“ | Come back and let me hit you! | „ |
~ Mr. Gristle as he is chasing the Boxtrolls. |
“ | I have lost a lot of blood... Oh, sh- | „ |
~ Mr. Gristle's last words before getting crushed by Archibald Snatcher's machine. |
Mr. Gristle is the secondary antagonist of Laika's 3rd full-length animated feature film The Boxtrolls.
He was voiced by Tracy Morgan.
Personality[]
The shortest of Archibald Snatcher's henchmen, Mr. Gristle is perhaps the most sociopathic of the Red Hats, second only to Snatcher himself. Unlike Mr. Trout and Mr. Pickles, Gristle has no moral qualms or doubts about his job as a Boxtroll hunter, nor about hurting anyone along the way. He follows orders with sadistic joy, taking delight in other people's misery and discomfort, even his own colleague's- when Snatcher's face began to swell due to his cheese allergy, for example, he could only giggle with glee as Pickles and Trout looked on in horror and disgust. Though he did help heal Snatcher's cheese fix by throwing leeches on his face, it was less about helping his fellow Red Hat and more about it being "funny" to him. Gristle is also the least talkative of the Red Hats, often parroting single words that other people say with an enthusiastic shout, such as "Hat!" or "Throat!".
Biography[]
At the climax of the film, Mr. Gristle aids Mr. Snatcher in attempting to kill Eggs shortly after Trout and Pickles redeemed themselves, though he is stopped when the Boxtrolls attack him and throw him into a nearby barrel of leeches, getting bitten by several of them in the process. After getting out of the barrel (and getting tossed around in the subsequent fight between Snatcher and the others), Mr. Gristle is finally killed after Snatcher's machine collapses on top of him, immediately crushing him to death.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Mr. Gristle is the only Red Hat beside Snatcher to know the truth about Boxtrolls.
- Mr. Gristle is the only member of Snatcher's crew that never redeems himself.
- Mr. Gristle is also the only member of Snatcher’s crew who’s first name was never revealed.