The Boxtrolls: Review

I got to see the Boxtrolls on Thursday September 25th (A day before it's release) and I gotta say I really enjoyed it. let me tell you some things about it.

Story: Basically, their's this boy named Eggs (after the word on his box) who lives withthe Boxtrolls as they hide from the evil Snatcher who wants to rid of them to be ruler of the city and for "other" reasons. It's up to Eggs and a girl named Winnifred to chanfe everything.

Characters: their are some wonderful and even unsettling characters in this movie. Eggs (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) is a boy who was taken in by the Boxtrolls as a baby and can understand their speech patterns. Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) is an unsettling man who want's nothing more then to get a white hat and join the elite just to eat cheese (just role with it) but theirs a reason why he can't eat cheese. Winnie (Elle Fanning) is the love interest to Eggs who is fiesty and doesn't like the way her father ignores her. Her Father, Lord Portly-Ring (Jared Harris) want's nothing more then to enjoy his cheese with his fellow collegues and has no sence of parental careness. Fish and Shoe (Dee Bradley Baker, Steve Blum) are the two main Boxtrolls that the film focuses on. Fish is the sort of father figure to Eggs while Shoe is the arogent friend who still has his heart in the right place.

Animation: This movie was done in Stop-motion just like Laika's previous films Coraline and Paranorman, but in this film, its done with such uniquenes that seperates it from the other two films. While the main characters tend to share similarities in design, they have noticible differences. It is the supporting characters tgat have such unique designs to them that give off such great character. The scenery is really cool looking too. the whole town is set on a big mountain top covered in houses. gives it a Tim Burton feel.

Music: The score was done in a sort of mystic and creepy kind of way that feels to fit perfectly in the atmosphere. Music was done by Dario Marianelli (Pride and Prejudice) who really got the knack for the setting and the characters to fit in with a sort of victorian feel. Let's not also forget that their is a song sung by the villain while hes dressed in drag as his counterpart Frou-Frou called the Boxtroll song which was written by Monty Python regular Eric Idle who got a great feeling for mock and insulting.

I give this film a 8 out of 10. While I can see while critics think that this is not as great as Coraline or Paranorman, It is still a wonderful film to watch. It can be a bit more unsettling and dark ten Coraline, but it doesn't get too over the top. just make sure your kids can handle this kind of stuff.