From the folks that brought you the delightful Coraline and ParaNorman. Big shoes to fill. I missed this movie at the theater and it snuck past me in is video release. I finally purchased the Blu-ray and prepared the family for a view. The Boxtrolls is definitely an amazing achievement in the line of stop-motion animation. In a physical sense everything you see is real and miniature and manipulated by fearless team of animators who apply the magic one frame at a time. Having said that, it might take you more than one view to get the full gist of the movie. The plot is strange and slightly off-kilter (which is good) and rather bizarre. In the cheese-infatuated Victorian town of Cheesebridge, rumors circulate, via the scaly, slimy exterminator Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) that the subterranean creatures known as Boxtrolls (small creatures clad in cardboard boxes to hide in with an affinity for snatching any object not bolted down) capture and eat small children. This causes havoc, of course, and Snatcher, in a quest to acquire a white hat (a symbol of status in Cheesebridge) sets forth to exterminate the little creatures after they have supposedly snatched a small boy. If Boxtrolls is anything it is inventive. Visually stunning. Slightly deranged. All the things you want in an animated feature. I loved Coraline. I liked The Boxtrolls. Does that make sense? Something is missing, but not enough to where it is awful, just not completely amazing. Still, you will enjoy it. I did, Laika takes their stop-motion animation seriously. Be sure to watch all the way through for a little tongue-in-cheek view of how creation works in the realm of Cheesebridge.

Kids enjoyed the movie, but it's not the kind of movie they'd watch more than once. Good story, decent pacing, sold it after once viewing.

Parents need to know that while The Boxtrolls isn't quite as supernaturally creepy as the filmmakers' previous movies, Coraline and ParaNorman, it still has a lot of peril, tense moments, and a very unpleasant villain. Sympathetic characters are presumed dead at different points, a crying baby is carried away in the middle of the night, and the bad guy is bent on total extermination of the boxtrolls, painting them as bloodthirsty monsters, even though they're really peace-loving tinkerers. His extermination machine is loud, scary, fiery, and destructive, and he looks positively unhinged when he gets riled up. The movie may be animated (stop-motion), but it's really too intense for younger kids (especially when seen in 3-D). Characters are constantly in danger, whether from their own or others' actions, and there are some upsetting separations. One character has a significant food allergy that plays a key role in the plot; his reaction is very exaggerated, but it could strike a chord for kids and families who deal with allergies. There's not much in the way of language (one "oh my God"), but a character does wear a low-cut gown and fishnet stockings. All of that said, the movie offers a brave main character in the form of loyal, inventive Eggs, as well as positive messages about tolerance, family, standing up for yourself, and fighting for what's right.

This is probably one of the best movies my kiddos have seen! The trolls are all so cute, and the story line is sweet.

Worth the purchase . Never see it on the regular screen . Love it get it