The Art of The Boxtrolls

by Philip Brotherton, Travis Knight (Preface), Tony Stacchi (Foreword)

LAIKA, the studio behind the hit films Coraline and ParaNorman , introduces audiences to a new breed of the Boxtrolls, a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs in the amazing cavernous home they've built beneath the streets of Cheesebridge. When the town's villain, Archibald Snatcher, comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls, Eggs decides to venture above ground where he meets and teams up with fabulously feisty Winnie to devise a daring plan to save Eggs' family. The Art of The Boxtrolls features the amazingly detailed artwork that went into this film's creation, including character sketches, puppets, textiles, set dressing, and 3-D printed facial models, alongside the story of the film's development.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Film, Animation

160 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2014

Reviews

[Arie]

Comprehensive and eautifully put together - and the art really is exquisite.

[Hannah]

I have always loved the aesthetic of The Boxtrolls. This art book is not only so comprehensive, but so easy to read and marvelously designed as well. It's filled with so much gorgeous artwork of spectacular quality, from varying mediums and artists of varying purposes. You could also see they went the extra mile to add in little details that would make every page, cover to cover, a visual stunner. It's fairly evident from this book that both the movie and itself were labors of love. I was thoroughly amazed at how much effort goes into EVERY SINGLE ASPECT of a claymation film -and that's coming from someone who has always enjoyed the medium and had a conscious appreciation for it. There's an impeccable amount of thought that goes into planning to ensure that every single detail is cohesive to the themes, morals and design of the story. While it is very comprehensive, it never gives too much information, probably to avoid spilling tricks of the trade. This book has had a lasting impression on me. Something I'd not anticipated but was glad to have taken away from this book was its strong representation of LAIKA's company. It wasn't told in a nagging way, but throughout the book, we see and get a good feel of just exactly what this studio is all about.

[Chris - Quarter Press Editor]

This is the first "Art of..." Book that I've ever owned. There have been plenty that I've been interested in--including this one--but I never really had the funds. Luckily, I didn't have to make that choice, as this was a Christmas gift.

I really loved it. Granted, I love the film, but the book made the experience even richer. The little details blew my mind at how the film was created. Even being a person that felt like he was in-the-know when it came to stop-motion, what went on here was just...

The book itself is lovely. There are nice quotes and tidbits of "essays" that discuss the film. And the images are lovely, especially seeing all of the concept art and how much--and how difficult--it can be to simply establish the look of the thing.

Still, the balance between art and prose was a bit off. Again, if you like the film and are interested in the process of stop-motion films, this is a fantastic accompaniment. But, I guess I'd hoped for a bit more by way of the art, splash pages and the like. However, these minor missteps didn't bring it down too much. It's a wonderful book, truly, and well worth the price tag--even if it hadn't been a gift.

[Tracie]

The book was a Christmas gift from my son. He knows how much I love the movie. LOVE IT. The animation is amazing and I also love the story. This book brings it to life in a different way than seeing it on screen.

[Fer Montoya]

Magical! :)

[Jenna]

I wanted something easy to give my brain a break this month and I did a trust fall with the best genre: art books. The Art of the Boxtrolls showed illustrations and behind the scenes of the Laika film that I adored so much. I've only seen this in theaters and I'm due for a rewatch. All the artwork was beautiful, but the formatting didn't work great with either my kindle or budget Ipad. Perhaps this is one of those books you have to own a physical copy. I skimmed over the worded portions because it seemed too verbose at times and I was just here for the pretty pictures. This was a nice reprieve for my brain and I hope to find more art books in the future. All I need is a little box labeled Books and I can join the Boxtrolls gang!

[Hannah | Reading Under Covers]

Stop motion animation will forever be a favorite medium for me and this book was beautiful and inspiring in all the ways!!!

[Thia Reads A Lot]

The Art of The Boxtrolls - Phil Brotherton, Travis Knight (Preface), Anthony Stacchi (Foreword)
Rating: ★★★★★
Stop animation has always held a special place in my heart and The Boxtrolls has become one of my favourite movies from the first moment I watched it, so getting the artbook was inevitable.
I really liked how this artbook is structured. The first section talks about the book at the origin of the story, then the following chapters explore different sections of Cheesebridge and the characters that live there; the underground caves and the Boxtrolls, the abandoned factory and the Red Hats, and finally the upper part of town and the aristocratic White Hats.
I will definitively try to get my hands on more artbooks from Laika, since this one is so generous in its content. The details about 3D printing, costume designing and Snatcher's allergy are also fascinating.

"Snatcher's need to remind people that there is a deadly enemy and that he's the only person to keep them safe has huge political echoes. The demonization of a whole group of people that don't do anybody any harm is pure political manipulation. They sow discord to make themselves grander. It's classic." - Sir Ben Kingsley

[Adriana]

Gorgeous and incredibly detailed; it's amazing how much Brotherton managed to fit into so few pages.
There's tons of art and sketches, but the amount of actual information as to the process of making the film is astounding. Everything is detailed: picking a story, distilling the story, hiring the right people, deciding a style, creating the charaters, crafting the world, everything!
Like all LAIKA studio Art Of books, this is a reflection of the love and care that goes into making their films and it shows in how beautiful it turned out.
A definite must read for anyone interested in stop-motion animation.