| 1 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | [[folder:Eggs]] |
| 4 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eggs_boxtrolls.jpg]] |
| 5 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/IsaacHempsteadWright |
| 6 | |
| 7 | An orphaned boy who was raised by the boxtrolls. |
| 8 | ---- |
| 9 | * BreakTheCutie: Snatcher doesn't give one ounce of shit that Eggs is a human boy, [[spoiler: one who he himself seemingly orphaned]]. He sees him as a boxtroll, and to him, boxtrolls ought to be exterminated. |
| 10 | * GadgeteerGenius: He shares a knack for tinkering with his adoptive family, the boxtrolls. [[spoiler:He seems to have inherited it from his biological father, Mr. Trubshaw.]] |
| 11 | * HappilyAdopted: Even though he [[spoiler:is reunited with his biological father at the end]] and didn't know he was an orphan (or even a human) until Fish tells him a decade after his adoption, Eggs lives a very happy life with Fish and his adopted boxtroll family, and loves them all very much. [[spoiler:He's devastated when Snatcher kidnaps and nearly kills all of them.]] |
| 12 | * HeroicBSOD: When Fish -- the boxtroll who raised Eggs for ten years and his adoptive father -- is [[spoiler:finally captured by Snatcher]], Eggs seems to shut down for a little while, before ultimately deciding to [[spoiler:rescue him, thus finally taking action against Snatcher for the first time.]] |
| 13 | * HumansAreTheRealMonsters: He briefly becomes convinced of this after his disastrous attempt to blend in with civilized people and Lord Portley-Rind's refusal to help or believe him. |
| 14 | * ImpliedLoveInterest: With Winnie. The two share several bonding moments, and are shown to really enjoy dancing with each other at one point, but nothing is confirmed by the end of the movie. |
| 15 | * InterspeciesAdoption: He is a human orphan reared since infancy by the eponymous boxtrolls, and for a long time he thinks he really is one. |
| 16 | * KidHero: He is the main hero of the story, and he's 11 years old. |
| 17 | * MissingMom: In the course of the film, we are introduced to both his adoptive father [[spoiler:and his biological father]], but we never learn about the whereabouts of his mother. [[spoiler:Not even in any of the flashbacks does she get so much as a face, name, or voice.]] |
| 18 | * NiceGuy: What Eggs lacks in social skills, he more than makes up for in genuine sweetness. |
| 19 | * NoNameGiven: We only know his adopted name, but not his original name. It may be Herbert Trubshaw Jr., since "The Boxtrolls Song" gives his fathers name as "Trubshaw Sr.". |
| 20 | * NoSocialSkills: Having been raised by the boxtrolls, human social standards are completely alien to him, and he needs to have simple greetings like handshakes explained to him. |
| 21 | * ObliviousAdoption: Eggs believes completely that he is a boxtroll until Winnie shows him midway through the movie that he is a human. |
| 22 | * RaisedByWolves: He is a Cheesebridge orphan raised since infancy by the eponymous boxtrolls, to the point he considers himself one of them... up until he meets Winnie, that is. |
| 23 | * UnkemptBeauty: The poor hygiene conditions of the underground lair in which he has lived his entire life do not make him any less adorable. |
| 24 | [[/folder]] |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[folder:Winifred "Winnie" Portley-Rind]] |
| 27 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skatlarji_boxtrools_vini.jpg]] |
| 28 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/ElleFanning |
| 29 | |
| 30 | Eggs's first human friend. |
| 31 | ---- |
| 32 | * ArentYouGoingToRavishMe: Winnie is enraptured by the nasty, violent legends of the boxtrolls her high-society parents try to shelter her from. When she first encounters the "[[NotEvilJustMisunderstood monstrous]]" boxtrolls, she thinks they intend to devour her flesh and drink her blood, and tells them (rather melodramatically) to do it quickly. When they turn out not to have any interest in her, she's quite put out. |
| 33 | * BigBeautifulWoman: Averted and downplayed. She's more of a Big, Cute Beautiful Girl. |
| 34 | * CuteBruiser: Winnie is very cute, but also very sassy. |
| 35 | * FatAndSkinny: The Fat to Eggs' Skinny. |
| 36 | * FieryRedhead: She's very outspoken. |
| 37 | -->'''Winnie:''' You're the worst pickpocket I've ever seen! Here! ''[tosses him a coin]'' Buy a book on how to be a better thief! |
| 38 | * FreudianSlip: When she first meets Eggs, she excitedly asks if all the grisly stories she's heard of boxtrolls are true, then why they let him live, then whether they devoured his family, then "did they let you watch?!" She then hastily backpedals, "I-I mean... did they ''make'' you watch?" NightmareFetishist, indeed! |
| 39 | * GirlishPigtails: She wears her curly, red hair in pigtails. |
| 40 | * ImpliedLoveInterest: With Eggs. The two share several bonding moments, and are shown to really enjoy dancing with each other at one point, but nothing is confirmed by the end of the movie. |
| 41 | * InSeriesNickname: She's often called "Winnie". |
| 42 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: As bratty and macabre as she is, she helps Eggs to save the boxtrolls even though it puts her in significant danger. |
| 43 | * LittleMissBadass: She defies a dangerous machine that towers over her with spirit. |
| 44 | * LonelyRichKid: She seems to have no friends until she meets Eggs, and her parents are emotionally distant. This is especially true of her father, who is too obsessed with his hat and fancy cheeses to [[NotNowKiddo pay her any mind at all]]. |
| 45 | * NightmareFetishist: She is fascinated by all the gory tales of the boxtrolls and their rivers of blood... and very disappointed when they turn out to be untrue. In the end, she's seen performing a stage show about the final confrontation with Mr. Snatcher, [[spoiler:and rather gleefully describes how he exploded into a cloud of guts and innards]]. |
| 46 | * PinkMeansFeminine[=/=]GracefulLadiesLikePurple: Her default dress is pink mixed with purple. |
| 47 | * TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: She's outspoken, a LittleMissBadass, and a NightmareFetishist. She also wears a pink dress and likes to dance. |
| 48 | * VocalDissonance: Her voice sounds far more mature than her youthful appearance would suggest, owing to Elle Fanning being 16 at the time of the film's release. |
| 49 | * WellDoneSonGuy: She very much wants her father's attention and approval. |
| 50 | [[/folder]] |
| 51 | |
| 52 | [[folder:Fish]] |
| 53 | [[quoteright:236:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9cc0f1b4cb28b89900d0d99fc0707a93.jpg]] |
| 54 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/DeeBradleyBaker |
| 55 | |
| 56 | Eggs' adoptive boxtroll father. |
| 57 | ---- |
| 58 | * GoodParents: Although he parents by boxtroll standards (probably not bathing their children and feeding them bugs), Fish has been a very loving and caring father to Eggs nonetheless. |
| 59 | * LovableCoward: Like every boxtroll, Fish always hides and cowers in his box whenever there's any danger -- unless you harm Eggs, in which case the PapaWolf comes out. |
| 60 | * PapaWolf: Despite instinctively hiding in his box at any threat of danger, everything changes the moment his kid is harmed. For a brief moment after the Red Hats hurt Eggs, we see an uncharacteristic display of aggressiveness from Fish, baring his teeth and growling at the exterminators. Though he's knocked out almost instantly, it's still an incredibly brave act for a shy little boxtroll. |
| 61 | * ParentalSubstitute: For Eggs. Eggs indirectly calls him his father at one point. |
| 62 | [[/folder]] |
| 63 | |
| 64 | [[folder:Archibald Penelope Snatcher]] |
| 65 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/snatcher_being_sneaky.jpg]] |
| 66 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/BenKingsley |
| 67 | |
| 68 | A pest exterminator obsessed with moving up in the world. After a baby boy is apparently kidnapped by the boxtrolls, Snatcher makes a deal with Lord Portley-Rind: in exchange for exterminating every last boxtroll in town, Snatcher will be rewarded a spot in Portley-Rind's inner circle and everything that goes with it: power, a nice hat, and all the fancy cheese he can eat. |
| 69 | ---- |
| 70 | * AmbitionIsEvil: He is obsessed with climbing the social ranks by rounding up and exterminating all of [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood the boxtrolls]]. His obsession drives him to spread outrageous lies about the boxtrolls being [[EatsBabies savage baby-eating monsters]], [[WouldHurtAChild threaten children]], [[BadBoss mistreat his lackeys]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking eat cheese despite his violent allergies to the stuff]]. |
| 71 | * ArtisticLicenseMedicine: Snatcher's "[[PlotAllergy cheese fits]]" do not behave like food allergies do in RealLife. For example, allergic reactions don't turn people into [[DrunkOnMilk surly "drunks"]], and if there is swelling, it's much less severe than the tumorous BodyHorror Snatcher goes through. [[spoiler:And while it is possible to die from an allergy, it's shock or suffocation -- not [[DefeatEqualsExplosion big cheesy explosions]] -- that does it.]] |
| 72 | * AxCrazy: [[spoiler:Post-VillainousBreakdown, as he rampages through the city.]] Not that he was really sane before, though. |
| 73 | -->'''Snatcher:''' I have been reasonable, but I can be unreasonable! |
| 74 | * BadBoss: He refers to his lackeys as "stooges" and threateningly confronts Mr. Pickles after he brings up his cheese allergy. |
| 75 | * TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:Though he doesn't actually succeed in slaying the boxtrolls, and though [[PyrrhicVictory it causes his death]], he does get a white hat, and he does sample a fine cheese in the tasting room in the end]]. |
| 76 | * BewareTheSillyOnes: At first, he appears to be a comically bumbling villain, but it's clear that there's no act he won't commit in order to achieve his ambitions, no matter how morally questionable. [[spoiler:We also find out that in the past he apparently killed Egg's father with a wrench. While he didn't actually kill him, he kept him prisoner for years and drove him to madness.]] |
| 77 | * BigBad: He's the leader of the Red Hat boxtroll exterminators. |
| 78 | * BodyHorror: Snatcher's "cheese fits" cause him to swell up horribly. At the end of the movie, after being crushed by a massive wheel of Brie, he's barely recognizable as human -- his torso is grown to twice its normal size, his right foot has burst clear out of his boot, his right eye is swollen entirely shut, his lower lip is huge, red and protruding, and his body is covered in irregular tumorous swellings. |
| 79 | * ClippedWingAngel: [[spoiler:Landing in the Briehemoth sends him into a massive cheese fit that makes him look monstrous. Not only is it caused by allergies, but eating a single piece of cheese afterward while he's still swollen kills him in a massive explosion.]] |
| 80 | * CreepyCrossdresser: He performs as Madame Frou-Frou to spread fear of the boxtrolls. |
| 81 | * CutLexLuthorACheck: His Madame Frou-Frou disguise shows that Snatcher is a competent actor to fool the entire town and has an impressive singing voice. He could earn the fame and fortune he desires if he went into entertainment, but he's too fixated on earning a White Hat to see it. |
| 82 | * DaddyIssues: One part of his rant while bloated by cheese at his lair is that his father used to always tell him that if you work hard enough, you earn a White Hat, but said father still ended up with nothing prior to his death despite all his hard work. This might be a prime motivator for Archibald feeling he has to rise above the mediocrity of his status and get a White Hat at any cost. |
| 83 | * DeathByGluttony: He is obsessed with cheese-eating as a sign of status, even though he has a violent cheese allergy that causes him to swell up and develop a nasty rash. [[PostClimaxConfrontation At the film's end]], he blackmails his way into Lord Portley-Rind's tasting room and, despite already suffering from a nasty "cheese fit" after [[ItMakesSenseInContext landing on a giant wheel of Brie]], devours a sample of Portley-Rind's rarest cheese. After a DelayedReaction long enough for Snatcher to [[FeigningIntelligence feign cheese expertise]], a DistantReactionShot shows he messily exploded in a cloud of cheese-y mist. |
| 84 | * DeathByIrony: [[spoiler:He gets done in by the accomplishment of his ultimate objective -- tasting gourmet cheese in the White Hats' tasting room, which provokes a fatal allergic reaction.]] |
| 85 | * DelusionsOfEloquence: He desperately wants to be part of posh, elegant high society and apes it at every opportunity, but he doesn't really understand any of the social trappings he aspires to. He tries to say elegant things about the taste of fancy cheeses, but can't come up with anything himself and is only able to belatedly agree with Mr. Trout's more poetic description; in the climax, he repeats this word-for-word even though he's eating an entirely different cheese that that's not an accurate evaluation of. He also has no patience for ceremony, and angrily cuts off Lord Portley-Rind's introduction of the cheese they're about to taste so that he can get to the eating. |
| 86 | * DrunkOnMilk: Well, milk byproduct at least; cheese makes him act like a surly drunk. |
| 87 | * EvilBrit: He's voiced by Creator/BenKingsley, and he's the main antagonist, so naturally he is one. |
| 88 | * EvilSoundsDeep: He already has a deep voice, but when DrunkOnMilk, it gets even deeper. |
| 89 | * FantasticRacism: Towards the boxtrolls. He often refers to them as parasites, and has dedicated his life to exterminating every last one of them. |
| 90 | * FatBastard: He has a disgusting pot belly and the personality to match. |
| 91 | * FatalFlaw: His ambition to [[SocialClimber become one of the White Hats]] leads him to not only seek the genocide of the Boxtrolls, but to also keep eating cheese and ignore his dangerous allergies to them. [[spoiler:While he does finally get to become one of the White Hats in the end, his decision to keep eating cheese despite already being swollen from getting covered in Briehemoth ends up causing his self-inflicted death.]] |
| 92 | * FauxAffablyEvil: He always acts nice and polite in public, and can be a bit goofy at times. Too bad he's a manipulative and unscrupulous psychopath under the lighthearted facade. |
| 93 | * FeigningIntelligence: When he finally gets a white hat and into the tasting room to try an extremely rare cheese, he only uses words from his henchman Mr. Trout used to describe extra mild cheddar. This proves that he doesn't actually care about the cheese like the white hats do, or for that matter any of the sophisticated high society trappings that he tries to copy, but only the power and status that it represents in society. |
| 94 | * FreudianExcuse: Hinted at. He mentions at one point how his father used to always tell him that if you work hard enough, you earn a White Hat, but said father still ended up with nothing prior to his death despite all his hard work. This might be a prime motivator for Archibald's feeling that he has to rise above the mediocrity of his status and get a White Hat at any and all costs. |
| 95 | * GloryHound: Apparently his only raison d'etre is to obtain fortune and fame at any cost. |
| 96 | * GRatedDrug: He is obsessed with cheese as a status symbol, even though eating it causes a violent allergic reaction that not only [[BodyHorror makes his face swell up in a nasty fashion]], but causes him to act like a surly drunk and even hallucinate at one point. One of his lackeys, Mr. Pickles, even warns him "You know what cheese does to you..." |
| 97 | * TheHeavy: He's responsible for almost every conflict in the movie. |
| 98 | * ItsAllAboutMe: He wants to become the most important man in Cheesebridge, and everyone around him is an expendable pawn in those ambitions. |
| 99 | * {{Jerkass}}: Kind of a given, considering he's the BigBad. |
| 100 | * KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:He achieves the exact goal he wanted, and it ends up sucking for him big time.]] |
| 101 | * KilledMidSentence: [[spoiler:His last words: "Aromatic, oakey, with an undertone of a mother's-- (''BOOM!'')]] |
| 102 | * KnightOfCerebus: Despite being LaughablyEvil, his ruthlessness and greed makes him a genuinely dark and dangerous villain for a kids' movie. |
| 103 | * LargeHam: His vocal inflections are rather bizarre, and he tends to draw out words and shout a lot. |
| 104 | * TheLastStraw: [[spoiler:He's already so bloated from falling in the remains of the Briehemoth that one more piece of cheese causes him to explode.]] |
| 105 | * ManipulativeBastard: He leads the citizens of Cheesebridge into believing that all boxtrolls are vicious murderous monsters, when he's actually framing them for a crime he effectively committed. He also takes advantage of Lord Portley-Rind's love of cheese by making him believe that the boxtrolls will come after said food next in order to convince him to give him a white hat if he'll kill all the boxtrolls in town. |
| 106 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Archibald Snatcher. Although the EmbarrassingMiddleName of "Penelope" dampens the effect somewhat. |
| 107 | * NotSoHarmlessVillain: At first, he looks like an humorous and eccentric EgomaniacHunter, but he's also overly cruel and remorseless. Towards the end, he even gets ''this'' close to wiping out the entire boxtroll populace. |
| 108 | * ObviouslyEvil: His name alone should fill you in. If somehow it doesn't, his spider-like movement and snake-like voice will. |
| 109 | * OpportunisticBastard: [[spoiler:Snatcher only came to Trubshaw intending to coerce the inventor into building the boxtroll catching machine. When Trubshaw gave his baby son to Fish to keep him safe, Snatcher saw this as a chance to frame the creatures as child eaters.]] |
| 110 | * PaperThinDisguise: His "Madame Frou-Frou" disguise doesn't really hide his true identity to the viewer. It's just him wearing a dress, wig, and lipstick and putting on a absurd high-pitched voice. InUniverse though, it fools everyone. |
| 111 | * PlotAllergy: His severe allergies (he swells up grotesquely from eating a tiny sliver of ''extra mild'' cheddar) is part of what prevents him from joining the White Hats [[spoiler:and eventually leads to his KarmicDeath]]. |
| 112 | * PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:The taste of cheese he eats in the end is the final straw that causes his allergy (along with the rest of his built-up allergic reaction) to do him in]]. |
| 113 | * RedIsViolent: He's dressed in red and he's very brutal and homicidal once his affable facade drops. |
| 114 | * RedemptionRejection: [[spoiler:"I ''have'' made me, boy. This is my ''destiny!''"]] |
| 115 | * TheResenter: Snatcher despises the White Hats for looking down on him and people like him, and has spent his entire life scheming in hopes of reaching the top. |
| 116 | * SelectiveObliviousness: He absolutely refuses to accept or even acknowledge his extreme dairy allergy and gets furious if someone brings it up. This is probably because acknowledging that he can't eat cheese would mean also acknowledging his dream of being a high-class cheese taster is impossible to achieve. [[spoiler:This ends up doing him in the end, when his adamant refusal to stop eating cheese kills him.]] |
| 117 | * SelfDisposingVillain: [[spoiler:His obsession with upward mobility and [[DeathByGluttony insistence on cheese-tasting]] despite his ''violent'' allergies causes him to explode into a cloud of nasty yellow mist.]] |
| 118 | * SlasherSmile: He shows this every time he's gloating or he's truly happy. |
| 119 | * SmugSnake: He repeatedly makes himself out to be a bigger, brighter, and more important man than he truly is. |
| 120 | * SocialClimber: The entire motivation for his schemes. He resents being just one of the masses, and all he wants in life is to become a White Hat and sample fine cheeses with the highest of Cheesebridge high society. |
| 121 | * TheSociopath: The only things that matter to him are power and greatness. Trying to exterminate an entire race of peaceful creatures and sacrifice children or anyone else he sees as a threat to his plans is not a problem for him. |
| 122 | * SoreLoser: [[spoiler:His reaction after his plan to obtain a White Hat fails? To go into a chaotic rampage, endangering everyone around him, trying to obtain what he wants by brutal force.]] |
| 123 | * TooDumbToLive: Really, Archibald, you know that you're deathly allergic to cheese... and you're so hell-bent on joining the White Hats that you STILL insist on eating it? It's not like he wasn't warned, either. |
| 124 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: Subverted with cheese. He's incredibly allergic to the stuff, and the fact that he gives two different pieces the same description (stolen from Mr. Trout, no less) implies that he only considers cheese tasting to be a show of status. |
| 125 | * TwitchyEye: He has one after Mr. Trout corrects him about everything "we've worked for" rather than "I've worked for". |
| 126 | * TheUnfettered: He's willing to commit the genocide of innocent little monsters and killing anyone who stands in his way if that would mean obtaining an high position in the society. |
| 127 | * VerbalTic: Snatcher has a habit of dragging out his vowels for a lo-o-o-o-ong ti-i-i-i-i-i-ime for emphasis. |
| 128 | * VileVillainSaccharineShow: He's easily the darkest part of the film, being singlehandedly responsible for its most intense scenes. |
| 129 | * VillainHasAPoint: |
| 130 | ** He is correct when he says the boxtrolls don't aspire to be anything more than weak pests. |
| 131 | ** During a pseudo-drunken rant, he gripes about how all Lord Portley-Rind and his fellow White Hats do is sit around and waste taxpayers' time and money on eating fancy cheeses, which is a startlingly accurate description from someone who aspires for nothing less than becoming one of them. |
| 132 | * VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:After Eggs and Winnie reveal all his evil deeds to the population, Snatcher becomes furious and goes on a destructive rampage through the city, laughing maniacally, in order to force Lord Portley-Rind to give him his hat.]] |
| 133 | * VillainWithGoodPublicity: Before [[spoiler:Eggs and Winnie reveal his lies]], he's rather popular in Cheesebridge, as the entire population sees him as their protector against the "evil" boxtrolls, and his Madame Frou-Frou alter ego is a popular entertainer. At one point, the entire town pressures Lord Portley-Rind into giving him a white hat. |
| 134 | * WholesomeCrossdresser: PlayedForLaughs. To the audience, his Madame Frou-Frou disguise is very much {{Squick}}-inducing. However, InUniverse, several men are shown to find Madame Frou-Frou very sexy. |
| 135 | * WickedPretentious: He tries to pretend that he's of the upper class, but in all honesty he isn't as cultured as he pretends to be, like when he and his henchmen discuss the flavor of cheese. |
| 136 | ->'''Snatcher''': I say, old chaps, it's quite, ummm... it's ummm... it's quite...\ |
| 137 | '''[[SmarterThanYouLook Mr. Trout]]''': Aromatic? Oaky? With an undertone of a mother's smile on a warm spring day?\ |
| 138 | '''Snatcher''': Yes. Those things, et cetera, et cetera, big words, chummy banter. |
| 139 | * WouldHurtAChild: He has no qualms with attempting to kill Eggs on multiple occasions, as well as Winnie when SheKnowsTooMuch. |
| 140 | * YouMonster: Eggs calls him the true monster in his ShutUpHannibal moment. |
| 141 | [[/folder]] |
| 142 | |
| 143 | [[folder:Lord Portley-Rind]] |
| 144 | [[quoteright:236:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2949945ff781ef46a8886898146eea14.jpg]] |
| 145 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/JaredHarris |
| 146 | |
| 147 | Winnie's father and leader of the White Hats. |
| 148 | ---- |
| 149 | * AdultsAreUseless: If it's not about cheese, he has absolutely no interest. |
| 150 | * AuthorityInNameOnly: He and his fellow White Hats. They appear to be the ruling body of Cheesebridge, but are obsessed with cheese and their hats to the point that they neglect their duties to the city... and in his case at least, [[ParentalNeglect his family]]. |
| 151 | * BreakTheHaughty: Having Snatcher reveal himself outright to be Madame Frou-Frou, nearly getting killed by his machine, and finally being forced to give up your hat for your daughter's safety would do that to you. |
| 152 | * BerserkButton: Any harm to his cheese stores will get him pissed. |
| 153 | * EstablishingCharacterMoment: At the start of the movie, Archibald Snatcher comes to his house in the middle of the night to tell him (falsely) the boxtrolls have stolen a child. He says it can wait till morning. Archibald then says they've broken into his cheese stores. He's instantly horrified, then promises Archibald whatever means he needs to protect his cheese. This highlights his disregard for human life, selfishness, and his unholy obsession with cheese at the same time. |
| 154 | * HatOfAuthority: As a member of the White Hat Council, the ruling body of Cheesebridge, he wears a very tall white hat as a status symbol. The white hat is perhaps the only thing other than cheese that can catch his attention. |
| 155 | * HeelFaceTurn: At the end, [[spoiler:he's seen cheering Winnie on at her show, a far cry from every other appearance of his in the movie, where he ignores her unless she mentions cheese or his white hat.]] |
| 156 | * {{Jerkass}}: He ignores his daughter, uses funds for a children's hospital to build a wheel of cheese, looks down on everyone, including his fellow white hats, and pretty much cares only about cheese. |
| 157 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Downplayed, but [[spoiler:He does indeed care about Winnie, and gives up his white hat for her...after thinking it over and trying to weasel out of it. He also does become more supportive of her by the end.]] |
| 158 | * KarmaHoudini: Lord Portley-Rind doesn't really suffer any consequences for being an awful father, a waster of taxpayers' money, a possible adulterer, a {{Jerkass}}, and an idiot. [[spoiler:Unless you count having his white hat snatched from him and smacking into Snatcher's machine.]] |
| 159 | * MirrorCharacter: Like Snatcher, he spends a lot of time wearing his hat and eating cheese with his three cronies. |
| 160 | * NotNowKiddo: He ignores his daughter in favour of cheese or his white hat. |
| 161 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: He freely admits the only reason he's a White Hat is that he's rich and more or less bought the government position. |
| 162 | * SkewedPriorities: His EstablishingCharacterMoment has him brush off the (false) news that the boxtrolls kidnapped a child, then become concerned only when told they could get into his cheese stores. He also uses civic funds to commission a massive wheel of cheese instead of building a ''children's hospital''. In fact, his obsession with cheese [[ParentalNeglect puts a serious cramp in his relationship with his daughter Winifred]], and at one point blinds him to the fact that [[NotNowKiddo she's trying to warn him]] of the BigBad's evil plan. |
| 163 | * TooDumbToLive: He continues to belittle Snatcher and tries to get out of his deal with him even after Snatcher shows up ''piloting a giant TripodTerror that could easily squash him''. [[spoiler:It comes back to bite him once Snatcher has his VillainousBreakdown.]] |
| 164 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: Cheese. It's the one thing that he openly loves... [[ParentalNeglect even more than his daughter.]] |
| 165 | * UnderestimatingBadassery: He sees Snatcher more as an annoyance than as an actual threat. [[spoiler:Not only does Snatcher have him completely fooled as Madame Frou-Frou, but it takes Snatcher's VillainousBreakdown and holding Winnie hostage for him to finally see just how dangerous Snatcher really is.]] |
| 166 | * UpperClassTwit: Never before has one man so perfectly embodied HanlonsRazor. |
| 167 | * VillainOfAnotherStory: Let's make a list. He wastes taxpayers' money and time just sitting around eating rare cheese, completely ignores his daughter in favor of his hat and cheese, spends charity money for a children's hospital on a large wheel of cheese that most likely only he and the other White Hats would have eaten, completely ignores Eggs' public confession, tries to get out of his deal with Snatcher, when it is revealed the [[spoiler:Boxtrolls are alive]] he flat out rubs it into Snatcher's face that he will never get what he wants, and even when his daughter is caught by Snatcher and he has to trade his hat to save her he tries to negotiate with him for another price. If Snatcher wasn't such a monster, Lord Portley-Rind could have easily been the villain of this story. |
| 168 | [[/folder]] |
| 169 | |
| 170 | [[folder:Mr. Trout, Mr. Pickles, and Mr. Gristle]] |
| 171 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_boxtrolls_henchmen.jpg]] |
| 172 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/NickFrost (Trout), Creator/RichardAyoade (Pickles), and Creator/TracyMorgan (Gristle) |
| 173 | |
| 174 | Snatcher's henchmen. Trout and Pickles aren't bad men, and are convinced they're doing Cheesebridge a service by getting rid of the "evil" boxtrolls (though Mr. Trout starts to have some doubts about this as the movie goes on). The same cannot be said, however, for the vicious and sadistic Mr. Gristle. |
| 175 | ---- |
| 176 | * AxCrazy: Mr. Gristle takes considerably more delight in the unpleasant parts of his job than Trout and Pickles. |
| 177 | * BaldOfEvil: All three of them have their heads shaved. |
| 178 | * BanteringBaddieBuddies: Mr. Trout and Mr. Pickles have several philosophical debates about whether or not they're actually the good guys like they believe, and eventually they [[spoiler: pull a HeelFaceTurn]]. |
| 179 | * BigThinShortTrio: Gristle is short, Trout is big, and Pickles is thin. |
| 180 | * CaptainObvious: Much of Mr. Gristle's dialogue is him describing what he's doing. "I'm flying on a cage!" "I'm swinging on a chain!" |
| 181 | * CurseCutShort: At the climax, Mr. Gristle lets out an [[OhCrap "Oh sh-"]] right before [[spoiler:he's crushed to death by the falling remains of Snatcher's TripodTerror]]. |
| 182 | * DepravedDwarf: Mr. Gristle is the shortest member of the bunch and is the most morally bankrupt. |
| 183 | * FatAndSkinny: Mr. Trout and Mr. Pickles respectively. |
| 184 | * FatIdiot: Beautifully averted with Trout. He seems to be the smart one of the trio, being able to identify the tastes of cheese poetically. His official bio states that he enjoys Shakespeare and French poetry. |
| 185 | * FriendToAllChildren: Mr. Trout feels regretful for trapping Winnie so Snatcher can kill her. After he and Pickles' [[spoiler: HeelFaceTurn, they assist Winnie in keeping the white hat away from Snatcher]] through a game of keepaway. |
| 186 | -->'''Mr. Trout:''' Perhaps we can be of some assistance, miss! |
| 187 | * FourEyesZeroSoul: Mr. Gristle wears glasses and is a sadistic and unquestioning stooge for Snatcher. |
| 188 | * {{Gonk}}: Mr. Gristle isn't very easy on the eyes. |
| 189 | * HeelRealization: [[spoiler:It eventually dawns on Trout and Pickles that they're ''not'' the good guys, and all it takes to get them to rebel against Snatcher is an ArmorPiercingQuestion from Winnie.]] |
| 190 | * MinionWithAnFInEvil: All three of them are, if in different ways. Mr. Trout and Mr. Pickles start out [[WrongGenreSavvy convinced they're keeping the streets safe from "monsters"]], but grow increasingly concerned with their and Mr. Snatcher's actions as the movie progresses, leading to [[spoiler: their HeelFaceTurn in the climax]]. [[AxCrazy Mr. Gristle]], on the other hand, lacks the intelligence to be capable of any form of calculated evil, just mindlessly destroying whatever Snatcher orders him to. |
| 191 | * MookFaceTurn: Done by [[spoiler:Mr. Pickles and Mr. Trout.]] Averted with [[spoiler:Mr. Gristle.]] |
| 192 | * ObliviouslyEvil: Mr. Trout and Mr. Pickles, who both believe they are the good guys and the boxtrolls are evil. They waver throughout the movie, though, and eventually [[spoiler: switch to the side of good, for good]], in the final showdown. |
| 193 | * OhCrap: [[spoiler:Mr. Gristle only has enough time to mutter "Oh Sh-" and futilely try to get to safety before he's crushed to death by Snatcher's TripodTerror.]] |
| 194 | * PintSizedPowerhouse: Mr. Gristle may be the smallest henchman of the three, but he's by far the most dangerous, due to his relentless bloody-mindedness, not to mention a surprising deal of agility. |
| 195 | * RedemptionEarnsLife: [[spoiler:While Mr. Trout and Mr. Pickles redeem themselves and get to live, Mr. Gristle doesn't and gets crushed to death.]] |
| 196 | * SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Mr. Trout, as part of his end of the BanteringBaddieBuddies deal. |
| 197 | * ShorterMeansSmarter: Inverted. Mr. Gristle is the shortest of the lot and the most unintelligent (being, as he is, a mindless destroyer). |
| 198 | * SmarterThanYouLook: Mr. Trout, played for laughs. |
| 199 | * TheSociopath: Mr. Gristle is a very low-functioning example of one. |
| 200 | * SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: While humoring their boss's desire to replicate the White Hats' cheese tasting table, Trout and Pickles assure him point-blank that there's "nothing horrifying" about his cheese-eating, and they aren't just telling him what he wants to hear because they're afraid of him. |
| 201 | * ThisIsGonnaSuck: Mr. Trout and Mr. Pickles react this way when Snatcher decides to eat cheese, knowing about his "cheese fits". Mr. Gristle averts this, finding his boss' cheese allergy amusing. |
| 202 | * TokenEvilTeammate: Trout and Pickle show some disgust in following Snatcher's orders and express remorse more than once. Mr Gristle is more willing to cause harm, but seeing that he's a total psychopath with very little connection to reality, it's debatable if he's genuinely evil or not. |
| 203 | * WrongGenreSavvy: Trout and Pickles are convinced they're the good guys fighting the forces of evil, but as the movie goes along [[HeelRealization they begin to doubt this perspective]]. |
| 204 | [[/folder]] |
| 205 | |
| 206 | [[folder:The Boxtrolls]] |
| 207 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/boxtrolls_the_scene.jpg]] |
| 208 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/DeeBradleyBaker, Creator/SteveBlum, Creator/NikaFutterman, Creator/PatFraley, Creator/FredTatasciore |
| 209 | |
| 210 | A group of trolls that wear boxes as clothes and only come out at night. |
| 211 | ---- |
| 212 | * BenevolentMonsters: They are friendly monsters, not evil baby-eating thieves like Snatcher would have the people of Cheesebridge believe. They only collect human trash to create machines for their own quality of life. |
| 213 | * BlueAndOrangeMorality: Their first instinct when confronting danger is to hide in their boxes, even when hiding is useless and running would be a better option. Also, while they love each other, they also tend to shrug it off when one of them is captured and resume going on with their lives without much mourning. |
| 214 | * ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: Their eyes glow at night. This comes in handy, since they do their scavenging at that time. |
| 215 | * DarkIsNotEvil: They may be trolls, but they're a benevolent species. |
| 216 | * FalseTeethTomfoolery: Sweets wears a set of human dentures, although they keep falling out. |
| 217 | * GadgeteerGenius: Their area of expertise is making inventions out of trash. |
| 218 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Shoe, the second-most prominent boxtroll, is snappish and greedy about his scavenged loot, but he's as friendly as the rest when it counts. He even tries to comfort Eggs when [[spoiler:Fish is captured]]. |
| 219 | [[/folder]] |
| 220 | |
| 221 | [[folder:Herbert Trubshaw]] |
| 222 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/herber_trubshaw_aka_jelly.jpg]] |
| 223 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/SimonPegg |
| 224 | |
| 225 | The father of the child who was abducted by the boxtrolls ten years before the events of the movie. He's said to have gone mad with grief and to have chased after the boxtrolls, only to meet a grisly end. |
| 226 | ---- |
| 227 | * BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler:After being held prisoner by Snatcher for ten years, he's been left a broken lunatic. He gets better, though.]] |
| 228 | * GadgeteerGenius: He's an inventor. |
| 229 | * GoodParents: In the flashback to ten years ago, he's shown to be a good parent to [[spoiler:Eggs before he gave him to Fish to protect him from Snatcher. And even after ten years of SanitySlippage, he still has the capacity to listen to Eggs' plea for help and inspire him to inspire the boxtrolls to move past their timid nature.]] |
| 230 | * LovedByAll: [[spoiler:ImpliedTrope. The townspeople clearly remember him not as the "Trubshaw who forgot to lock his door", but as "Trubshaw the inventor" after he reveals himself to be alive. He was revered enough by the townspeople for them to want to kill the boxtrolls for seemingly killing him, and when it turns out Snatcher lied about Trubshaw getting killed by boxtrolls, they immediately turn against Snatcher for this.]] |
| 231 | * LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:He's Eggs' biological father.]] |
| 232 | * NiceGuy: [[spoiler:He saw past the boxtrolls' monstrous appearance and found them to be kindred spirits due to their shared love of inventing. Off his rocker though he may be ten years of captivity later, he still retains his kindness, inspiring his son Eggs to inspire the boxtrolls to escape Snatcher's crusher and move past their timid nature.]] |
| 233 | * PapaWolf: [[spoiler:He risks his life to protect his son from Snatcher through giving him to Fish and the boxtrolls. Even after being off his rocker ten years later, he still goes out with the boxtrolls to save his son from being burned to death.]] |
| 234 | * PosthumousCharacter: He's said to have died ten years before the events of the film. [[spoiler:Subverted when it turns out that this was a lie spread by Snatcher.]] |
| 235 | * ThePowerOfLove: [[spoiler:The realization that the boy before him is his long-lost son snaps Trubshaw back to lucidity.]] |
| 236 | * SanitySlippage: [[spoiler:Having been kidnapped and dangled upside down by his ankles for ten years straight "scrambled his noodles good." He gets a little better in the end.]] |
| 237 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: [[spoiler:He's a grown up version of Eggs, with the same spindly body shape, messy brown hair and hazel eyes.]] |
| 238 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: Jelly. According to a flashback, he was a lover of jelly even before [[spoiler:losing his marbles]]. |
| 239 | * WalkingSpoiler: As is obvious from the amount of this entry that's blanked out, he is one. [[spoiler:It's hard to talk about him without revealing that he's still alive or that he's Eggs' biological father.]] |
| 240 | [[/folder]] |
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