PORTLAND — Laika (www.laika.com) and Focus Features (www.focusfeatures.com) are teaming up for their third project together — The Boxtrolls, a new movie that will be released nationwide by Focus on October 17th, 2014. The two companies recently worked on the Oscar-nominated animated feature ParaNorman, as well as on Coraline.
As on the previous animation collaborations, Focus will hold worldwide distribution rights to The Boxtrolls, and Universal Pictures International will release the movie overseas (with eOne Distribution handling Canada). Coraline (2009) earned Golden Globe, BAFTA, Critics’ Choice, and Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Feature Film; and was named one of the year’s 10 Best Films by the American Film Institute (AFI). In addition to its Academy Award nomination, ParaNorman (2012) is in the running for the BAFTA Awards’ animated feature prize.
The Boxtrolls is a 3D, stop-motion and CG hybrid animated feature based on Alan Snow’s bestselling fantasy adventure novel “Here Be Monsters.” The film is being directed by Anthony Stacchi (co-director of animated the feature Open Season) and Graham Annable (story artist on Coraline and ParaNorman). The voice cast includes Ben Kingsley, Toni Collette, Elle Fanning, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade and Tracy Morgan.