Wes's Grade: B-
"The Boxtrolls" a clever, witty and dark children's fantasy
From the makers of such dark animated films as "ParaNorman" and "Coraline" comes the equally dark and charming children's fantasy "The Boxtrolls," a clever film that may be a tad too dark but still enjoyed by its target audience. The Boxtrolls is a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead-Wright) in the amazing cavernous home they've built underneath the town of Cheesebridge. When the town's villain, Archibald Snatcher (Academy Award- winner Ben Kingsley), hatches a plot to exterminate of the Boxtrolls, Eggs ventures above ground,where he meets and teams up with the feisty Winnifred (Elle Fanning). and together they devise a daring plan to save Eggs' family. Co-directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacci and based on the British children's novel "Here Be Monsters!" by Alan Snow, "The Boxtrolls" is a dark but colorful and witty fantasy with great voice talent - Fanning and Kingsley in particular are quite good here - though it is a smidgen scarier than most films in this dark animated film genre. The stop-motion animation (which can also be viewed in 3D) is also clear and crisp, but that's unsurprising given directors Annable and Stacci's experience as animators. The adventure is quirky and message meaningful yet some of the dialogue and one-liners may not be grasped by the young set, but "The Boxtrolls" is still a suitable, engaging adventure; I wouldn't recommend it for children under 5, who may be a little frightened by the unconventional but sweet creatures.
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