It took 18 months to shoot the 2014 stop-motion feature “The Boxtrolls.” That’s 4-5 seconds of footage per week. SECONDS. PER. WEEK. Good grief! The end result is lovely, but to make progress at such glacial speed takes a special kind of patience.

“We’re Luddites working side-by-side with futurists. Filmmakers with the hands of an artist, the mind of an engineer, and the imagination of a dreamer.” -Travis Knight, President & Ceo, Laika Productions

Laika is the Portland-based company who was behind the magical features “Coraline” and “ParaNorman.” Not only are the company’s credetials impressive, Boxtrolls’ cast list includes names like Ben Kingsley, Simon Pegg, and Tracy Morgan. Here’s the international trailer:

I am a sucker for a making-of video. Behind-the-scenes featurettes are my favorite YouTube time waster, and “The Boxtrolls” has inspired quite a few!

First up are the existential-styled credits featuring the “ghost” of the animator moving the characters between each frame while the characters discuss how weird it would be if it was someone’s job it was to move them.

Next is a really fascinating behind-the-scenes featurette. (There’s a whole series of these on MOVIES Coming Soon’s YouTube channel.)

There’s even a ParaNorman-era Laika studio tour video!

I was also able to find some pictures of the animators at work. Hope you’re as interested in them as I was!