Les Boxtrolls

A good metaphor for the movie itself: if you can stomach it, it's a real delicacy, with plenty of interesting themes. The steam-punk early-modern Dutch city inhabited by well-meaning but persecuted trolls was a disquieting environment with multiple filthy (physically and morally) areas that Laika's unique animation explored in various engaging and surprising ways.

My 6-year-old son Sebastian loved it, mostly, I think, because it was disgusting and had plenty of gross jokes and scenes (like the naked trolls who take city hall at the end), but he also got a little tired of it, declaring : "I thought it's never going to end."

Sienna's Rating: 7 Stars Sebastian's Rating: 10 Stars!

Paul's Rating: 7 Stars.

This mix of stop-motion and CGI brings a fun, charming tale that appeals to all ages.

Set in the town of Cheesebridge (it's motto - a gouda place to live), the 'minion'-like creatures called boxtrolls have for years terrorised the habitants and are hunted by childcatcher-esque exterminator 'Archibald Snatcher', voiced by Sir Ben Kingsley, who has been promised a place in the town council if he's destroys every last one. The story is enjoyable, heartwarming and is really brought alive by the stop motion animation and topped by a plethora of famous British voices.

The themes are a little darker than explored in a lot of younger-aimed films, and there is a sense of adventure and danger that you don't see in the majority of animations. But this doesn't mean that it isn't entertaining. Those who are fond of the Despicable Me's minions, will love the Boxtrolls' actions and personalities, resulting in many lighthearted moments too.

For those that have seen creator Laika's other works - Coraline and Paranorman - you will enjoy this very much. They don't have as much of a fan base as the biggest stop motion Aardman - the visionaries behind Wallace & Gromit, but their quirkier, darker animations can appeal to a larger range of audiences. Here, with their third film, they have made really enjoyable film, entertaining from beginning to end. Be sure to stay at the end for a little credit sting showing how it was made.

There are cute children's films - like "Frozen, the first movie to which I ever took my granddaughter (then just under three) - and then there is the more challenging kind - like "The Boxtrolls" to which I took her nine months later. We haven't read the source material, the novel "Here Be Monsters!" by Alan Snow, but she knows all about trolls from "Frozen" and other stories and these are very cleverly represented through stop- motion capture by the specialist production company Laika. But it's a little bit scary for young ones, so my granddaughter held on to my hand most of the film and sat on my lap for the final third.

For British adults of a certain age, the characters of the town of Cheesebridge look like people from a Gerald Scarfe cartoon and the subterranean habitat of the boxtrolls themselves is like a cross between the worlds of Heath Robinson and Hieronymus Bosch. The voices are very well-done and for me the best of comes from Ben Kingsley as a hard bad guy and Richard Ayoade as a soft bad guy. Stay for the credits when early on there is a little bit of existential angst on display from two of the stop motion characters.

The "animation" genre now has a common trait: it is known for broader gags, bullet speed pacing, and eye candy visuals, but out of many animation studios out there, Laika Entertainment could be the only one that stays loyal to their own direction. Aside of the stop- motion animation and love to the horror movie camp, their storytelling and themes are equally unconventional, though charmingly daring at best. The Boxtrolls is no different from their last two movies, except this one might be gentler, but the strangeness is still there intact. And by those merit, the experience becomes special.

It might get immediately be assumed that the film has the same moral of 2012's ParaNorman. It does have that feeling: strange people being treated as outcasts by everybody and describes their fear to them out of caricatures. But the film tends to explore more messages beneath besides of that, if you can get behind with the whole rescue plan stuff, you may also get to notice that it's really about separating people's common views and expectations from the reality; like the Boxtrolls they're against with aren't actually bad creatures, or some fathers turn out to be not as supportive as they're supposed to be, or even the difference between being good and bad. The sentiment may sound a little familiar, but the delivery here is often steady and bitter to acknowledge its sincerity, and it indeed makes it remarkable.

As for the animation, there's no hiding for the love of the horror movie aesthetics. The world already looks magnificently whimsical as the filmmakers transcend their stop-motion animating abilities by making grander and crazier set pieces and physical comedy, but when it comes to featuring its creature and character designs, the camp just brings lots of it to life, some parent might find it a little creepy for smaller children, but if they don't even bother then there is no denying how beautiful they're designed anyway. In another angle, it offers a larger extent of warmth compared to many family movies today. The nearly wordless montage of the Boxtroll Fish raising young Eggs is one of the sweetest things you would see in recent memory, while the sadder montage at the middle act could surprisingly be affecting. These storytellers just know how to drive emotions. Among the voice actors, Ben Kingsley predictably becomes the best. He brings the main pizazz as both the villain and his hilarious drag disguise. Isaac Hempstead Wright and Elle Fanning are great as well, giving their characters the personalities they need. There are more big names (mentioning the favorites like Simon Pegg and Richard Ayoade) that bring the extra fun of the film.

The Boxtrolls is probably going to be the least attraction for the animation genre this year, mostly because it's nearly apart from the comfort zone of today's entertainment. If you don't care about trends, then this movie is a treat, and as usual from its studio, the overall film is dark, campy, but visually stunning and eventually endearing. They still haven't changed and I hope it always stays that way, especially the monster movie tribute and strong heart and perspective towards things. The Boxtrolls proves that these types of animated films shouldn't be antique yet, there is a huge value to its quality and moviegoers should once again encounter it.

Based on Alan Snow's children novel "Here Be Monsters", The Boxtrolls follows in the eerie and murky footsteps of Coraline and Paranorman for an animated caper with more quirkiness than a Come Dine With Me at Tim Burton's house.

Isaac Hempstead Wight voices "Eggs", a boy who grew up under the streets by a group of box-wearing trolls, who roam the streets at night finding anything they can to make into useful devices. Deemed a menace and a scourge, the city employs The Red Hats, a team of brutal Boxtroll-catching goons led by Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) - a ruthless and ambitious tyrant, who hopes to climb the social hierarchy in order to swap his red hat for a white one.

White Hats are the political strata of society, the decision-makers, who spend more time scoffing cheese in the Tasting Room than providing any worthwhile contribution to the town of Cheesebridge. When a White Hat's daughter, Winnie (Elle Fanning), falls in with The Boxtrolls and Eggs, the town becomes the setting for a rough-and-tumble adventure as the gang attempt to find and free the Boxtrolls who have been taken by the Red Hats.

Fun, funky, and full of creative freedom, The Boxtrolls delivers a meatier and more enjoyable family film than its predecessors, with a spectacular cast of voices, and some of the best animation in years. It is lively, perfectly-timed, and some of the weightier themes will keep even the snobbiest of film-watchers interested. The film delivers commentary on very relevant class issues and green themes, whilst keeping them tucked under a bombastic and explosive film for families.

The Boxtrolls themselves are like ugly Minions, speaking an incomprehensible dialect of baffling gibberish, whilst looking petrified by the harsh realities of human interaction. They are, in fact, more appealing than Minions as they each have subtle differences (like the one with false teeth, or the one with anger issues), and varying boxes - such as Fish or Eggs.

Just as The Boxtrolls roam the streets recycling garbage into new and useful things, the film itself has recycled some of its makers' past imagery (wouldn't quite call it garbage, although Paranorman tested this particular reviewer) and created a late summer film that thinks outside the box.