Directors: Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi
Starring: Isaac Hempstead Wright, Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning, Jared Harris, Richard Ayoade, Nick Frost, Jared Harris, Dee Bradley Baker, Steve Blum, Tracy Morgan, Toni Collette, Simon Pegg
Laika are the biggest rising stars in the world of animation at the moment. Their promise originated with the incredible Coraline which was followed up by the entertaining ParaNorman. Their purpose seems to be showcasing animation with more of a bite than your usual Disney fare. Their third feature, The Boxtrolls, will be the test on whether the studio can be in for the long haul so the result are understandably crucial.
The gothic, dairy-obsessed town of Cheesebridge are supposedly plagued by baby kidnapping monsters called Boxtrolls. They are in fact harmless creatures scavenging the town of its mechanical goods but Archibald Snatcher (Kingsley) is dispatched to hunt them down by local aristocrat Lord Portley Rind (Harris). Years later, Portley Rind’s adventurous daughter Winnie (Fanning) discovers the Boxtrolls’ true nature when she encounters a boy they’ve adopted, Eggs (Hempstead Wright).
Considering that Coraline’s scares slowly developed before lunging out in the final third, ParaNorman may have approached horror from the obvious route with zombies and death galore. This time round, the approach seems to be more of a family fantasy adventure, stripping away much of the more blatantly sinister apparel. What remains it certainly an entertaining watch but maybe not quite exciting. The events play out in a slightly unengaging, borderline predictable, manner.
You’d expect that, deprived of the studio’s use of horror to rely on, writers Adam Pava and Irena Brignull would perhaps more heavily invest in the comedy but are aren’t quite enough laugh out loud gags to satisfy. It does however introduce some brilliantly loveable character. Eggs is a far less bland hero than the aforementioned Norman. He has an interesting character arc in which he comes to terms with not actually being a Boxtroll.
The actual plot kickstarts with a chance encounter between Eggs and the strong willed young girl Winnie, voiced by Super 8’s Elle Fanning (putting on an English accent for the second time this year after Maleficent). Confidently rebelling from her oblivious father, she possesses a strangely dark obsession with The Boxtrolls and their supposedly murderous ways.
Her bonding with Eggs takes up the bulk of the second half which leaves the Trolls themselves in annoyingly small roles even though they are the film’s most delightful feature. They’re initially very similar to Despicable Me’s Minions but they don’t have the same violent tendencies, being in fact charmingly gentle. This only makes their relegation all the more frustrating.
Another character confusingly low in screentime is Winnie’s mother. Voicing the role is Oscar nominated actress Toni Collette who gets a high billing but I don’t remember having a single line in the film. Despite possessing the capable acting chops of Jared Harris, the role of the Portley Rind father is wasted on continuous huffing and sighing.
With the Boxtroll’s murders debunked, the true villain unsurprisingly emerges as the monstrous Archibald Snatcher, fantastically voiced by an unrecognisable Ben Kingsley. Whilst malevolently torturing the Trolls, his main desire is to join an elitist, cheese-celebrating gathering called The White Hats but, in a fitting parable, his lust is also his downfall. Compared to the more elegant likes of Maleficent, President Snow or Loki, it’s a nice change of pace to have a genuinely revolting lead villain.
He isn’t alone however; Snatcher is backed up by a trio of bumbling henchman, two of whom aren’t entirely sure is they’re on the right side – the other a bizarre, mindlessly headbutt first, ask later type. Again we don’t get to know any of them particularly well but the lovable tones of Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) and Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd) are plenty to go on.
Laika’s use of stop motion his probably what gives it a unique homegrown sense over other studios and here they make stunning use of it. The character transitions are more fluid than ever and the detail in the character’s and sets is astonishing. Sadly the overblown and ambitious finale seems a tad too reliant on CG tinkering but what isn’t these days.
This is an abominably cruel criticism but, tonally, the film’s heart might be too much in the right place – it’s more mischievous than menacing. Even with dashes of darkness, I missed Laika’s usual ferocity but the bags of charm present can’t go ignored. There are some greatly entertaining pieces in character forming but the Boxtrolls themselves steal the segments of the show they are delegated.
“Where are the rivers of blood and the mountains of bones? I was promised rivers of blood!”
7/10
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