The animation production company behind the wonderful spooky films PARANORMAN and CORALINE, have announced their next film which will once again partner them with Focus Features. LAIKA’s next film will be THE BOXTROLLS, a 3D stop-motion and CGI hybrid based on the novel ‘Here Be Monsters’ by Alan Snow. The film will see a bunch of creatures known as the boxtrolls raise a human child despite rumours that they steal children and cheeses from the city they live under. It sounds bizarre, grim, and totally up LAIKA’s alley.
THE BOXTROLLS is to be directed by Anthony Stacchi and Graham Annable with a voice cast that includes Ben Kingley, Toni Collette, Elle Fanning, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Tracy Morgan, and Isaac Hempstead-Wright. Producer and LAIKA president, Travis Knight, had this to say:
THE BOXTROLLS is a visually dazzling mash-up of gripping detective story, absurdist comedy, and steampunk adventure with a surprisingly wholesome heart. It’s Dickens by way of Monty Python. Tony and Graham have crafted a strange and beautiful world replete with fantastical creatures, good-for-nothing reprobates, madcap antics, and rip-roaring feats of derring-do. But at its core, like all LAIKA films, THE BOXTROLLS is a moving and human story with timelessness and powerful emotional resonance. We’re thrilled to partner with Focus Features and Universal to bring this remarkable story to family audiences around the world.
Focus Features CEO James Schamus also commented on the project:
Following our successful collaborations on PARANORMAN and CORALINE we are delighted to be embarking on a third wondrous adventure with the LAIKA artisans who transform everyday materials into living creatures infused with dimension, humor, and soul. With a wonderfully appealing menagerie of fun characters, and a generous, open heart at its center, THE BOXTROLLS will be a must-see for family audiences.
THE BOXTROLLS is looking to be released on 17th October 2014.
Source: Focus Features/Laika
