Emereview: The Box Trolls

Box Trolls, a stop-motion animation/comedy film, directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacci and produced by Production Company Laika that was responsible for earlier films Coraline and ParaNorman. A story of a boy named Eggs (Isaac Hemptstead-Wright) who gets abducted as an infant and raised by mysterious creatures known as the box trolls. Another fantastic offering from Laika and this time they bring to life a film steeped in more steam punk rather than the supernatural.

Unfortunately those looking for as engaging and surprising an experience as ParaNorman will be a bit disappointed. The movie’s not bad by any means, it’s actually quite enjoyable but it’s a children’s movie in the nicest sense of the phrase. For example the titular box trolls might as well be blue skinned minions from the Despicable Me franchise.

As soon as it starts the movie presents itself with an incredibly charming and stylistic art direction that resembles old Victorian era cartoons. Plenty of snooty British stereotypes abound with cobbled streets and crooked teeth that make every frame a work of art.

Describing stop-motion animation as difficult may be one of the hugest understatements in the animation industry and anyone who has even the smallest idea of how it works will be astounded by the set pieces featured throughout the film, especially the villains’ scenes.

Every human character oozes with personality with the combination of detailed and beautiful animation and amazing vocal performance by the main cast making memorable characters that fill every scene with love and care that comes from anyone who has worked on animation of any type.

Speaking of which, every member of the cast cast does an amazing job of being incredibly animated in their performance. Special mention to Ben Kingsley as the main villain who is a must see for any fan of the stereotypical disgruntled task master antagonist.

With that said, as mentioned above, this movie was definitely made with children in mind and it’s immediately noticeable to the point that it makes the good guy/bad guy dynamic almost offensively obvious. The film also sports a great deal of vulgar and juvenile humor that will have the kids chuckling but the adults will be left to roll their eyes. The movie also sports a somewhat slow pace which is most likely due to its animation production since when the sets are built the animators want to show it off in great and long detail.

Of course while the film targets children this doesn’t take away from the quality presented in Box Trolls, a great film and worthy of Laika’s young pedigree. Through its gorgeous animation, great acting and lighthearted delivery, Box Trolls is a delightful treat that is sure to fill the pre-holiday lull with plenty to talk about.