Unpacking The Boxtrolls

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From the creators of “Coraline” and “ParaNorman” comes the family event movie where we meet a new kind of family — The Boxtrolls. If you are anything like me you may have already seen some very some brief snippets and teasers for this new animated film from LAIKA and Focus Features. So imagine what a thrill it was for me when I got an invitation to see several extended clips from the film as well as chat with the film’s Directors!

For those of you unfamiliar, The Boxtrolls are a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs in an amazing cavernous home they built underground.

The footage we saw really gave a great overview of the world that the filmmakers created for the Boxtrolls. The underground home of the Boxtrolls, filled with gadgets and knick-knacks from the town above was my favorite. We also got to know the personalities of the major characters; the loving boxtrolls, the curious Eggs, and the nefarious Snatcher. When I was chatting with Director Tony Stacchi, he mentioned that scope of the world is much greater than what we saw, which really made me excited since all the sets already seemed so large and full of detail. He also said that this film isn’t as dark as some of the previous LAIKA films. Cinematically, the look is still there, but there is much more levity and heart of this story which I think will help bring interest to younger children.

The most stunning aspect of the film was the incredible facial detail of all the character. Tony remarked that the technology used to make stop-motion films has improved tremendously. For any single figure there are two methods of animating the face, either armature (which is a posable sub-structure of a figure) or “click-in” faces. The later option was used for Jack Skellington in ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas.’ However, all of Jack Skellington’s faces were painstakingly sculpted one by one. For, the Boxtrolls, the click-in faces for all the characters could be 3D printed. As a result of this technology, literally thousands of face could be printed so even the most subtle expression changes could be captured. To wrap up our conversation I asked Tony who his favorite actor to work with was, and without hesitation he answered, ‘Ben Kingsley,’ who provides the voice of the main villain, Snatcher. I could definitely see why, but you’ll just have to check out the film on September 26 when its released in theaters.

Thank you to LAIKA and Focus Features for inviting me to preview some extended footage for the film, The Boxtrolls.

Boxtrolls Image

A family event movie from the creators of “Coraline” and “ParaNorman” that introduces audiences to a new breed of family – The Boxtrolls, a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead-Wright) in the amazing cavernous home they’ve built beneath the streets of Cheesebridge. When the town’s villain, Archibald Snatcher (Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley), comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls, Eggs decides to venture above ground, “into the light,” where he meets and teams up with fabulously feisty Winnie (Elle Fanning). Together, they devise a daring plan to save Eggs’ family.

THE BOXTROLLS – In Theaters Everywhere including Real-D screens on September 26th!

Official Site: http://www.theboxtrolls.com/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theboxtrolls

14 thoughts on “Unpacking The Boxtrolls”

  1. Ben Kingsley is a perfect choice for the villain. We never did see Coraline or ParaNorman. We shy away from any movies with a paranormal theme.

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  2. Great movie and I know my nephews will be captured by the Boxtrolls. Sounds like a I need to plan a movie date!

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  3. I love that Ben Kingsley is the voice of the villain – perfect! This looks like a great movie to see with my niece!

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