This visually impressive stop-motion animated movie plays like a twist on H.G. Wells' classic The Time Machine: its underground-dwelling Morlocks - here a diminutive race called Boxtrolls - are harmless critters with a penchant for steampunk, unjustly feared and discriminated by their smug Eloi - here the class-obsessed citizens of Cheesebridge. A boy adopted by the creatures, with the help of a surface girl, fights against ruthless town exterminator Snatcher, who plans to destroy the Boxtrolls.
The vocal talent assembled here is impressive; as much as I like Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Elle Fanning and Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Game of Thrones' Bran), the standout is an unrecognizable Ben Kingsley in a magnificently loathsome, scene-stealing turn as Snatcher.
Much like the authors' previous work Coraline, this isn't for small children. It's not as creepy as their brilliant Gaiman adaptation, but it features a certain amount of grotesque moments - like a character's face horribly swollen after an allergic reaction - not really suited to toddlers.
7/10
The vocal talent assembled here is impressive; as much as I like Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Elle Fanning and Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Game of Thrones' Bran), the standout is an unrecognizable Ben Kingsley in a magnificently loathsome, scene-stealing turn as Snatcher.
Much like the authors' previous work Coraline, this isn't for small children. It's not as creepy as their brilliant Gaiman adaptation, but it features a certain amount of grotesque moments - like a character's face horribly swollen after an allergic reaction - not really suited to toddlers.
7/10