The Boxtrolls

"Heroes come in all shapes and sizes... even rectangles."

2014 1h 37m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🍅

78%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 1,870🍅78%Rotten Tomatoes●61Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 65,812

AnimationComedyFamilyFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An orphaned boy raised by underground creatures called Boxtrolls comes up from the sewers and out of his box to save his family and the town from the evil exterminator, Archibald Snatcher.

“Heroes come in all shapes and sizes... even rectangles.”

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Cast

Ben Kingsley
Snatcher (voice)
Isaac Hempstead Wright
Eggs (voice)
Elle Fanning
Winnie Portley-Rind (voice)
Dee Bradley Baker
Fish / Wheels / Bucket (voice)
Toni Collette
Lady Cynthia Portley-Rind (voice)
Jared Harris
Lord Portley-Rind (voice)
Nick Frost
Mr. Trout (voice)
Richard Ayoade
Mr. Pickles (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Graham Annable
Writers: Irena Brignull, Adam Pava, James S. Baker
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

220+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Graham Annable, shot by John Ashlee Prat. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Dario Marianelli. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Edie Ichioka shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ben Kingsley and Isaac Hempstead Wright and Elle Fanning carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Heroes come in all shapes and sizes... even rectangles.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Graham Annable directs. John Ashlee Prat behind the camera. Dario Marianelli scores. Edie Ichioka cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 12 years ago.
3220+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Graham Annable, shot by John Ashlee Prat. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Dario Marianelli. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Edie Ichioka shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ben Kingsley and Isaac Hempstead Wright and Elle Fanning carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Heroes come in all shapes and sizes... even rectangles.".
9IMDB entry: tt0787474 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: John Ashlee Prat
Original score: Dario Marianelli
Editing: Edie Ichioka
Production design: Paul Lasaine
Costume design: Deborah Cook
VFX supervisor: Steve Emerson
Sound: Ren Klyce
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $60,000,000
Box office: $108,255,770
Return: 180% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Boxtrolls (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes: 78% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 61/100
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 65,812 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 8 wins & 61 nominations total

Also by

Graham Annable

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2020-10-19
★ 6/10
<em>'The Boxtrolls'</em> has parts that I like, but overall I found it slow-moving. I enjoyed the Boxtrolls themselves, I like how they look and come across. Archibald (Ben Kingsley) and bodyguards, Messrs Trout (Nick Frost) and Pickles (Richard Ayoade), are good, as is the casting of Jared Harris as Lord Charles Portley-Rind. With that said, I liked them individually rather than as a group. Frost and Ayoade being the key examples, despite being two of the same character I never felt a connection between them. Elsewhere, I rate Isaac Hempstead Wright and Elle Fanning as actors, but I don't feel like their voices suit the respective roles of Eggs and Winnie. The stop-motion animation is strong, but I just feel the plot is brought to life in a sluggish manner; the ending particularly felt dragged out to me. All in all, it's an average film in my eyes.
CinemaSerf2022-11-21
★ 7/10
"Snatcher" is determined to get himself a white hat! Why? Well that symbolises his membership of the town's elite - and it gets him to the table for the cheese tasting, and boy does he like cheese - even if it doesn't particularly like him! The scornful "Lord Portley-Rind", though, is having none of this - until, that is, he is promised that they will be rid of the evil, menacing, baby-stealing box trolls. OK, he has a deal - and together with his three henchmen starts apprehending these curious nocturnal creatures. Are they really the danger he purports, though? After one raid, we escape with "Eggs" and "Fish" down into the subterranean cavern where they live. They are a community, looking out for one and other and living the lives of box-clad "Wombles" - recycling as they go. It turns out too that "Eggs" isn't really a troll, but maybe he is the now grown-up missing infant (and maybe also a stunt double for Nicholas Hoult, too)? What now ensues is a lively and entertaining battle of wills between the exterminators and the rapidly diminishing number of trolls who have to find a way to fight back and expose "Snatcher" who has a curious doppelgänger. Whilst the story isn't really anything new, the stop-motion animation is intricate and colourful with some really engaging characterisations extolling virtues of loyalty and friendship, a tiny hint of a romance that delivers a steadily paced and scored presentation. Good fun!