We have two very favorite past times in my house that we all enjoy. One is reading, and the second is watching movies together. Though we all have other hobbies, they nearly never collide. I enjoy my sweepstakes, my oldest is obsessed with music, my daughter with soccer, my son Lego and video games.So having family reading time, and spending rainy days watching movies has become a family bonding time that I’ve really come to enjoy.
My girls’ and I (especially my oldest) love reading the ‘books that become movies’ before we see the movie. We compare the differences, and we have a lot of great conversations after the movie. Normally these are movies and books that my youngest can’t really participate in. That is, until we found out about The Boxtrolls.
#TheBoxtrolls
The Boxtrolls, like so many other great movies, got their start from a book. Here Be Monsters a part of the The Ratbridge Chronicles written by Alan Snow is the basis for The Boxtrolls movie. I was so excited to have a book/movie that my son could be included in!
Let me give you a basic rundown of The Boxtrolls.
Characters:
Eggs: He’s an 11 yr old boy who has been raised by the Boxtrolls. He is one of them – he eats bugs, hates to take baths, and builds things out of junk. He believes he is a Boxtroll though he doesn’t look like one. He is braver than his brothers, and a bit impulsive.
Fish: Fish is the Boxtroll that brought Eggs underground. He is Eggs ‘father’ and has always taught him to run and hide from danger.
Winnie: A girl who has always been obsessed with the Boxtrolls and the stories of them kidnapping children. Lavished upon with gifts and leading a pampered life, she is shocked to discover the truth about the Boxtrolls
Shoe: A grouchy Boxtroll who can’t help but swipe a bolt, or nut or anything shiny. He is Fish’s best friend, and has grown to love Eggs over the years.
Oil Can: The smallest and cutest Boxtroll, Oil Can can’t help but oil everything mechanical that he can with the little blue oil can he carries around with him.
Sparky: Very quiet, and not overly impressed by anything. Has a tendency to get electrocuted every time he tries to fix something.
The beginning. Ten years ago Archibald Snatcher visits Lord Portley-Rind, informing him that the Boxtrolls have kidnapped a baby boy. Snatcher strikes a deal with Portley-Rind; if he exterminates the Boxtrolls, Snatcher will become a member of the White Hats, an elite club of cheese lovers that serves as Cheesebridge’s city council. That same night, the Boxtrolls come out and scavenge through trash cans looking for things they can use in their inventions. Some of them get cornered by Snatcher and his henchmen, Mr. Trout, Mr. Pickles, and Mr. Gristle. Only Fish and Shoe manage to escape to the underground cavern where the Boxtrolls live, where Fish is a father figure to Eggs, a baby boy living there. As the years pass, Eggs grows up and the number of Boxtrolls dwindles as Snatcher and his men capture more and more of them.
Now. There are very few Boxtrolls left – and one day the ‘kidnapped’ baby boy otherwise known as “Egg” realizes he is human, and ventures out into the world above to save his friends.
The story of acceptance, of bravery, of love is written all over the pages and seen all over the screen of the Boxtrolls. They love each other – no matter if another is different. They took in Eggs as one of their own – They didn’t treat him differently, or love him less. They accepted him as family, and from the beginning that’s what he was.
Though it may seem sad that Eggs missed the opportunity to know his parents, to be raised as a ‘boy’ and not a ‘boxtroll’ he made the best of it – and in fact, was probably a better person because of it. He has a support system, family who loved him, who was there for him no matter what.
I love the imagination and creativity the Boxtrolls use. They turn garbage into treasures, they use their mind to come up with great ideas on how to entertain themselves, to take care of themselves. These characteristics alone make me wish that their were a few Boxtrolls in my neighborhood to teach my kids a thing or two!
This is the movie to see with your kids. No matter what they are going through, they will relate.
We’ve read the book, and we can’t wait to go this weekend and see the movie.
The Boxtrolls are coming to theaters September 26th! Check your local listings for times!
My nephew was lucky enough to meet a few Boxtrolls at the Rusty Bucket in Mason today! He’s excited to see the movie tomorrow!!
