Strong and Moving!

Sadly Over-hyped

Absolutely Fantastic

Blistering performances.

'The Boxtrolls (2014)' is Laika's weakest effort for sure, but is still a charming and beautifully animated stop-motion feature that might skew slightly younger than the studio's other flicks but still retains its own edge which allows it to sit comfortably in the realm of family entertainment, as opposed to entirely childish fare. The story itself is quite contrived and yet does take a couple of risks in the latter half which pay off pretty well. There's an underlying darkness not quite as apparent as 'Coraline (2009)', 'ParaNorman (2011)' or even 'Kubo And The Two Strings (2016)', but it still dares to go deeper than most films of the kind and, as such, tells a nuanced and properly exciting tale. It's really the amazing aesthetic that will carry you through the entirety of the swiftly moving piece, though. While the flick may not affect you emotionally, it will surely make you smile once or twice. 7/10

In a fantastic world where cheese is the most valuable thing, the inhabitants have a big problem. They must hide in their houses at night because of some awkward creatures which roam the streets and steal all sorts of objects. Among them, happens to be a kid which thinks he's one of them, who's about to find some disturbing truths and, of course, do something about the situation.It's a beautiful and original stop-motion animation which features some cute and funny creatures, which, only on their own are a recipe for success, let alone in a full movie like this one. It tells a pretty interesting story which describes the emotional adventures of a boy, struggling to adapt and make people realize the truth that's been standing right in front of them for a very long time.It's interesting and a pleasant watch but unfortunately there is nothing groundbreaking or impressive about it. It's a very good animation, but pretty far from "The Big Ones".

This film has some brilliantly detailed animation. All the scenes and characters are unique and not generic by any form. The box trolls especially are so ridiculous looking but at the same time absolutely adorable. They have this Gollum vibe yet thankfully they don't seem sociopathic.It's quite a morbid movie really and not at all what I was expecting. The human characters are ruthless and their behaviours are disgraceful. They're actually quite idiotic which makes the movie hard to enjoy.In the end I got out of it what I was wanting but the whole thing didn't capture my imagination. All in all it was an okay movie.

The movie/story itself is decent but full of clichés. It's nothing that will really surprise you, but it might move you a bit. Some will like the kind of "animation" that is used here, other will dismiss it. Maybe you should watch the trailer, just so you know what you are up for (so you're not surprised).The message of the movie is pretty clear and the movie while aimed at the small ones, will have a couple of things to keep the adults interested. Something Pixar does to perfection but is nicely handled here too. Some things may seem a bit bleak and dark, but the overall tone is nicely handled. Everybody needs love ...