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!