Bring home ‘The Boxtrolls’ on Blu-ray with plenty of extras

Category: Blu-ray's and DVD's

The Boxtrolls is an imaginative story from the creators of ParaNorman and Coraline. With those creators, you know the movie is going to be unique.

Boxtrolls are creatures that use boxes as clothes and get their names from the writing on the boxes. They live in a cavern underground and at night scavenge for items that humans have discarded. One man’s trash is another man’s – or Boxtroll’s – treasure. These critters are crafty and can create a lot with so little.

This group is raising a human baby they name Eggs (his box says “eggs” so that is how he got his name.) This little guy grows up as a Boxtroll and thinks he is one of them. Then, when he’s about 11 years old, things go badly for his “family.” Above ground the humans think the Boxtrolls are monsters and stole the baby. They think the Boxtrolls are evil and need to be exterminated.

The little town of Cheesebridge is above the cavern. The evil Boxtroll exterminator, Snatcher, wants to be among the good people of the town and makes a deal to eliminate all of the Boxtrolls.

Winnie is an interesting little girl. She’s the same age as Eggs and has led a privileged life. Her imagination is one for the books. She has some rather strange obsessions, which all revolve around Boxtrolls. She also wants some of her father’s attention, which he rarely gives to her. Winnie meets Eggs and they work together to convince everyone that Snatcher is an evil man.

What the story comes down to is that Eggs must save his Boxtroll friends and family, with a little help from Winnie. The messages in the film are many. In the end the audience learns the true story of little Eggs and how he came to live with the Boxtrolls.

This is a cute movie, but if you’re looking for something completely warm and fuzzy, this isn’t that. It is very imaginative and a sweet story, but there are some grim scenes.

The Blu-ray combo comes with a booklet about the film and the cast. There are additional never-before-seen features. Stop motion animation is very intricate and the creators show how it was done for this film. There area a lot of characters in this story. A look at the various people and Boxtrolls add insight into the film. There is a discussion about how the characters were designed and created in the first place. A full-length storyboard of the movie is a great lesson for fans of animation. A final bonus goes behind the scenes with the voice actors.

The Boxtrolls is rated PG for action, some peril, and mild rude humor.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Los Angeles Press Club and the Television Critics Association and is accredited by the MPAA. Follow her on Twitter.