The Boxtrolls

A stop-motion animated scene with a tall figure in a decorated outfit and tall hat, arms outstretched, addressing a crowd in a festive town square, surrounded by characters in elaborate costumes.

The Boxtrolls, a kind-hearted community of quirky, mischievous, fantastical box-wearing tinkerers, have lovingly raised a human orphan, Eggs, since infancy. In the amazing cavernous home they’ve built beneath the cobblestoned streets of Cheesebridge, they transform mechanical junk into magical inventions and live a happy and harmonious existence away from the posh society above that fears them thanks to the scary stories spread by the villainous Archibald Snatcher.

When Eggs and his Boxtrolls family become increasingly at risk because of Cheesebridge's citizens misunderstanding them, Eggs must venture above ground, “into the light,” where he meets and teams up with another 11-year-old, the fabulously feisty Winnie. Together, Eggs and Winnie devise a daring plan to save the Boxtrolls from Snatcher, embarking on an adventure with madcap antics and open hearts which proves that heroes come in all shapes and sizes – even rectangles.

Founded in Portland, Oregon, in 2005 by Josh Knight, LAIKA is one of the world's leading animation studios. All of LAIKA's first five feature films, including Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), and Missing Link (2019), were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. For The Boxtrolls, the studio used a complex combination of stop-motion, hand-drawn animations, 3D printing, and computer graphics. The set took approximately 75 artists and 18 months to complete and a one-minute long sequence could take around three months for an animator to shoot.

Part of our "Stop-Motion Sundays" series. Courtesy of LAIKA and Park Circus.