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    The Boxtrolls

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
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    My immediate memories of “Boxtrolls” are warm ones and because of the terrific visuals, I recommend you check it out. It is, however, a film that really needed some punch-up in the comedic dialogue so it’s not going to automatically earn itself a spot in your Blu-ray collection, even if you are a hardcore fan of stop-motion. The story is set in the cheese-obsessed city of Cheesebridge, where, at night the Boxtrolls roam. Boxtrolls are small creatures, about a foot and a half in height that love to tinker with metal objects and mechanisms, eat bugs, hide underground and wear boxes for clothing. The boxes double-up as camouflage when they are above ground and need to hide. When the film begins, Archibald Snatcher (voiced by Ben Kingsley) announces Lord Portley-Rind (voiced by Jared Harris) that the Boxtrolls have kidnapped a human child so that they can eat him. Portley-Rind makes a deal with Snatcher: If he can get rid of the entire population of Boxtrolls, he will earn himself a prestigious white hat and a spot at the city elite’s cheese-tasting table. Soon everyone is fearful of the Boxtrolls. Unbeknownst to them however is that the kidnapped child has not been eaten at all. The young boy (voiced by Isaac Hempstead-Wright) is being raised by the Boxtrolls, who name him Eggs (after the box he wears) Over the years, Snatcher and his cronies capture numerous Boxtrolls and is getting closer to his much desired white hat (to the dismay of portly-Rind) Eggs finds himself befriending Winnie (voiced by Elle Fanning), the neglected daughter of Lord Portley-Rind. The two of them seek to rescue the Boxtrolls from Snatcher’s clutches. It almost goes without saying with these stop-motion films, but the visuals here are spectacular. Every character looks unique, every background is lush and full of life, every frame is a wonder to behold. The animation is just the right mix of fluid, but still delightfully model-like so you don’t confuse it with the overabundant CG animation that is dominating children’s animated films. The movie looks gorgeous in a way that no fully computer-generated film could and on top of that, the 3D is pretty solid as well. Even after the film is finished, you will have the character designs firmly imprinted into your mind. It’s the case with pretty much every stop-motion film we’ve seen since the days of Ray Harryhausen, but that doesn’t make it any less special. In a world where hand-animated films are becoming increasingly scarce, the craftsmanship and skill required to put a film like “Boxtrolls” together deserves to be revered. There is more to the film than just the art style, but I will save that for later because I want to address the biggest flaw in the film. The problem with “Boxtrolls” is that it isn’t nearly as funny as it should be. There are some laughs, two big laughs that are memorable, but mostly it’s just a few chuckles here and there. From the concept you would think that this film would be a riot. I mean we have funny green little guys who speak in gibberish and dress up in cardboard boxes in nearly every scene! Mostly however, the film is filled with cheese puns, which aren’t that funny really, some fish-out-of-water jokes that are just alright and some self-referential humour from two of Snatcher’s henchmen that are pretty clever but will go way over the heads of the younger audience members attending. It’s too bad because the film is a bit more edgy than your standard family-friendly movie but the writing just isn’t that good overall. The plot is fine, but it’s the humour that isn’t anything special. You end up with a film that doesn’t have many darling “aww” moments, some decent sequences of adventuring and not a whole lot of laughs. Despite this weakness, the film is worth your while. The story is inventive, the characters interesting, the visuals very strong and while you won’t necessarily be laughing your pants off, you will enjoy yourself. What’s also notable is that the film never talks down to its audience. Let me just clarify that point for you. Boxtrolls eat bugs and they never play that down as being cute. They play it up as delightfully disgusting. When it comes to the driving forces behind the characters, they’re not simple, they’re actually as complex as a film where every street is named after a type of cheese allows. Take the villain for example. He wants to capture the Boxtrolls in order to move up in the aristocracy of the town. He doesn’t just hate the trolls for no reason; he just sees them as a means to an end. Yes he’s a villain, and an obvious one because to him the ends justify the means, but the man he is trying to manipulate, the mayor is also kind of a jerk. The guy is so obsessed with his political image and cheese that he essentially neglects his daughter so you don’t really blame the bad guy for resenting him. Even our heroes are not just bland black-and-whites. Winnie, for example, has a bit of a sadistic streak to her. The Boxtrolls themselves are a lot of fun to watch and manage to stand out from each other not only because of their distainct physical features, but also because of the way they act. The film is flawed but there is more here that works than doesn’t. It’s unlikely that “Boxtrolls” will become a family favourite that will be watched over and over in years to come, but that’s ok. It’s a decent way to spend some time with your family and your kids; or just by yourself if you’re into stop-motion animation. I’m not going to lie. I was hoping the film would be better than it was, but that does not mean that I didn’t laugh or that I wasn’t excited as the plot unfolded. The ending is particularly strong because it takes some real chances and the bits that were funny and exciting were quite funny and exciting. Children will, in particular appreciate the overall results. “Boxtrolls” is good, but not great family entertainment for slightly older children and for adults that like animation. (3-D Theatrical version on the big screen, October 2, 2014)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  7.10.2014 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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