Underplayed Gems

The Boxtrolls (2014)

The Boxtrolls poster
Directed by
Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi
Genre
fantasy film, comedy film, adventure film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 36m
Rated
PG
Rating
6.7 of 10 from 1,823 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

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The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A human boy named Eggs is raised by the Boxtrolls, friendly creatures who wear cardboard boxes and live underground. When a villain tries to exterminate them, Eggs ventures above ground to save his family.

whimsicaloffbeatcozy-creepyfast-pacedplayfulwarmheartedquirkyvisually textured

What happens

The Boxtrolls is a 2014 American stop-motion animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 2005 novel Here Be Monsters! Directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi, and produced by Laika, it features the voices of Ben Kingsley, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Elle Fanning, Dee Bradley Baker, Steve Blum, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Tracy Morgan, and Simon Pegg. Set in the fictional European country of Norvenia, the film tells the story of Eggs (Wright), a human boy raised by Boxtrolls, subterranean trolls who wear cardboard boxes, as he attempts to save them from being exterminated. In 2008, Laika unveiled a slate of projects in development, including an animated feature film adaptation of the Alan Snow novel Here Be Monsters!. While the animation technique was not yet decided upon, Stacchi was set to direct the film. Originally focused on all five species of creatures found in the original book, producer Travis Knight noted that the script ultimately was hollow with all the monsters. As the result, the team ended up focusing on the Boxtrolls as Knight thought there was something that was really compelling about that group of characters. Dario Marianelli composed the film's musical score. The film was released in the United States on September 26, 2014, by Focus Features, and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the humor and animation. It earned $108 million on a $60 million budget and was nominated for Best Animated Film at the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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