"Kubo and the Two Strings" Review

Kubo and the Two Strings is a stop-motion animated fantasy adventure film directed by Travis Knight, written by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler, and featuring the voices of Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Rooney Mara, and Ralph Fiennes. It is produced by the animation studio Laika, known for such other stop-motion films as The Boxtrolls, ParaNorman, and Coraline. Set in ancient Japan, the film follows a young boy named Kubo, a renowned storyteller in his village who, through a set of unfortunate circumstances, is sent on a quest along with a monkey and a giant beetle man to find the three pieces of armor that once belonged to his late father, a noble and respected samurai, in order to fight off the spirits of his aunts and grandfather, who have a sinister plot against him regarding his family's past.

Laika has produced mostly quality work over the years, with Coraline probably still remaining my favorite of their films, although Kubo is a very close second. A behind-the-scenes featurette sent to me a while ago claimed that Kubo was Laika's most ambitious project yet, at least from a technical perspective, and the effort definitely shows. This is just about as beautiful as stop-motion animation gets. While it may not always reach the heights of visual cleverness and kid-friendly horror that Coraline did, Kubo is still a remarkably visually inspired film. From the camerawork to the character design to the absolutely gorgeous landscapes of the film's mythical Japan, Kubo does an excellent job of truly transporting you into its world. It's not often that I become legitimately transfixed in the universe a world creates, but Laika's world and characters feel like they live and breathe in front of you.

And the animation itself as well is craft of the highest caliber. Laika has definitely become experts at the art of stop-motion filmmaking. The animation here is remarkably fluid, and especially during sequences where they up the ante on the magic and mysticism, the film does wonders at being one of the rare films where you actually have to call into question how they managed to pull off these effects. From a towering skeleton that in reality was a full 16-foot rigged animatronic to the numerous magical origami creatures and objects Kubo creates as his magical abilities grow stronger, there are numerous effects and images in this film that are truly mesmerizing. I've always adored stop-motion animation for its hand-crafted feel that creates an unmatched sense of closeness and intimacy, and Laika turns that aspect of the art form up to 11 not just to great visual ends, but narrative ones as well.

Kubo and the Two Strings is a mature, thoughtful, and soulful film about family, mortality, memory, and stories. The screenplay is as meticulously and lovingly crafted as the world it takes place in, and our three main characters are interesting, sweet, and fun to watch. Theron and McConaughey provide great voice work to make two supporting characters that have genuine chemistry. While I will complain that the film's central villain has a rather weak motivation, the face-off between he and Kubo all feels very satisfying thanks to the rest of the story being so well-told. This film does not pander to its audience, and in fact, may actually be too scary and mature for younger kids. Kubo has many lengthy sequences of quiet, meditative dialogue that builds its characters, as well as the mythology of its world. Luckily, it has some colorful characters, humor, and exciting action sequences to keep slightly older kids hooked.

I had a tough time choosing just one or two screencaps from this
film, since there are so many shots that are just incredible.

I really enjoyed the themes and message of this movie. You hear all the time about kids' films having "heart", but this is a film with genuine heart and soul. It's a film that argues for the importance of stories and the unbreakable connections of family in an appreciably non-treacly and creative way. This story is a bit more melancholy than your average animated film (which seems to be one of Laika's trademarks at this point), with death and loss being central components that are handled very bluntly and directly. But ultimately it's a film about how our memories and stories of the ones we love are what keep them alive - that the greatest "afterlife" is that which is carried on by others. It's an interesting spiritual message and it's done beautifully.

Overall, Kubo and the Two Strings was a very refreshing surprise after a summer that was on the whole pretty dull. It's well directed, smartly written, sweet, funny, and has some of the most gorgeous animation I've seen in quite a long time. It's pretty amazingly done in every aspect you could hope for, and I hope it finds a second life out of theaters, as it seems to be flopping at the box office unfortunately. Go support an original, beautiful-looking, enjoyable animated film by a studio that puts an immense amount of craft and care into their work. I recommend this one highly.

Grade: A