The Boxtrolls is a charming, occasionally baffling animated feature from Laika. It’s a stop-motion comedy about a boy raised by underground trolls who live in cardboard boxes, and it wants to be both a children’s adventure and a satire of a society obsessed with cleanliness. Mostly, it succeeds at the former.
Trailer, via Universal Pictures UK.
The Story of Eggs and Snatcher
In 1897, rumors circulate in the fictional European city of Cheesebridge that Boxtrolls — subterranean trolls who wear cardboard boxes — have kidnapped and killed a baby. Pest exterminator Archibald Snatcher strikes a deal with the mayor, Lord Charles Portley-Rind: Snatcher gets membership in the city’s cheese-loving council, the White Hats, if he exterminates every Boxtroll. Snatcher has severe lactose intolerance, so the deal is absurd on its face.
The Boxtrolls are actually peaceful scavengers who emerge at night to gather discarded items. Their leader, Fish, cares for the baby, whom he names Eggs. As Eggs grows up, Snatcher captures several Boxtrolls, leaving Fish distraught. Eggs sneaks to the surface to rescue Fish, only to discover that Snatcher is forcing the captured Boxtrolls to build him a machine.
Winnie and the City’s Fair
Lord Portley-Rind’s daughter, Winnie, witnesses Eggs with Fish and another Boxtroll named Shoe. She directs Eggs to Snatcher’s headquarters, an abandoned factory. Eggs rescues Fish, discovers the captured Boxtrolls are alive and working on a device, and finds a strange man hanging upside down. They are caught while trying to escape. Snatcher recognizes Eggs as the baby and reveals his plan.
Winnie, who followed Eggs secretly, overhears the exchange. She helps Fish and Eggs escape and takes shelter with them in the Boxtrolls’ caves. Spurred by Winnie’s questions, Fish explains that Eggs’ father was Herbert Trubshaw, a brilliant inventor who discovered that Boxtrolls can transform their boxes into anything they need.
The Voice Cast
Ben Kingsley plays Snatcher, a greedy exterminator whose ambition drives the plot. Isaac Hempstead Wright voices Eggs, the boy raised by Boxtrolls. Elle Fanning voices Winnie Portley-Rind, who becomes Eggs’ unlikely ally. Dee Bradley Baker voices Fish, Wheels, and Bucket, three Boxtrolls. Toni Collette plays Lady Cynthia Portley-Rind, Jared Harris plays Lord Portley-Rind, Nick Frost is Mr. Trout, Richard Ayoade is Mr. Pickles, Tracy Morgan is Mr. Gristle, Simon Pegg is Herbert Trubshaw, Nika Futterman is Oil Can and Knickers, and Pat Fraley is Fragile and Sweets.
The Music and the Art
Dario Marianelli composed the film’s musical score. The stop-motion animation is meticulous, with each frame built by hand.
Where It Falls Short
The film is uneven. Some sequences, particularly the action set pieces involving Snatcher’s pursuit of Eggs, feel rushed and under-explained. The satire aimed at the White Hats and their cheese obsession doesn’t land as strongly as the film seems to intend. The ending, which wraps up the story, feels abrupt rather than satisfying.
The humor is often clever, but it’s also scattered. A few jokes about Snatcher’s greed or the Boxtrolls’ eccentricity work well; others, like those aimed at the White Hats, miss their mark entirely.
Key Facts
- Director: Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi
- Writer: Irena Brignull, Adam Pava
- Voice cast: Ben Kingsley, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Elle Fanning, Dee Bradley Baker, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Tracy Morgan, Simon Pegg, Nika Futterman, Pat Fraley
- Runtime: 97 minutes
- Released: September 26, 2014, by Focus Features
- Budget: $60 million
- Box office: $108 million
The Boxtrolls is a visually striking, occasionally witty animated feature that struggles to find a consistent tone. It’s best enjoyed for its craft and its heart, not its satire. It’s a solid entry in Laika’s catalog, but it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the studio’s earlier output.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
