatcher (voiced by Ben Kingsley) decides to capture the loveable misfits, it's up to Eggs and is feisty young friend, Winnie (voiced by Elle Fanning), to save the Boxtrolls. Also featuring the voice talents of Jared Harris, Nick Frost, Toni Collette and Tracy Morgan, critics are calling The Boxtrolls "A delectable treat~" - Brian Truitt, USA Today

Storyline: The Boxtrolls are a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs in the amazing cavernous home they've built beneath the streets of a city called Cheesebridge. The story is about a young orphaned boy raised by underground cave-dwelling trash collectors who tries to save his friends from an evil exterminator, the town's villain, Archibald Snatcher. When Snatcher comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls. Eggs decides to venture above ground and "into the light," where he meets and teams up with fabulously feisty Winnie. Together, they devise a daring plan to save The BoxTrolls family. The film is based upon the children's novel 'Here Be Monsters' by Alan Snow. Written by DeAlan Wilson - www.ComedyE.com

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Kenneth Brown, January 18, 2015 -- Founded in 2005 and widely respected just six years after its first theatrical release, Laika Entertainment has only produced three feature films, but oh what films they've been. Setting aside all else, Laika's stop-motion animation is nothing short of extraordinary. Absorbing. Jaw-dropping. Wondrous. Magical. Stunning, and with an ambition, craftsmanship and artistry that not only set a new industry standard, but continues to raise the bar with each visual spectacle it produces. Sadly, while the studio's animation dazzles, even enraptures critics and audiences more and more with every passing film, Laika's writing and storytelling are beginning to lag behind. Coraline (2009) was mesmerizing and fully realized. A hypnotic descent into a nightmarish rabbit hole that offered a tale as dizzying, gripping and frightening as it was simple and sincere. It resonated because the truth at the heart of its young heroine and her coming-of-age journey resonated more, with adults and older children alike. Then came ParaNorman (2012), which was... entertaining. Fun, certainly. Funny, more so, in its own darkly satirical, lightly lurching cleverness. But breathtaking? Captivating? Not quite. (I was tempted to add "merely" before "entertaining," but there's no need to demonize a little entertainment. It's good for the soul.)

Enter The Boxtrolls (2014), far and away the most beautiful stop-motion adventure Laika has delivered, with a grand, grotesque scale that's almost impossibly gorgeous and most definitely entrancing. Beneath its wildest wonders, though, lurks an uneven, deeply flawed work of art that loses its balance and eventually its focus, teetering into narrative slipperiness and sloppiness without considering the consequences.

From the creators of Coraline (2009) and ParaNorman (2012) comes a new breed of family: the Boxtrolls, a community of quirky, mischievous creatures lovingly raising an orphaned human boy named Eggs (voiced by Game of Thrones' Isaac Hempstead Wright) in the amazing cavernous home they've built beneath the streets of Cheesebridge. When the town's villain, Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley, Hugo), comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls, Eggs decides to venture above ground, "into the light," where he teams up with the fabulously feisty Winnie (Elle Fanning, Maleficent). Together, they devise a daring plan to save Eggs' family.

The Boxtrolls are a delightful species of good-natured movie monster; lovable, endearing and more selfless than their surface-dwelling persecutors could possibly imagine. Though their words are garbled and their language impenetrable, the expressiveness and innocence of each individual creature makes it instantly memorable, with a personality as distinguishable as the next. In a sea of Boxtrolls, each is worth befriending. Had I seen the film when I was ten, I would have been swept up in that simple fantasy alone... living beneath the streets of a bustling city, sliding through an endless labyrinth of tunnels and sharing misadventures with the best friends a boy could have; the kind that would never judge, never betray and never turn their backs. The animation brings these fascinating creatures into disarming existence, while the voice actors -- a who's who of animation mainstays including Dee Bradley Baker, Steve Blum, Fred Tatasciore, Nika Futterman and Pat Fraley -- lend the Boxtrolls breath, emotion, motivation, warmth, humor and heart. The Boxtrolls won't be overlooked or soon forgotten, even by children who already adore Despicable Me's Minions.

But the farther you move away from the feature's creatures, the more the film starts to split at the seams. The Boxtrolls aren't the stars of their own show. They're not even given equal billing. A support network at best, a gimmick at worst, they serve a cast of human characters who loom larger than life but feel decidedly small and unimportant. Eggs is easily the most winning of the bunch -- with Wright doing his best to voice a rather two-dimensional sketch of a sewer urchin racing to save his family -- but few others leave a lasting impression. Fanning would be a more welcome addition to the cast if her Winnie wasn't so obnoxious (for at least the first half of the film). Kingsley is a terrific villain, with a permanent sneer you can hear long before you see it coming, but Archibald Snatcher is too overbearing and nauseating, and granted far too much redundant screentime. Toni Collette and Jared Harris are wasted as Winnie's parents; more tragically wasted are Nick Frost (Mr. Trout), Richard Ayoade (Mr. Pickles) and Tracy Morgan (Mr. Gristle) as Snatcher's mumbling, bumbling henchmen, and Simon Pegg, who doesn't have a whole lot to do, or say.

More distressing than the characters' lack of, erm, character, is the story's lack of presence and power. I felt for the Boxtrolls. Rarely for Eggs, rarer still for Winnie. I wanted to learn more about the creatures. To get to know each one. Not so when it came to the townspeople. I wanted to root for Fish, Wheels, Shoe, Bucket, Sparky and the rest of the trolls; I didn't want to hate the villains in the way that I did. (Which was every conceivable way.) And I wanted to see the Boxtrolls prevail. Eggs too, I guess. I just didn't realize I'd have to stomach Snatcher, Winnie's father, and the henchmen as often as I did. By the time the film capped off its third ending (at least), I was exhausted and disappointed. Muted, the magnificence of Laika's animation stands unimpeded. With the story and characters in tow, the eye-popping animation is soon overshadowed by tiresome plotting, cliché, and a bloated third act. Hardly the stuff of a stop-motion animated classic.

The Boxtrolls is flawed and occasionally uninspiring, but my oh my, how it dazzles and delights with its stop-motion magic. As the story recedes, the world expands. As the characters shrink, the expressive, endearing creatures stand tall. As the villains steal much too valuable screentime, the Boxtrolls make the most of their limited roles. As the script languishes, the animation soars. And therein lies the problem. Sadly, in this case, beauty really is skin-deep. Universal's Blu-ray release isn't superficial in the least, though, thanks to a stunning video presentation, excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and solid complement of special features. Renting may be the safest course of action, but even those who dislike The Boxtrolls won't dislike it that much. There's enough to admire about the film to make a purchase worthwhile, especially with a Blu-ray release this impressive.

[CSW] -3.1- Laika Entertainment is the production company that along with The Boxtrolls (2014) also produced ParaNorman (2012) and Coraline (2009). They built their young legacy on uniquely gorgeous and strangely macabre children's movies, carefully crafting odd but undeniably beautiful stop-motion pictures. The Boxtrolls, in many ways, sits comfortably on their shelf, with lively cinematography, dark characters, and light humor. That said, Boxtrolls is far and away their least successful outing. The oddities here are neither fun enough (i.e. Paranorman) nor gorgeous enough (i.e. Coraline) to warrant its bipolar strangeness/mainstream-ness. Nonetheless, there is plenty of technical and artistic spectacle that helps it outshine the problems. It's a fascinating universe, that when not struggling with heavy handed messages and undeserved character arcs, is full of funny idiosyncrasies, steam punk sensibilities, and fish-out-of-water goodness. The villains are the standouts; non-sequitur, bumbling, and wholly entertaining, they breathe a complexly funny bit of self-evaluation to the proceedings that you rarely see in kids films. Herein lies another issue: who is this movie for? The childish wit and adult tones don't gel evenly. It dabbles in silly characters and dumb cheese puns for kids, but also has plenty of darkly irreverent and even off-putting sexual humor. Unevenness aside, Boxtrolls is still an achievement in style and a somewhat-worthy addition to Laika's arsenal. Although I suspect the 3D version would be absolutely gorgeous the story-line is just a little too weak for me to add this to my collection.
[V5.0-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box 10/10.


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