From the american stop-motion Animation Studio Laika, widely known for his two previous animations Coraline and ParaNorman comes this year a fun, dark and also fantastic when it comes to visuals, The Boxtrolls.

Directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi and based on Alan Snow's book "Here be Monsters!", this film is set in Cheesebridge, a very peculiar city (where all the people seem to love cheese) and tells the story of a boy called Eggs, that was raised since he was a little baby by creatures of the underworld called Boxtrolls, that go up to the upper world only at night and create fear and panic in all the people of the city. Eggs, think he is one of them and is totally unaware that he is human. One day he meets the daughter of one of the richest and most powerful men of the city, and both start on an adventure in the pursuit of a reconciliation between the two worlds. For that they will face a fearsome terminator of the Boxtrolls that has darker plans, only with the aim of becoming one of the powerful men of Cheesebridge.

A very adventurous and fun story that entertains from beginning to end, passing important messages not only the smallest but also to adults. Inequality between society, discrimination between rich and poor, friendship and loyalty are some of the themes explored in the plot.

Despite all the usual clichés of animated films, these studios continue to produce good works that can stand out in the world of animation. The somber tone, dark and quirkiness of their works, as they can create a gender, not of horror, but more serious for the children, who instead of scaring is able to pass the messages effectively. Unfortunately despite all the entertainment, The Boxtrolls can not be so engaging, not overcoming the previous Laika studios films (Coraline especially). Not bad at all, but it fall short. Perhaps because the bar was so high, can lead us to have too much high expectations too.

As a great admirer of animation done in stop-motion, and as Laika had already accustomed us with their two earlier works, this film is still very well executed. It is amazing how it is possible to do something so perfect that way! An absolutely magnificent work to which we must give great value! I'll be looking forward to see what they will bring us in the future.

An animation not only for children but also for the grownups too!

"Snatcher" is determined to get himself a white hat! Why? Well that symbolises his membership of the town's elite - and it gets him to the table for the cheese tasting, and boy does he like cheese - even if it doesn't particularly like him! The scornful "Lord Portley-Rind", though, is having none of this - until, that is, he is promised that they will be rid of the evil, menacing, baby-stealing box trolls. OK, he has a deal - and together with his three henchmen starts apprehending these curious nocturnal creatures. Are they really the danger he purports, though? After one raid, we escape with "Eggs" and "Fish" down into the subterranean cavern where they live. They are a community, looking out for one and other and living the lives of box-clad "Wombles" - recycling as they go. It turns out too that "Eggs" isn't really a troll, but maybe he is the now grown-up missing infant (and maybe also a stunt double for Nicholas Hoult, too)? What now ensues is a lively and entertaining battle of wills between the exterminators and the rapidly diminishing number of trolls who have to find a way to fight back and expose "Snatcher" who has a curious doppelgänger. Whilst the story isn't really anything new, the stop-motion animation is intricate and colourful with some really engaging characterisations extolling virtues of loyalty and friendship, a tiny hint of a romance that delivers a steadily paced and scored presentation. Good fun!

'The Boxtrolls' has parts that I like, but overall I found it slow-moving.

I enjoyed the Boxtrolls themselves, I like how they look and come across. Archibald (Ben Kingsley) and bodyguards, Messrs Trout (Nick Frost) and Pickles (Richard Ayoade), are good, as is the casting of Jared Harris as Lord Charles Portley-Rind.

With that said, I liked them individually rather than as a group. Frost and Ayoade being the key examples, despite being two of the same character I never felt a connection between them. Elsewhere, I rate Isaac Hempstead Wright and Elle Fanning as actors, but I don't feel like their voices suit the respective roles of Eggs and Winnie.

The stop-motion animation is strong, but I just feel the plot is brought to life in a sluggish manner; the ending particularly felt dragged out to me. All in all, it's an average film in my eyes.