The Boxtrolls Review

LAIKA is a studio that specializes in stop-motion animated films. They have been around for almost a decade doing contract work for films such as Corpse Bride and are responsible for a very funny segment in A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. But what they are most well-known for is their two films, Coraline and Paranorman. These two films changed the game for stop-motion animation, it allowed the sub genre to develop more creative and detailed worlds while having relatable characters and intense stories to go with it. In my opinion, these films make LAIKA the Pixar Studios of stop-motion. But as Pixar stumbled early by releasing A Bug's Life after their masterpiece Toy Story, LAIKA has made a similar mistake with their latest The Boxtrolls. It's a decent film that takes risks throughout, but in the end it never reaches the high-caliber quality that Coraline and Paranorman have.

The main positive that this film has going for it is the fact it is not afraid to be too dark or intense for children. The film deals with the theme of dealing with differences and being equal with one another, but the film does not sugarcoat the extremes that conflict this theme. It also deals with genocide, a theme that is hardly ever shown in children's films. The film deals with these themes bravely and openly and it doesn't tone it down to avoid scaring children. The fact the film even has this theme and handles it well gives it major respect points from me.

The stop-motion animation, per usual from LAIKA, is astounding to look at. The details of the setting and characters are all so refreshing to look at. The hard work that is put into making these films is amazing and it truly shows here. However, while Paranorman and Coraline develops the world around them, The Boxtrolls really doesn't do that. The camera quickly glances at the world around the characters every so often, but in not enough time for us to truly feel we're entering the world of the story like those other two films did.

The voice casting works well here too. Richard Ayoade and Simon Pegg's characters steal the show as the philosophical henchmen, while Kingsley does great with the villain role. The rest of the cast does well in their respective roles.

The main issues I have with this film come from the script. The plot itself is very predictable, there are no real twists or things coming out of left field. Every twist that this film tries to have can easily be guessed and has been seen a million times. Another pitfall that the script suffers from is not developing the main characters well enough. Paranorman and Coraline's biggest strengths come from developing all of the characters, main or side. With this film, I felt the side characters were well developed, but the main character was just a standard archetype of a boy and I felt that the Boxtrolls were meant just to look cute for the kids and really nothing more. As a result, I feel that LAIKA made this film cutesy just to get the money rolling by appealing to families instead of making a film with memorable characters and a well-written script that will appeal to all.

While The Boxtrolls does have a few great dark moments and some funny jokes, this is easily LAIKA's weakest film to date. The script should have been worked on as hard as the animators work on their fantastic stop-motion. While it is entertaining and it does take risks every so often, the film just doesn't impress me as much as Paranorman or Coraline did. Hopefully, LAIKA's next film will focus more on the creativity those two films had rather than playing it safe like The Boxtrolls did.

Rating: 7 out of 10