​FILMS

the boxtrolls

The Boxtrolls (Animation/Comedy/Adventure): 75 out of 100: If you don't appreciate stop motion animation then you might as well stop reading here. However, if you don't mind this animation process that involves quite an adventurous story, then you should continue reading.

The plot features a young, orphaned boy who has been raised by a community of quirky, underground creatures known as 'The Boxtrolls'. The town's villain, Archibald Snatcher, concocts a plan to eliminate them for his own personal gain.

Being stop motion animation, many of the characters are not beautiful to look at so this might put off younger viewers who are more used to computer generated animation. There are also some scenes that might frighten children under the age of seven with the violence and implied violence depicted on screen.

Although the villains are mainly the cardboard cliched stock, there is still a lot of fun to be had because they engage in some funny situations and the movement on screen ensures that both adults and children alike will be entertained. The story is also clever and interesting although some of the dialogue will go over the top of young children's heads. Adults will definitely appreciate some of the lines spoken by a talented voice cast who deliver the material well.

This fun animated film is more suitable for children above the age of seven and adults who are usually apprehensive of seeing just another cartoon, will be surprised with how much they might actually be enjoying it more than the younger ones.

Featuring the voices of Ben Kingsley, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg and Elle Fanning
(97 minutes)
Parental advice: Low level violence
Additional scene during or after credits: Yes, during the credits we see various scenes from the movie in conventional 2D animation. There is also a scene with two characters discussing how a higher power could be controlling them and a few seconds later, an animator manipulating these mechanical characters that result in the stop motion camera work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2dFVnp5K0o (Movie trailer)

(Reviewed on Saturday 25th October, 2014)