Cardboard (review)

Having recently fallen on hard times, Cam's dad can't afford more than a cardboard box for Cam's birthday, but father and son try to make the best of the gift by jokily using the box to construct a boxer, a strapping heavyweight fighter. When the boxer comes to life, and Cam and his dad realize the box's original materials must be something magical, they use the remaining scrap to make a cardboard factory that produces more magical cardboard. Neighborhood bully Marcus gets wind of this and proceeds to steal the factory, make an army of terrifying cardboard monsters, and threaten to destroy the whole neighborhood. The story turns from imaginative to didactic when what began as a playful fantasy quickly transforms into a simplistic take on the nature of bullies. TenNapel's portrayal of Marcus is particularly limited, depicting the boy as a spoiled and coddled adolescent simply in need of some good hard work, and the art is even less forgiving: greasy hair, jumbled teeth, and black nail polish all work to position Marcus as the Goth poster child, and the redeeming scene in which he is clean-shorn and polish-free feels more like a cheap promotion of conformity than a genuine part of the story. Otherwise the illustrations are impressive, utilizing full-spread illustrations and sequenced panels to maximize both action and emotion, while the beings that spring from Marcus' imagination via cardboard rival some of Shaun Tan's inventive creatures. Unfortunately, the kids who would appreciate the artistic vision here might be the very same ones who will be insulted by the two-dimensional characterizations, so you might have better luck sending them Tan's way in the first place.