The Boxtrolls (2014)

A young orphaned boy raised by underground cave-dwelling trash collectors tries to save his friends from an evil exterminator.

Directors:

Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi

Writers:

Irena Brignull (screenplay), Adam Pava (screenplay)

Stars:

Ben Kingsley, Jared Harris, Nick Frost

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 58 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Kingsley	...	Archibald Snatcher (voice)
Jared Harris	...	Lord Portley-Rind (voice)
Nick Frost	...	Mr. Trout (voice)
Richard Ayoade	...	Mr. Pickles (voice)
Dee Bradley Baker	...	Fish / Wheels / Bucket (voice)
Steve Blum	...	Shoe / Sparky (voice)
Nika Futterman	...	Oil Can / Knickers (voice)
Tracy Morgan	...	Mr. Gristle (voice)
Pat Fraley	...	Fragile / Sweets (voice)
Fred Tatasciore	...	Clocks / Specs (voice)
Max Mitchell	...	Baby Eggs (voice)
Isaac Hempstead Wright	...	Eggs (voice)
Elle Fanning	...	Winnie Portley-Rind (voice)
Maurice LaMarche	...	Sir Langsdale (voice)
James Urbaniak	...	Sir Broderick / Male Workman 1 / Male Workman 2 (voice)

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.

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Plot Keywords:

troll | stop motion animation | puppet animation | chase | red hat | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for action, some peril and mild rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 September 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Here Be Monsters

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$17,275,239 (USA) (26 September 2014)

Gross:

$50,807,639 (USA) (23 January 2015)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Laika Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tracy Morgan based his performance of Mr. Gristle on famous Afro-British comedian Lenny Henry.

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Goofs

When the teddy bear's music box runs down, Baby Eggs hands the mechanism to Fish who gives the key only two half-turns. The music box then plays again, with its key somehow able to unwind for many revolutions. Later on after the Boxtrolls wake up, this impossibility is repeated, but is even worse since now the key winds/unwinds in the opposite direction.

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Quotes

Archibald Snatcher: You Really think Portly-Rind and His mob will help a nobody like you? In this town, you want, you gotta help yourself. That's what a man does.
Eggs: You're a liar, when I tell Winnie's father the truth, he'll...
[Snatcher pushes egg to a wall]
Archibald Snatcher: HE'LL THANK ME. Because... all your little boxtroll friends... are going to die. TONIGHT!
Eggs: WHAT?
Archibald Snatcher: THEY'LL MAKE THE MOST RESPECTED MAN IN THIS TOWN! They'll have no choice but to give me a white hat, they'll parade me, They'll take up on their shoulders. And I'm ...

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Crazy Credits

After the first part of the credits, Mr. Trout and Mr. Pickles have a philosophical discussion about their place in the world while, around them, that world carries on.

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Connections

Referenced in South Park: Handicar (2014)

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Soundtracks

Some Kids
Written by Jessie Donaldson and Ritchie Young
Performed by Loch Lomond

User Reviews

More allegorical meaning than you can fit in a box

The film Boxtrolls is so jam packed with themes that cut to the core of our society that you might expect it to be cobbled together, choppy, overreaching, and pretentious. It is, in fact, none of those things.

A thoroughly entertaining, not too cerebral, romp down one box conveyor after another, the film succeeds at wrapping it's central theme of persecution and prejudice in layers of equally significant ideas: group self-identification, class ambition, dalliant obsessions, self-esteem, and self-destructive addiction. It follows a nicely predictable plot arc that will satisfy your children while you ponder whether the plucky heroine's ostensible obsession with the macabre is likely a reflection of a Freudian complex with roots in her father's indifference. The bad guy with his crooked teeth and greazy hair is unmistakably evil. But at the same time the good guys aren't wearing the white hats. In fact, it's comparing and poking fun at both incompetence and maliciousness.

The animation finds it's grounding in a setting that is reminiscent of Corpse Bride. From the industrial green palate of the box trolls to the stiff and starched characterization of the patrician class, the visual design of the film holds together well.

After the film you'll walk out of the theater with lots of things on your mind, but you won't be walking out with a child who was bored to sleep or fits by another didactic feature of animated hogwash. That is an impressive achievement for any film.