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The Boxtrolls poster

Movies that feel likeThe Boxtrolls (2014)

An orphaned boy raised by underground creatures called Boxtrolls comes up from the sewers and out of his box to save his family and the town from the evil exterminator, Archibald Snatcher.

If you loved The Boxtrolls, the closest films we have are Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013), The Grinch (2018) and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018). All three share The Boxtrolls' whimsical and witty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales (2017).

🍅 78% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.8 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Graham Annablewhimsicalwittyplayfulwarmcozydreamlike
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Disney Plus

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If The Boxtrolls hit the spot, these will too

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 poster
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
2013 · dir. Cody Cameron
🍅 71%★ 6.3animation · family · comedy

Whimsical where it counts, witty underneath

The difference: Trades the dream logic of The Boxtrolls for an angle of its own

After the disastrous food storm in the first film, Flint and his friends are forced to leave the town. Flint accepts the invitation from his idol Chester V to join The Live Corp Company, which has been tasked to clean the island, and where the best inventors in the world create technologies for the betterment of mankind. When Flint discovers that his machine still operates and now creates mutant food beasts like living pickles, hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees and apple pie-thons, he and his friends must return to save the world.

The Grinch poster
The Grinch
2018 · dir. Yarrow Cheney
🍅 60%★ 6.4animation · comedy · familyPeacock

The same mix in both: play, then warmth

The Grinch hatches a scheme to ruin Christmas when the residents of Whoville plan their annual holiday celebration. But a certain little who might change things.

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation poster
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
2018 · dir. Genndy Tartakovsky
🍅 63%★ 6.3animation · comedy · familyNetflix

Cozy and dreamlike in the same breath

Dracula, Mavis, Johnny and the rest of the Drac Pack take a vacation on a luxury Monster Cruise Ship, where Dracula falls in love with the ship’s captain, Ericka, who’s secretly a descendant of Abraham Van Helsing, the notorious monster slayer.

My Neighbors the Yamadas poster
My Neighbors the Yamadas
1999 · dir. Isao Takahata
🍅 78%★ 7.1animation · comedy · familyMax

Animation built on whimsy, twice over

The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.

The Croods: A New Age poster
The Croods: A New Age
2020 · dir. Joel Crawford
🍅 76%★ 6.9animation · family · adventurePeacock

Witty comedy, and it commits to that

The difference: Easier on the play than The Boxtrolls

Searching for a safer habitat, the prehistoric Crood family discovers an idyllic, walled-in paradise that meets all of its needs. Unfortunately, they must also learn to live with the Bettermans -- a family that's a couple of steps above the Croods on the evolutionary ladder. As tensions between the new neighbors start to rise, a new threat soon propels both clans on an epic adventure that forces them to embrace their differences, draw strength from one another, and survive together.

The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales poster
The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales
2017 · dir. Patrick Imbert
🍅 97%★ 7.4family · animation · comedy

Family with a pulse of play, in both cases

The countryside isn't always as calm and peaceful as it's made out to be, and the animals on this farm are particularly agitated: a fox who mothers a family of chicks, a rabbit who plays the stork, and a duck who wants to be Santa Claus.

The Smurfs 2 poster
The Smurfs 2
2013 · dir. Raja Gosnell
🍅 14%★ 5.3fantasy · family · comedyNetflixParamount+

Both lean on warmth more than on fantasy

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

The evil wizard Gargamel creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. But when he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants, and only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs, Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris, where he has been winning the adoration of millions as the world¹s greatest sorcerer. It's up to Papa, Clumsy, Grouchy, and Vanity to return to our world, reunite with their human friends Patrick and Grace Winslow, and rescue her! Will Smurfette, who has always felt different from the other Smurfs, find a new connection with the Naughties Vexy and Hackus or will the Smurfs convince her that their love for her is True Blue?

The Addams Family poster
The Addams Family
2019 · dir. Conrad Vernon
🍅 46%★ 5.9family · animation · comedyPeacock

Cozy animation in both cases

The Addams family's lives begin to unravel when they face-off against a treacherous, greedy crafty reality-TV host while also preparing for their extended family to arrive for a major celebration.

Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs poster
Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs
2019 · dir. Hong Sung-ho
🍅 40%★ 6.5animation · fantasy · familyRent or buy

Dreamlike comedy, and it commits to that

The difference: Sits closer to romance than The Boxtrolls does

Princes who have been turned into Dwarfs seek the red shoes of a lady in order to break the spell, although it will not be easy.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel poster
🍅 21%★ 4.6comedy · family · animationDisney+

Family built on whimsy, twice over

Pop sensations Alvin, Simon and Theodore end up in the care of Dave Seville's twenty-something nephew Toby. The boys must put aside music super stardom to return to school, and are tasked with saving the school's music program by winning the $25,000 prize in a battle of the bands. But the Chipmunks unexpectedly meet their match in three singing chipmunks known as The Chipettes - Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette. Romantic and musical sparks are ignited when the Chipmunks and Chipettes square off.

Storks poster
Storks
2016 · dir. Doug Sweetland
🍅 65%★ 6.8adventure · animation · comedy

Both lean on wit more than on fantasy

Storks deliver babies…or at least they used to. Now they deliver packages for a global internet retail giant. Junior, the company’s top delivery stork, is about to be promoted when he accidentally activates the Baby Making Machine, producing an adorable and wholly unauthorized baby girl...

Turning Red poster
Turning Red
2022 · dir. Domee Shi
🍅 95%★ 6.9animation · family · comedyDisney+

Animation built on play, twice over

Thirteen-year-old Mei is experiencing the awkwardness of being a teenager with a twist – when she gets too excited, she transforms into a giant red panda.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Boxtrolls’ defining feeling.