Boxtrolls, The

Story

The Boxtrolls is a quirky stop motion animation from the creators of Coraline and ParaNorman. It is based on the children’s novel Here Be Monsters by Alan Snow.

Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead Wright) is an orphan who is raised by Boxtrolls. Boxtrolls are friendly little trolls who live underground in the city of Cheesebridge. The Boxtrolls collect and reuse garbage for inventions. But the residents of Cheesebridge believe that the Boxtrolls are scary monsters who steal children and eat their precious cheese.

Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) is promised a leadership role in Cheesebridge if he eliminates all the Boxtrolls, so Eggs must venture above ground to save them. Eggs meets a girl name Winnie (Elle Fanning) and together they try to stop the evil exterminators, save the Boxtrolls and convince the city that the trolls are actually good.

Themes

Kidnapping; separation from parents; children as victims; death of a parent

Violence

The Boxtrolls has some violence. For example:

The exterminators threaten to kill the Boxtrolls. They chase after them with bats and fire nets to hunt them down.
Archibald Snatcher tries to kidnap Eggs when he is a baby.
Archibald Snatcher kidnaps Eggs’s father and keeps him captive for 10 years.
It looks like the Boxtrolls are crushed by a box crusher. They escape but the audience doesn’t learn this until later in the movie.
Archibald Snatcher builds a giant mechanical robot, which destroys the Boxtrolls’ home. Then Snatcher tries to kill Eggs by dangling him over a fire.
Both Eggs and Winnie bite people as a way of escaping.

Sexual references

The Boxtrolls has some sexual references. For example:

Archibald Snatcher cross-dresses as a woman called Mrs Fru Fru. He does a sultry dance while in character.
The mayor and several other male members of the town are attracted to Mrs Fru Fru.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

None of concern

Nudity and sexual activity

The Boxtrolls shows some nudity and sexual activity. For example, there is some animated nudity when the Boxtrolls remove their boxes at the end of the movie. You can see their bottoms. The townspeople are astonished.

Product placement

None of concern

Coarse language

The Boxtrolls has some mild insults.

Ideas to discuss with your children

The Boxtrolls is a quirky and spooky animated movie about the problems of trying to fit in and be something that you’re not.

The movie is ideal for children over nine years. Because of the movie’s themes and its scary elements, we recommend parental guidance for younger children.

These are the main messages from this movie:

Be yourself.
Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself.

Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include bravery, kindness and acceptance of others.