The Boxtrolls- Review

The art of stop frame animation has a particularly warm nook reserved in the corner of my heart. As a slightly odd fourteen year old I used my father’s camcorder to make my own little animated epics; positioning lego men through various scenarios and hammering the record button on and off as fast as I could in an effort to capture a single frame. This culminated in my decision to use the technique for my final exam piece in GCSE art, only this time attempting to emulate my Aardman heroes by crafting my characters out of plasticine. The story was of a kindly grim reaper attempting to convince an old lady to let him into her house and was a glorious triumph of ambition over ability. Of course in the intervening years between my adolescent efforts and the release of the stop frame studio Laika’s new film, The Boxtrolls, much has changed. Not least the rise and domination of computer generated animation. In the world of Pixar and Dreamwork’s beautifully realised digital features the question has to be asked; is there a place in modern cinema for the measured precision of the old ways?

Yes. Yes there is, glad to clear that up for you. Laika has a built a strong CV since being founded in 2005, with two existing features to its name, ParaNorman and my personal favourite, Coraline. The Boxtrolls is their most technically ambitious film to date, featuring more characters and the most complex set pieces they’ve attempted. The story takes place in a beautifully steam punk town, half way between Mont Saint Michel and Victorian London. It is called Cheesebridge and the events of the film centre around the titular imps who live in the tunnels and caves below the city. The townsfolk are terrified of the Boxtrolls, believing them to have stolen and devoured a baby boy ten years previous to the start of the film. We soon learn this is not the case as we are introduced to the missing boy, known by the trolls as Eggs, living happily with his subterranean family. How and why he got there are some of the questions posed later in the movie. Things are set in motion by the undoubted villain of the piece, Arhibald Snatcher, who, with his team of red hatted exterminators, has vowed to wipe out every boxtroll in the town in order to climb the social ladder.

The first thing to mention about The Boxtrolls is its absolutely stunning aesthetic. The team at Laika have crafted a gothic, shadow drenched world of menace and beauty which pops from the screen with detail and charm. This is where the benefits of stop frame animation become apparent; everything on screen has a tangible quality grounded in realism. The richness of the palette and the recognisable depth of field have a magical believability which is incredibly hard to recreate, even with today’s advanced digital technology. The characters themselves are marvels of design; the boxtrolls have an initial ugliness which after a few minutes dissolves into adorability once their good natured affable spirit is revealed. They become like an eager to please army of pugs and never fall into the trap of becoming annoying. Snatcher, meanwhile, is a truly hideous creation; lank hair flops over beady, spiteful eyes, whilst his crooked nose stands sentinel over a grinning mouth of broken tombstone teeth. In fact, many of the grown up characters share a similarly grotesque appearance, their contorted faces reflecting the suspicion with which Eggs treats the over ground world.

The voice acting in The Boxtrolls is first rate. The keen eared will recognise talent from the UK’s comedy scene including Nick Frost, Simon Pegg and Richard Ayoade but the star of the show is a totally unidentifiable Ben Kingsley as the villain. Apparently he recorded all of his lines whilst reclining in order to imbue his voice with a relaxed quality and his unorthodox method has resulted in a truly sinister performance. Snatcher is at once a social climber, a bully and a man vulnerable to his own ambitions. There is one slight dud in the voice actor barrel in the form of Elle Fanning as Eggs’ human companion, Winnie. Although competent, her English accent suffers the occasional tumble into the Atlantic which leaves one wondering why they didn’t just cast a Brit.

The Boxtrolls truly is a highly accomplished animation. It is directed with fluid panache and is steeped in fog thick atmosphere. It perhaps takes a little while for the narrative to hit its stride but when it does, epic set pieces and acutely observed, Pratchett-esque humour carry Eggs and his friends through to a thrilling climax in break neck speed. It could be said that much of the imagery and levels of peril found in the film may be frightening for younger children and whilst I’m sure this is true, that is no reason to not take them to see it. The Boxtrolls offers a return to family films where being scared is part of the fun. I remember how terrified I was of General Woundwort from Watership Down when I was a child but I wouldn’t have changed him for the world. A scary villain enhances a film for youngsters and I’m sure that in twenty years time, young adults will be swapping stories about peeking in terror through their fingers at the leering visage of Archibald Snatcher. Ultimately, The Boxtrolls is a film which once more cements the relevance and power of stop motion animation, my fourteen year old self would be delighted.

I give The Boxtrolls eight pauls out of critoph