Kubo and the Two Strings is an epic action-adventure from acclaimed animation studio LAIKA. Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson of Game of Thrones) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town including Hosato (George Takei), Hashi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and Kameyo (Academy Award nominee Brenda Vaccaro). But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Academy Award winner Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey), and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen - a magical musical instrument - Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King (Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) and the evil twin Sisters (Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara) to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family and fulfill his heroic destiny.
I cannot stress enough how much I adored this movie. It is one of those children's movies where you forget that it is a movie meant for children when you're watching it. They do not dumb the movie down for children, I heard a few very young ones asking their parents questions during the movie, but I could tell for the most part all the children followed the movie well. My friend and I would even lean in and go "Do you think?" "Yea I totally saw that!" from time to time, trying to figure out where the story was going. It was refreshing seeing a children's movie that did not spell everything out for the kids.
Kubo, voiced by Art Parkinson, lives alone with his mother who he cares for. He goes into town each day to tell stories with the help of his magical shamisen and origami. However, Kubo is never able to finish his stories because his mother stresses that he must never be out after sunset. One evening Kubo decides to stay out in the village after the sun sets. He then quickly finds himself inside his own stories. He travels with his monkey talisman come to live, voiced by Charlize Theron, and their new friend Beetle, voiced by Matthew McConaughey.
One thing I really enjoyed about Kubo and the Two Strings was the focus on Eastern values. The movie shows the young taking care of the elderly and the focus on the community instead of the individual. Overall it taught us to have compassion for everyone. Hollywood is very Western-centralized and children grow up watching movies about their own culture. I think it is absolutely fantastic to have a movie that show's them a glimpse of history and how people live in other parts of the world. Kubo and the Two Strings is a Hollywood movie with an completely original story, I think it is important to know that it is not based on an existing Eastern folklore.
The claymation and animation blended seamlessly together to give a truly one of a kind feel that fit the movie's mood perfectly. (There is a mid-credits scene showing behind the scenes that made my jaw drop!) I know when someone says claymation a lot of people think of the old Christmas classics like Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but the art style has greatly improved over the years. It is extremely smooth and thinking about all the time and effort they must have put into making the movie takes your breath away. A very important part of the movie is the fact that Kubo can magically control oragami with his shamisen and it was so beautiful watching the paper come to life. I could not get over the style the whole movie.
I really encourage people of all ages to go see this movie! Even if you are not a fan of animation I think you will enjoy it. It is beautiful to watch with a fantastic and unique story. Everyone needs to see this movie!
You can watch some of the behind the scenes of the stop motion here (I encourage you to watch the movie first before watching this video):
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