Western film companies creating works heavily influenced by Eastern genres, styles, and concepts can be excellent (a la Avatar: The Last Airbender) or horrendous (as Matt Damon’s latest venture will likely be). However, if there was one company that could pull it off with respect and dignity, it would be Laika Entertainment. And good news, they did with Kubo and the Two Strings.
Title: Kubo and the Two Strings
Production company: Laika Entertainment
Distributed by: Focus Features
Directed by: Travis Knight
Produced by: Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner Starring: Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Rooney Mara, Ralph Fiennes, and George Takei
Release dates: August 19, 2016 (US)
Running time: 102 minutes Rating: PG
Kubo and the Two Strings follows Kubo, a young boy living near a small village with his increasingly ill mother. Skilled in paper magic and storytelling, Kubo soon finds himself the target of his grandfather, the Moon King, and his two aunts, who want to further blind him. In a desperate attempt to protect him, his mother sacrifices herself and sends Kubo to find the three pieces of magical armor that once belonged to his father. Along the way, he is aided by the curt and serious Monkey, sent by his mother to protect him, and Beetle, a cursed samurai who has forgotten his previous life. It’s basically what an anime made by a Western study would look like, and fans of the genre are sure to enjoy the story.
In terms of acting, there have been some concerns about how an all white cast portrayed characters of clearly Asian descent. While I admit I wish Hollywood were better at giving actors of color more roles across the board, I feel it’s less egregious with animated film than with live action. Charlize Theron is excellent as Monkey, who is fierce and strong, and ultimately one of the funniest characters. Art Parkinson is one of those child actors who seems to genuinely be able to emote and as such, creates a seamless and believable performance. Rooney Mara is incredibly creepy as Kubo’s two aunts, the faceless black-cloaked assassins. Matthew McConaughey has great chemistry with Theron and Parkinson, but otherwise doesn’t stand out as much as his other two co-stars.
If you’re an design and art nerd, you’re going to need to see this movie. Every frame is gorgeous, from the movement of cloth and hair, to the designs of the settings and backgrounds, to the extensive facial expressions. Laika is best known for its artistry in the stop-motion animation field and if any of their works showcases that, it would be this one.
What this movie does better than almost any other movie of the year is world building. It’s on par with Disney’s Zootopia for creating a complex and beautiful world that is easily relatable but also mysterious. Laika rarely shies away from creating places of beauty but also terror and fright, as they’ve done in Coraline and ParaNorman, but the monsters in Kubo are so excellent in design and movement that it blows all the others out of the water. There is a scene with a giant skeleton which is not only amazing to watch but also incredible to see how it was put together.
This movie is not without its faults. Towards the third act, characters disappear mostly off screen and the resolution with the Moon King happens very quickly. Both of the scenes that should have the most emotional impact end up feeling too short, as though they weren’t sure how long to take in order to let the sadness sink in. Then again, sometimes stop-motion animated films cut narrative corners since scenes take months to complete or because a scene didn’t come out looking just right.
Kubo and the Two Strings is the kind of film that leaves audiences with a sense of awe and wonder from both its moving story and gorgeous animation. While some of the pacing is off and some plot elements end up rushed, this is a film that will be loved by animation buffs for years to come, even if it will be overlooked at the Oscars.
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A film that crafts a world of wonder and swordsmanship unlike any other
