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BOXTROLLS, THE

Splendid! The Boxtrolls is another fantastic stop motion film by Laika. In the city of Cheesebridge's a human boy named Eggs ( Isaac Hempstead- Wright) is raised by Boxtrolls, creatures that rummage the streets at night and live under the city. Mr. Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) intends to exterminate every last Boxtroll, all for the love of cheese and a white hat. Eggs needs to teach his family to stop hiding.

Stop motion dates back to Wallace and Gromit, Gumby and many of our favorite Christmas specials. Laika has created movies I adore such as Coraline. This film is another success with its fast pace stop-motion. The way the boxes fold, stack and bend are impressive to watch. The designs of the characters are distinct and detailed. From the trolls who are dirty with glowing eyes and pale blue skin, to the proper humans who are clean with fancy clothes and perfect hair.

The small scale sets are marvelous. The film transports you into two opposite worlds. Once is the view from above the city where we see buildings and streets of stones. At night it's dark with only lamp posts to light the way. The Boxtrolls' under ground lair is a whole other picture. The ground is covered in boxes and tin cans for the characters to slide around on. The room is lit with light bulbs they find and is filled with inventions that they have made.

The writing is witty. The comedy comes through in a very playful manner with its shock humor and, at times, straight-forward jokes. There is even a scene with a rim shot. The trolls, even though they speak gibberish, bring a lot of emotion into their delivery. Speaking of which, the voice talents are sensational. The villain Archibald Snatcher, who is my favorite, uses his amazing voice talents to create this mean, eccentric character. He fits the image that we see on screen. Same goes for the rest of the cast, particularly Elle Fanning who plays Winnie, a snobbish brat that befriends Eggs.

My favorite scene is in the middle of the credits. When the credits roll, please stay in your seat! What you will see is one of the funniest fourth wall jokes to be seen on-screen.

The moral of this story is you can change your nature. The Boxtrolls are used to sneaking around and hiding. Even when they are in danger, they don't fight back. They learn that they can change.

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars and recommend this to 7 through 18-year-olds. This movie gives the audience jokes, engaging characters and beautiful visuals which make it a great film.

Reviewed by Keefer C. Blakeslee, Age 14, KIDSFIRST! Film Critic

I loved this movie because it is not the average children's story. It represents two completely different worlds that only interact when one is trying to destroy the other.

In a small city where the upper class is completely obsessed with cheese, there lies under the roadways another city; created and run by Boxtrolls. The creatures are believed by humans to be completely evil though they are good and gentle creatures. Lead by an evil exterminator, Mr. Snatcher, the humans on the surface fear Boxtrolls and trap them. Eggs, a young boy that was raised by Boxtrolls after the "death" of his father, and Fish, his Boxtroll father-figure, go on an adventure to save the rest of the Boxtrolls from the evil Mr. Snatcher and his companions.

My least favorite part is when Snatcher has all of the Boxtrolls piled up underneath the crusher and Eggs has to watch them be "crushed."

My favorite part is when all of the naked Boxtrolls come back and help save the day, while all the terrified townspeople watch curiously.

Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) portrays the evil exterminator very incredibly. Kingsley's voice fits not only the character perfectly, but he allows a deeper background into the history of the character just by his speeches throughout the movie.

The message of this movie is that everyone has the ability to change their own nature.

The movie is made in Claymation and, along with all the twists and turns of the story plot, stands out dramatically.

I recommend this film for ages 5 to 12 and give it a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Reviewed by Samantha Melton, KIDS FIRST! reviewer

THE BOXTROLLS are a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs in the amazing cavernous home they've built beneath the streets of a city called Cheesebridge. The story is about a young orphaned boy raised by underground cave-dwelling trash collectors who tries to save his friends from an evil exterminator, the town's villain, Archibald Snatcher. When Snatcher comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls. Eggs decides to venture above ground and "into the light," where he meets and teams up with fabulously feisty Winnie. Together, they devise a daring plan to save The BoxTrolls family. The film is based upon the children's novel 'Here Be Monsters' by Alan Snow.