With this blog well into its second year of existence, I saw fit to mix things up a little. Often times there will be specific facets of the various films I watch that are too superfluous to discuss within the confines of a Review (or perhaps they simply occur to me after the fact, as with this one). Operating under the presumption that anyone cares what I have to say about movies to begin with, I thought it might be fun to encapsulate these proverbial shower thoughts in brief editorial pieces, to be released whenever the mood strikes me. Think of them as short little bonus featurettes; miniature essays in which I can ramble on about something that may or may not have belonged in a proper Review, but which still holds enough of my interest that I see fit to formally discuss it.
Now I'm aware that that headline is a bit of a doozy, representing an almost comical leap of logic at first glance. But just stick with me here and I promise it'll all (hopefully) make sense by the end. After I'd finished reviewing The Boxtrolls, a curious thought occurred to me in regards to Archibald Snatcher, the seedy antagonist of the film (incidentally, spoiler alert from this point onward). As much as I enjoyed the look and mannerisms of the character, I felt as though the filmmakers could have done much more with him in terms of characterization and backstory. I wanted to learn more about who he was, but it was only a good while after I'd finished the film that I realized it may have told us more about Mr. Snatcher than I'd previously thought. There's a comical reveal in the latter half of the film in which the sultry songstress "Madame Frou Frou" turns out to actually have been Snatcher in disguise all along. The reveal is brushed under the rug as a simple gag (considering the town's higher-ups are all very much smitten with Frou Frou's beauty), but I began to wonder if there was more to this reveal than meets the eye.
We know that Snatcher hates and resents the "White Hats", the town's wealthy elite. Despite his anger towards them, he truly wishes he could replace his lowly red hat with a proper white one and join them at their lavish cheese-tastings (even though he himself is severely lactose intolerant). Alternatively, we have Eggs, the young boy raised by Boxtrolls. Like Snatcher, he feels as though he doesn't fit in as a human (Red Hat) and identifies himself more as a Boxtroll (White Hat). Theses are two characters, a protagonist and an antagonist, who feel uncomfortable in their own skin and feel as though they belong as someone/something else. During the climax, Snatcher yells at Eggs how society will "never accept" people like them. Factoring in Snatcher's cross-dressing, it's not difficult to make the connection between the plight of these two characters and the real-world discussion of gender identity. Which brings us to the very different ways these characters react to their respective situations.
On one side, we have Eggs. He identifies as a Boxtroll, making him, by default, a second-class citizen in a society that harbors gross misconceptions about Boxtroll culture and how they operate. He of course knows that Boxtrolls aren't malicious beasts who prey on children, and wishes that society would simply smarten up and embrace unity, rather than the lies and misgivings that are so prevalent in the dominant culture. On the other side, we have Snatcher. He too belongs to a downtrodden minority group (the Red Hats) and wishes he could be a respected member of society. However, rather than desiring unity, as Eggs does, Snatcher is consumed with spite. His is a desire, not for equality, but for revenge. Whereas Eggs simply wants equality for everyone, Snatcher wishes to see the roles reversed; the same unbalanced situation, only he is the one subjugating those he feels has personally wronged him. It dawned on me that this could definitely be commentary on the modern discussion of civil rights, and the various forms of activism displayed in response to political turmoil.
When faced with prejudice and societal inequity, Eggs leads by example, proving the bias and misinformation regarding Boxtrolls wrong through his noble, levelheaded deeds. Conversely, when faced with the same issue, Snatcher builds a massive steampunk robot and attempts to murder everyone. If this story took place in modern day, it's not a stretch to imagine Archibald Snatcher tweeting "#KILLALLWHITEHATS" before instigating violence at a once-peaceful protest. Maybe I'm looking too far into it (as people are wont to do), but the message that inequality of a different shade doesn't cancel out inequality of the past (or more simply, "two wrongs don't make a right") is as relevant today as it ever was. Laika has a knack for taking real social issues and converting it into a format which allows viewers of all ages to digest the meaning, even if they may or may not be familiar with the overall issue itself. I personally can't wait to see what they show us with Kubo and the Two Strings later this summer; like classic Pixar, I implicitly trust them to make something good.
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