The Boxtrolls is the Laika film that fans admire more than they love. The studio’s third feature continues the tradition of stunning stop-motion animation and off-kilter storytelling, but it doesn’t reach the emotional heights of Coraline or the thematic ambition of ParaNorman. What it does offer is a gorgeously constructed steampunk world, a collection of endearing creatures, and enough visual charm to sustain its runtime even when the story underneath can’t quite keep up.
The critical reception was positive but measured. Reviewers praised the animation and humor while noting that the film didn’t match Laika’s previous efforts in depth or emotional impact. Audiences responded similarly, with a “B+” CinemaScore and an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. The film earned $108 million against a $60 million budget, a modest success that positioned it as the studio’s least talked-about production.
Tinkering Creatures and a Handcrafted World
The Boxtrolls themselves are wonderful creations. The little underground creatures who wear discarded cardboard boxes as both clothing and identity are visually inventive, endearingly odd, and animated with a tactile quality that makes them feel real despite their cartoonish proportions. Their underground home, a warren of pipes, gears, and salvaged machinery, is one of Laika’s most detailed and impressive environments.
The stop-motion animation is, as expected from Laika, extraordinary. The character expressions, the movement of the Boxtrolls’ cardboard shells, and the mechanical contraptions that populate the film are all rendered with a craftsmanship that continues to push the medium forward. A credits sequence that shows the animators at work serves as a reminder of the incredible labor involved in every frame.
The film’s visual design draws from Victorian steampunk aesthetics to create a world that feels both familiar and fantastical. The town of Cheesebridge, obsessed with cheese as a marker of social status, is a fully realized comedic setting with its own internal logic and visual personality.
The villain, Archibald Snatcher, voiced with relish by Ben Kingsley, is the film’s most memorable character. His desperate desire for social acceptance, manifested as an obsession with joining the town’s cheese-tasting elite, provides both the comedy and the threat. His disguise as a female lounge singer is one of the film’s most entertaining running gags.
Where the Gears Don’t Mesh
The emotional core is thinner than Laika’s other films. The central relationship between the human boy Eggs and the Boxtrolls who raised him should provide the heart that the adventure wraps around, but the connection isn’t developed with the depth or nuance that the studio’s best work achieves. The father-son dynamic is present but not fully felt.
The pacing is uneven, particularly in the middle section where the film shuffles between the underground world, the town above, and Snatcher’s machinations without building sufficient momentum in any single thread. The adventure sequences are entertaining but don’t escalate with the urgency that the plot demands.
The younger children in the audience may find the film’s tone confusing. The Boxtrolls are cute and funny, but the film includes genuinely unsettling moments involving Snatcher’s cheese allergy, the vilification of the Boxtrolls, and several scenes of real menace that sit uneasily alongside the lighter comedy. The tonal register is narrower than it seems, dark enough to unsettle young viewers and not quite dark enough to fully commit to its gothic possibilities.
The human characters beyond Eggs are functional but not particularly memorable. Winnie, the girl who helps Eggs, is a capable supporting character, but her arc doesn’t develop beyond standard adventure-film parameters. The adult characters in Cheesebridge are satirical types rather than people, which limits the emotional investment the audience can bring to the story’s resolution.
Laika’s Stepping Stone
The Boxtrolls functions best as a demonstration of Laika’s technical capabilities and their commitment to telling stories that don’t fit neatly into the mainstream animation landscape. The film may not be the studio’s strongest narrative achievement, but its visual ambition and willingness to be strange in a market dominated by safer choices are worth celebrating.
The film’s exploration of social class, identity, and the dehumanization of outsiders through propaganda provides thematic material that’s more interesting than the plot gives it room to develop. These ideas are present but underdeveloped, suggesting a richer film than the one that ultimately made it to the screen.
Should You Watch The Boxtrolls?
If you appreciate stop-motion animation and enjoy visually inventive family films, The Boxtrolls is well worth your time. The creature design is delightful, the animation is stunning, and the world-building has a charm that’s difficult to resist. It’s also a solid family viewing choice for children who are comfortable with mild scares.
Skip it if you’re specifically looking for the emotional depth of Coraline or the thematic ambition of ParaNorman. The Boxtrolls is a lighter, more conventional adventure than Laika’s best, and viewers who come to it expecting the studio’s A-game may find it pleasant but not essential.
The Verdict on The Boxtrolls
The Boxtrolls is a charming, well-crafted animated film that doesn’t quite reach the heights of Laika’s finest work. The animation is gorgeous, the creatures are delightful, and the world-building shows the studio’s usual attention to detail and commitment to handcrafted filmmaking. The story underneath all that craft is simpler and less emotionally resonant than the studio’s fans expect, and the tonal balance doesn’t always find its footing. It’s the minor Laika film, but a minor Laika film is still better-made and more visually inventive than most of what the animation landscape offers. The Boxtrolls deserve better than the bottom of Laika’s ranking, even if that’s where they land.