The Box Trolls

The Box Trolls works very well as a movie for many reasons, and many of those reasons are layers. Even though it's a kid's film, it's highly complex and visually unique. Unique in it's repulsiveness, and so much so that I deliberately kept my 3-year old daughter away from it. Unique in that it was repulsive in the way my 6-year old boy loved. You have to see it to understand.

There are many things happening in this film, put together with an uncommon sophistication.

• The town's obsession with cheese
• The town's obsession with social stratum, as exemplified by hats
• A heroic female lead that isn't sweet, but actually quite awful 
• The emphasis on fathers as role models, with a near absence of maternal mentions
• The villain's Achilles Heel is obvious to all except him
• The unbelievable oblivious nature of the adults, who literally cannot hear the children reveal the villain's dastardly plans
• The physical setting
• The Troll obsession with boxes

It all works together. The many detailed elements tie in to one another by way of character and plot so easily, it is difficult to see the genius of the film-makers at work.

An easy way out of decent film-making could have been to take this standard plot and run with it like some half-baked Dreamworks film. But all these elements come together to add more complexity to the film. More opportunities for humour, more chances to create double-layered symbolism for adults and children.

And it works. It's a technical masterpiece of film-making. Perhaps not for an 8-year-old looking for a thrill, but definitely for an adult looking to create something challenging for a child.