Why The Boxtrolls is the Movie of the Year!

    Here is some fan-art by me!

     Hello! My name is Jordin Poeschl, and I am a "some-day hoping to be stop-motion artist!" In this blog I will be talking about why the newest stop-motion release, The Boxtrolls, is the movie of the year. As an aspiring stop-motion artist there are many things that I look for in a stop-motion movie. In a stop-motion movie I look for character development, a charming story, and outrageous scenes! I am going to try not to give out spoilers, but The Boxtrolls has some extremely complicated scenes where you ask yourself, "How did they do that!?"

      So what is so significant about the character development in The Boxtrolls? This movie veers away from the cliche fairy-lore of trolls living under bridges and shapes a new environment of trolls living in boxes under the ground. Not only do these boxes provide them their sleeping space, but their names depend on the subject on the box. Who was the genius that thought of that? It is adorable in every way, making lovable characters that we can cherish for life. In the image to the right is Fish(top) and Eggs(bottom), Fish may not be that complicated in design but he is not your classic "billy-goats-gruff" troll and Eggs may not be so charming if he was a real human-being, but being a stop-motion character his charm really shines through his dirty face, carefully crafted snaggle tooth, and lanky body. Aside from the adorable protagonist, the antagonist come across...horrifying. If you like cross-dressing, nasty, and allergic to cheese antagonist, this may be the movie for you. Many of the characters of this film are actually based off of Victorian paintings, and in some of the scenes you can spy some truly beautiful characters in the crowds of puppets. A lot of research went into the character development such as color representation on the social ladder. The antagonist who are on the bottom of the social ladder wear red hats mimicking the higher-ups who wear white hats of sophistication, and all dream of someday receiving a white hat.

        The overall story for The Boxtrolls is heartwarming and family friendly. My little brother who is eight years old absolutely loved it and even my step-father enjoyed it and he is not always fond of animated movies. Who can resist a story about a boy raised by trolls and is confused when he meets his brain washed father who can mostly only yell "JELLY!" What a crazy plot line! This story is jammed pack with daddy issues, subtle romance, intense social ladder competition, and most important: Cheese! This towns whole government revolves around cheese, and if you are high enough on the social ladder then you can taste test cheese with the big shots. This movie contains a very odd environment making a very incredibly unique story. Sometimes I wish that our government revolved around cheese, but then again I remember the plot of the story and think that might not be the best. I never realized how diverse the selection of cheese could be until I watched this movie. Its impossible for somebody not to like cheese because they can taste so different from each other. If you compare blue cheese to Swiss cheese you will get my point. Even the main antagonist who is allergic to cheese absolutely loves cheese in this film and it later leads to his downfall. Do not even get me started on Winnie, at first she is annoying but she slowly and surely will win your heart by the end of the movie. Her dad is surely the real problem, he is so obsessed with cheese and his social status he barely pays attention to her. Not to mention that he has a crush on the antagonist who is hideous in drag and without! Of course he has no idea, but it is surely the most pleasing moment in the movie when he is humiliated when he discovers that the "mysterious lady in blue" is his most hated adversary. This is all the cheese fault! Everything that happens in this movie would not have happened if it were not for the greatest delicacy of all time: cheese!
   Last but not least, the ingeniously filmed scenes of this production make it an incredible movie.

It has a beautiful rustic color scheme along with  fluid motions from the characters. These characters were brought to life slowly and methodically by hard working artist to create a brand new standard for stop-motion. This movie clip is a perfect example of how complex this movie can get. In the beginning of the scene when Fish is rolling down the conveyor belt and you can see the other trolls walking beneath him is stunning. Not only stunning in a beautiful way, but also in a "How did they do that and how long did that take" type of way. Take a look for yourself! They must also have millions of little troll heads just lying around, because there is no way that they can actually fit all the way in their boxes in real life. Either that or they are able to take the puppets apart leaving just their box. What ever method they use for the trolls it is magnificent! I also love the fact that the characters clothes look and move like cloth, but sometimes it isn't completely cloth at all. The highly stylistic Victorian dresses in this film actually have bendable rods and hoops underneath them so the photographers can move the skirts fluidly mimicking the movement of cloth. The puppets clothing is so realistically textured and folded that it is believable when they move. The most impressive movement when it comes to clothes has to be Winnie's skirt. Its movement is so real that you would never believe that it has bendable rods underneath it! When it comes to problem solving and new innovative ideas, stop-motion photographers and crafters are extremely hard working and can bend anything into life.

  
     This movie is absolutely wondrous and deserves a lot more recognition in the film industry. It may not be significant to most, but there will always be a crowd that holds this movie dear in their hearts. I know my little brother will remember it fondly and so will I, for I have only been able to catch two stop-motion movies in theaters in my time and this is one of them. There are so many other stop-motion movies that are dear to me that I wish I could of seen when they were released in theaters. It is such an amazing experience, especially when this is what you want to accomplish someday and often brings tears to my eyes when I get a chance to see them in person and not on DVD. Do not pass this movie up, The Boxtrolls in my opinion is the movie of the year.