Watch my youtube review HERE!
Laika is making films like nobody else and I'm not just talking about the fact that they're one of the only studios making stop motion animated films. Laika pushes beyond what a kid's film should be and provides substance and thought provoking commentary. Directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stachhi with a voice cast the includes Sir Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Toni Collette, Tracy Morgan and Isaac Hempstead-Wright.
The film follows Eggs (Hempstead-Wright), a young boy who was raised by Boxtrolls in the city of Cheesebridge. Unfortunately due to a misunderstanding the Boxtrolls are perceived as monsters and are hunted by an exterminator named Archibald Snatcher (Kingsley) who was promised to become a higher class citizen if he caught and killed every last Boxtroll. With the help of Winnie (Fanning) the daughter of the Mayor, Eggs must rescue his stolen family and show the world that they are not monsters but just misunderstood.
Now before you're turned off by a rather generic plot let me tell you that this film is new, inventive and fresh. Not just visually but also thematically as it touches on subjects like the class system, neglectful parents and the holocaust (yes, I just said that). Though it may not be intentional the way the Boxtrolls are hunted and dealt with has many parallels with the Jewish people during world war two. Laika has never shied away from darker themes and has always been bridging the gap between a children's film and something more adult but with The Boxtrolls comes their most accessible film as it is much more playful and lighter in tone even though it still contains moments that will frighten children.
The film is absolutely stunning. The animation is superbly fluid, the cinematography and production design is gorgeous with a dense image in every frame; I just want to pause the film and look at everything that is happening in the environment. The voice cast is very good with Ben Kingsley and Elle Fanning being the stand outs. Unfortunately the film does falter with a rather uneven script, mostly due to the fact that the film is lighter in tone to it's predecessors. Most of the characters are reduced to stereotypes but the the mains are generally well fleshed out and I quite enjoyed the fact that the bad guys thought they were the good guys.
The Boxtrolls is flawed but it's also inventive, original, fun, funny, wonderful to look at and has many fantastic moments of honesty and emotion. Not as good as Coraline or Paranorman but I can definitely say it's better than most of the movies I've seen so far this year, live action included. I really enjoyed The Boxtrolls and am eager to revisit it especially the behind the scenes on the Blu-ray. Get out there and support Laika, they're doing things nobody else is and the film industry is better for it.
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