The Boxtrolls – Movie Review & Filmmaker Interviews

The story begins in a Victorian-era town called Cheeseridge, which holds a terrifying secret. Small, blue, humanoid creatures clad in cardboard boxes called boxtrolls emerge from the sewers every night to snatch up children and gobble them up to fuel their mountains of bones and rivers of blood.  At least…that’s what the townsfolk believe.  In reality, boxtrolls are quirky, mischievous creatures who have never hurt anyone, but the people fear them so much that a company of troll exterminators is created to capture every last boxtroll.

The main character of the story is “Eggs,” (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) a human boy who is lovingly raised by the boxtroll named “Fish.”  After many years of watching his friends dragged away by the ruthless exterminator, Snatcher (Sir Ben Kingsley) and his henchmen, and helpless to do anything about it, Eggs finally decides to venture out in broad daylight to find out where Snatcher had taken the boxtrolls.  Upon leaving his cave, Eggs encounters and befriends Winnie (Elle Fanning), the curious and slightly macabre daughter of the Lord Portley-Rind; the latter being the scatterbrained, cheese-obsessed mayor as well as Snatcher’s employer.

The Boxtrolls is a charming and quirky film that is a bit less dark and suspenseful as LAIKA’s previous animations, but with the same incredible visual effects.  Personally, I feel that “The Boxtrolls” is a very creative and original film, unlike many of the recycled plots that are common in many animation films nowadays.  To make such expressive faces and body language takes thousands of hours and countless assembling and props requires an unimaginable amount of painstaking effort, especially by the lead animator and producer Travis Knight, who is also the CEO of LAIKA Animation Studio.

Additionally, I was able to get a few comments from Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi, the co-directors of The Boxtrolls at Comic-Con.  The idea of the film was based on Alan Snow’s novel Here be Monsters.  “[Snow] had such a fantastic, imaginative world that he created in that book that we wanted to do everything we could to recreate that feeling and that vibe,” explained Annable.  “It’s not quite as scary as the other films that we did.”  A little known fact about the crew of The Boxtrolls is that over 3000 donuts were eaten over the course of making the film. “Every Friday was ‘Donut Day,’” Stacchi explained.  “You can imagine, nobody was ever sick on ‘Donut Day.’”

Finally, I got a scoop from Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley, who voiced the power-hungry antagonist, Snatcher.  “I recorded lying down, so the body is as relaxed as possible to allow all of those changes in your voice to come out.  If you’re tense in any way, [your voice] is the first thing that tenses up.”  After interviewing him, my mom was very excited to get to meet him, because she is a big fan of his most famous role in “Ghandi,” and loved his work in Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo.”

I recommend this movie to kids seven and up. “The Boxtrolls” is a great movie for children and adults alike.  Children would enjoy the slapstick and situational humor, while adults may understand the broad themes of desires for power and ethics. I give LAIKA’s “The Boxtrolls” 4 starfish, it’s “Perrific!”

Moral: It’s easy to hate what you don’t understand.  It takes courage to be different.

I wish to thank Arclight La Jolla for comps for the review, as I was unable to attend the regular press screening scheduled during school time.

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Perry Chen is the youngest award-winning film/ entertainment critic & animator, artist, speaker, and entertainment personality. He started writing movie reviews at 8 using a kid-friendly starfish rating system, under the guidance of his mom Dr. Zhu Shen and his 3rd grade teacher Ms. Harris. Perry’s debut on the CBS Evening News in 2009 made him a national sensation. He has been featured extensively on local, national, and international media, including NPR, Fox, CNN, NBC, The Guardian, The China Press, and many more. He has interviewed prominent filmmakers at film festivals, red carpet premieres, and press junkets. He won a prestigious “Excellence in Journalism Award” at the San Diego Press Club in 2010 as its youngest member. Perry currently writes movie reviews for the Animation World Network, San Diego Union Tribune, Amazing Kids! Magazine, and his own Perry’s Previews website with a combined readership of over 2 million worldwide.  Perry and his family live in the community of Carmel Valley San Diego.

Dr. Zhu Shen’s love for the movies started when she was a young girl, growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution where watching movies was the only entertainment available to the masses. Her journey to become a filmmaker took a convoluted path. She studied medicine at Peking Union Medical College before coming to the US and earning a Ph.D. in biochemistry from University of Colorado, and then an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson School. She is a producer of the upcoming documentary feature “Average Joe on the Raw,” about journey into raw food and health. Dr. Shen is also an award-winning biotech executive, author, speaker, China business expert featured on national and trade media including CBS, Fox, Business Week, Pharmaceutical Executive, and more. She has worked at IBM, Bayer, Chiron, Immusol, and is the CEO of BioForesight, consulting on cross-Pacific life science business. *Photos of Perry Chen by Zhu Shen.”