6 Stars

I’m rooting for the underdog.

Not to win or place.

Not necessarily to show, either.

The Boxtrolls is not terrific.

It’s good, but pick the superior visual treat.

The Book of Life is the movie for in-theater oggling, not The Boxtrolls.

There, I said it!

The Academy nominates three to five pictures for Best Animated Feature. In the annual race to qualify, wouldn’t we prefer to have six to eight competing for a slot?

The quality consistence crown goes to Walt Disney Animation. Pure and simple.

Dreamworks follows admirably in second place, pumping out solid cartoons on the reg.

The remaining horses compete for the remaining places, but would it be terrible to keep Laika in the running?

Despite numerous positive recommendations, Corpse Bride (2005) and Coraline (2009) still elude this reviewer.

On the contrary, Paranorman received a nomination for Best Animated Feature in 2012, and deservedly so.

Therefore Laika, LLC., the American stop-motion animation studio, earns their jockey.

Ultimately, The Boxtrolls lack enrapture; for adults mainly.

I disdain marginalizing age groups in terms of film taste.

Frozen, Despicable Me 2 and Tangled are examples of fantastic ‘animated movies.’

Let’s not call them ‘kid’s movies.’

Because tonally, The Boxtrolls is childish.

Lord Portley-Rind’s cheese humor and Lady Frou Frou’s cross-dressing opera number are funny, but a bit mundane. Perhaps immature, no?

There’s some good plot development; a number of high points, in fact.

The self-aware jokes are chucklesome, the unusual characters are compelling.

Tracy Morgan is the voice of a bespectacled Caucasian, and I fantasize a world where he wasn’t informed ahead of time.

The mid-credits sequence is the best I have ever seen.

The existentialist thugs explain stop-motion through time-lapse camera footage of their animator.

It’s an exceptional artistic snippet.

Nab the rental if you’re keen on the new stop-motion feature. You won’t hate it.

The reality is: If you’re like most people, you won’t make time for two animated flicks in the near future.

Plus, you may wish to avoid a similar in-theater experience.

It’s rated PG, but the 3D adult ticket costs $12.50.

Doofy Dad in the back makes no effort to silence the adolescent drumming legs and flapping gums.

Surely he notices the debonair twenty-something reposition mere minutes into the feature?

This parental treasure is prompting his four children whenever the Protagonist’s name (Eggs) shows up on-screen.

“Eggs!” he cries with delight.

“Eggs!” the quartet giggles.

I can clearly see several mothers working hard to keep their collective units at a low volume.

But Doof doesn’t seem to notice. Or care. Or learn. Or grow.

Because, hey, it’s just a kid’s movie, right?