Subterranean trolls raise an orphaned boy, who helps them fight back against an evil exterminator and make peace with the fearful residents of an upper-crust Victorian-era town known for its world-class cheeses. The two things the people of this posh town treasure most are their children and their cheeses; unfortunately, those are also the things that the Boxtrools - a race of unsightly, sewer-dwelling creatures - covet most. Clad in cast-off cardboard boxes as they scuttle about underground, the Boxtrolls may look like a fearsome bunch, they're actually quite friendly. Having previously adopted an orphaned infant named Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead-Wright), the diminutive tinkerers raise him as one of their own. Meanwhile, Eggs may be the Boxtrolls' only hope for survival when scheming exterminator Archibald Snatcher (voiced by Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley) seeks to earn his entry into the ultra-exclusive Cheesebridge society by eradicating the misunderstood creatures once and for all. Little does the villainous Snatcher realize that Eggs has a wealthy friend named Winnie (voiced by Ellie Fanning), and that Winnie may be the key to solving the longstanding feud between the people above, and the benevolent creatures below.