'The Boxtrolls': What are critics saying about the animated film?
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Molly Driscoll Staff Writer
The new animated movie "The Boxtrolls" hits theaters tomorrow, and so far it's getting mixed reviews for its story about a boy raised by mysterious otherworldly creatures.
"The Boxtrolls" was made by the animation studio Laika, which was also behind the 2009 movie "Coraline" and the 2012 movie "ParaNorman." The protagonist of "Boxtrolls" is a boy named Eggs ("Game of Thrones" actor Isaac Hempstead-Wright) who was brought up by the titular Boxtrolls, who live underground. The humans who live above them view Boxtrolls as the enemy, and an exterminator, Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley), is trying to stamp out the Boxtrolls.
The movie currently holds a so-so score of 60 on the review aggregator website . writer Brian Truitt was one critic who was more won over, giving it three stars out of four.聽
鈥淭he latest stop-motion effort from the acclaimed studio Laika is a delectable treat that balances themes of identity and class warfare with聽Monty Python-style political skewering, quirky humor and dairy jokes,鈥� he wrote. 鈥�The Boxtrolls聽isn't quite as memorable as Laika's Oscar-nominated movies 鈥� the 2009 fantasy聽Coraline聽and the 2012 kid-horror flick聽ParaNorman. But it shares those films' subversive qualities as well as a stunning animation style, with highly detailed puppets and a painstaking process.鈥�
However, critic Peter Debruge wrote that the movie 鈥渟quanders Laika's considerable artistic talent on an unappealing concept and screenplay.鈥澛�
鈥淭hese drab, cardboard-clad critters are about as compelling as a bunch聽of pet rocks,鈥� Debruge wrote of the Boxtrolls. 鈥淩epeating a lot of the same beats from the聽studio鈥檚聽first two stop-motion adventures, 'Coraline' and 'ParaNorman' 鈥� Laika鈥檚 disappointing latest represents a baffling misappropriation of talent. Hundreds of gifted artists have poured untold hours into bringing to life this relentlessly unappealing script.鈥�
Alonso Duralde of also disliked the film.
鈥�Even by the standards of kids鈥� movies about genocide and the frequent uselessness of fathers, 'The Boxtrolls' isn't very much fun at all,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淎 surprisingly charmless and aimless movie from Laika Studios, the upstart stop-motion artists who previously crafted the wonderfully dark 'Coraline' and 'Paranorman,' this latest venture seems destined to disturb young viewers while thoroughly boring their parents.鈥�
