Review of The Boxtrolls (2014) by Matthew B — 13 Nov 2014

The 2014 stop motion animated film The Boxtrolls is a very, very loose adaptation of the novel Here Be Monsters written and illustrated by Alan Snow. The film was directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi and it follows the adventures of a human boy by the name of Eggs who has been raised by trolls. In the film, he is attempting to save them from an exterminator, Archibald Snatcher. The voices of the main characters are Issac Hempstead-Wright as the orphaned boy Eggs, with Winnie Portley-Rind, his friend and daughter of the Lord and Lady Portley-Rind voiced by Elle Fanning. Archibald Snatcher, the exterminator, is played by Ben Kingsley, while Dee Bradley Baker voices Fish, Wheels, and Bucket, who are three Boxtroll friends of Eggs. Toni Collette is Lady Portley-Rind, Jared Harris is Lord Portley-Rind, Nick Frost is Mr. Trout (henchman to Snatcher) as is Richard Ayoade as Mr. Pickles. Tracy Morgan can be heard as Mr. Gristle another cohort of Snatcher and Simon Pegg is Egg?s father, and Steve Blum is Shoe and Sparky, Boxtroll friends of Eggs.

The book, which the film is loosely based on, is Here Be Monsters! and it was published in 2006. It is set in the town of Ratbridge (in the book and the town of Cheesebridge in the movie), and is located on the River Rat (no mention of a river in the film) sometime around the beginning of the 19th century (1803 or so, 1805 in the movie). The protagonist in the novel is a young boy named Arthur (Eggs in the film), who lives underground with his adoptive grandfather William. William has been living underground for many years due to being unjustly accused of attempted murder. Every evening at sundown, with the help of mechanical wings designed by William, Arthur searches for food above ground and communicates with his grandfather through a walkie-talkie doll that he Arthur always carries with him. While above ground, Arthur unwillingly sees what appears to be an illegal cheese hunt and follows the hunters who go into the abandoned Cheese Hall. Arthur?s wings at this point in the book are stolen and he is almost captured by Archibald Snatcher of the defunct Cheese Guild. Rescued by Fish, a boxtroll, who takes Arthur to meet Willbury Nibble, the proprietor of a former pet shop entitled Here Be Monsters, Arthur discovers that Willbury lives with several boxtrolls, Shoe, Egg and Fish (names are used in the film, but for different characters from the novel) and what is called a cabbagehead named Titus. With their help, Arthur hopes to return to his grandfather, but all the entrances back to the underground tunnels have been closed off and sealed tightly shut.

A very strange character, Mr. Gristle in both the book and the film, sells Willbury a number of small creatures and tries to purchase their full-sized friends. These small Underlings it would seem are being sold to the women in the town as the latest fashion trend and Willbury senses that an invention of sorts has been used to shrink down these Underlings. Seeking the advice of his friend Marjorie, an inventor, who is at the patent office, patiently waiting for the return of the clerk who unfortunately has stolen her latest invention. On returning to the shop, they discover it has been broken into and the Underlings have been kidnapped. With the help of Kipper, Tom and the members of the crew of the Ratbridge Nautical Laundry, a combination of men, rats and crows that the reader assumes are pirates and on a ship stuck in the canal near the town, they begin to watch the Cheese Hall for any Guild members who are actively involved in the illegal hunt. Arthur manages to get inside the building, finds and retrieves his missing wings, and helps a number of the Underlings escape from the dungeon in the building.

Returning to the ship, the group is arrested by the corrupt police officers who are also members of the Cheese Guild and Arthur is thrown into the Cheese Hall?s dungeon, along with a prisoner housed in the adjoining cell, a Man in the Iron Socks by the name of Herbert, who tells Arthur that the Guild is creating small creatures, but is uncertain as to why. While this is going on, Willbury, Marjorie and some members of the ship, disguised as boxtyrolls, enter the Underground, locate Arthur?s grandfather, but unfortunately, they are captured and taken to the laboratory in the Cheese Hall. Recognizing a larger version of her stolen invention, Marjorie realizes that it is being used to enlarge one of the captured rats from the ship, known as the Great One. It is being fed the captured cheeses, with the intention of causing vengeance on the town. Herbert, disguised as a Guild member, frees Arthur and all the others using his large mallet called a walloper, knocking a hole in the wall, allowing them to escape. With his wings and Marjorie?s invention, the group returns to the ship and proceed to fight the Great One in battle armor at the Cheese Hall. They use a large electromagnet, which adds pressure to the armor, causing the Great One to explode, covering the town in cheese. It also starts a huge collapse of the underground tunnels and using Marjorie?s invention, the small creatures are brought back to their normal size. William clears his name, and along with Arthur and Herbert, they all move into the rooms above the old pet shop.

However his guard is actually Herbert, disguised as a Guild member. Herbert is able to free the captives using his "walloper"?a large mallet?and knocks a hole in the wall to allow their escape. Arthur again retrieves his wings?and Marjorie's prototype?and the group quickly returns to the ship.

The Boxtrolls are very shy and live inside cardboard boxes, are fascinated by anything mechanical, and are curious. They also take care of the underground tunnels. Cabbageheads are small creatures with cabbages tied to their heads. Led by a queen, they are like the society of bees. Sea Cows are similar to manatees and regular cows, but live in underwater tunnels and are vegetarians.

The film, as stated, is a very loose interpretation of the book. The town is known as Cheesebridge and the underground Boxtrolls are rumored to kidnap and kill young children when they are actually very peaceful creatures who wear cardboard boxes and scavenge at night in the town?s trash for things they can use to make inventions. Archibald Snatcher, working with the mayor, Lord Portley-Rind, has offered to eliminate every trolls in exchange for membership in the city?s cheese council, the White Hats (completely ignoring his severe allergy to cheese that causes awful swelling). A young boy, named Eggs, lives with them, being taken care of by a Boxtroll named Fish. Over the ten years he has lived with the trolls, Arthur is upset at how many of them have disappeared thanks to Snatcher.

Winnie (not mentioned at all in the book) is the daughter of the mayor and just happens to see Eggs looking through the trash with the trolls. Snatcher captures Fish and Eggs, in a disguise, comes back up to the surface to find him. While at the surface, he is at the annual event celebrating the disappearance and presumed dead of the Trubshaw Baby by the Boxtrolls eleven years before. Winnie recognizes him and sends him to an abandoned factory where he finds Snatcher. He sneaks into the factory and finds Fish and frees him, but unfortunately, both of them are caught. Snatcher realizes Eggs is the lost Baby and tells him that all the Boxtrolls are still alive and are in the process of building a machine. It is here in the film that Winnie learns the truth about the Boxtrolls and tells Eggs that he is not one of them. The audience learns that Egg?s father gave him to Fish in order to keep him safe from Snatcher. At a special ball, Eggs confronts the mayor, but knocks down a gigantic cheese wheel that rolls into the river. Eggs tells everyone at the ball that he is the missing Trubshaw Baby, but no one believes him, but he gets in trouble because of the cheese wheel. Using the machine the trolls have built for him, Snatcher digs into the underground cavern, captures all the trolls then and takes them back to his hideout Eggs discovers his real father, Herbert, a captive of Snatcher and held prisoner for years. With all the flattened boxes, proof that all the Boxtrolls are gone, drives his machine to the mayor?s house and demands the mayor?s white hat. The trolls arrive with Herbert, having escaped from the boxes before they were crushed and with Eggs, Herbert and the trolls, they disable the machine. As with the book, Snatcher swells into a giant after eating a piece of cheese and as in the novel, explodes. The people of the town learn that the Boxtrolls are not monsters and begin to live peacefully with them. Winnie tells the story of the end of Snatcher, while Eggs and Fish leave in Herbert?s invention.

As you can see, there are some similarities with names and situations. But for the most part, the adaptation is very different. The voices were well chosen and complimented the on-screen characters. The dialog was written fairly well by screenwriters Irena Brignull and Adam Pava as was the animation handled by Laika Studies, and with the music by Dario Marianelli, the overall feel of the somewhat unstructured story was conveyed with enough wit and charm to engage young children, while not completely boring the adults who accompany them. Remember to stay through the end credits as there is an extra scene added by the director, perhaps, to signal a possible sequel.