Based on the popular children’s mystery series, The Boxcar Children will finally see itself being adapted into an animated film! Originally created by Gertrude Chandler Warner in 1924, the series featured four orphaned siblings who seek refuge in a boxcar and later on solve mysteries throughout their lives. The series is still popular today and new books are being written every year!
And it’s on this 90th anniversary of the franchise that we’re getting a film! An animated film, to be precise! Featuring the voices of Zachary Gordon, Joey King, Mackenzie Foy, Jadon Sand (the kid from The Lego Movie), J.K. Simmons, and Martin Sheen, the film is due to be released directly to DVD in August.
Take a look at the film’s trailer:
I personally am somewhat ambivalent regarding what I see so far. On one hand, I’m really appalled at the low-budget animation and overall production design that the trailer shows the film of having. It’s almost at a disgusting level.
On the other hand, I realize that The Boxcar Children is not an epic book that can be adapted into a worthy theatrically released animated feature film and that a low-budget direct-to-DVD release is satisfactory enough for it.