KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (9.5 out of 10); Directed by Travis Knight; Written by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler; Starring Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Art Parkinson, Ralph Fiennes, and Rooney Mara; Running time 101 min; Rated PG for “thematic elements, scary images, action and peril”; In wide release August 19, 2016.
There has been a ton of great animation for this year. “Zootopia”, “Finding Dory” and even fluff like “Secret Life of Pets” have all been fun and wildly entertaining. Yet none can hold a candle to the masterpiece that is “Kubo and the Two Strings” which uses classic stop motion animation to tell an intriguing, beautiful and heartfelt story. While what has come before will be fondly remembered, this will be the one to stand the test of time as a classic for the ages.
One-eyed Kubo (Art Parkinson) is a ten-year-old boy who lives with his mother on a cliff outside a small, Japanese village. Each day he journeys to the marketplace to tell stories he’s learned from his mother about brave samurai warriors and the fearsome monsters they battle. He’s no ordinary storyteller, though, as his magic is unleashed while playing his shamisen which makes the paper in his backpack transform into origami figures which come to life and reenact his stories. One day, he stays out too late and is beset by dark creatures who he learns are his mother’s sisters and part of the spirit world in the sky. As the grandson of the Moon King (Ralph Fiennes), he is pursued by them in an attempt to remove his other eye and bring him to his rightful place with his grandfather. Helped by a magical Monkey (Charlize Theron) and a cursed, Beetle Samurai (Matthew McConaughey), Kubo must track down a mythical set of armor that will protect him from the forces that haunt his every move.
Film studio Laika is well-known for their use of stop motion animation in “Coraline”, “The Boxtrolls” and “ParaNorman”, but it is in “Kubo” that they have mastered the technique and set a new bar of excellence for the genre. Every moment and frame are so painstakingly animated that it almost seems like they were computer generated, yet there is still a strong feeling of whimsy and magic that permeates the production. One would be hard pressed to find a recent animated movie that was as breathtakingly beautiful.
It would also be difficult to find a story as wonderfully told either. Outside of anime, most American audiences aren’t familiar with Japanese fairy tales, and this is a perfect gateway into this type of storytelling. Magic takes the forefront, and everyone accepts it as a living and real force that some are gifted with. In a world where people pray to and interact with their ancestors, a talking Monkey and a Beetle Samurai are all fair game and somewhat normal. It might seem odd to us, but by the end, they are just as convincing and alive as any other character introduced.
“Kubo” is a slow burn as it takes time to develop the plot and set his adventures in motion. While this is billed as a kids’ movie, most parents will want to keep their youngest away, not because it’s violent or scary, but because they will likely grow bored during the times the characters are just talking with each other. Not that there aren’t wonderful and memorable action sequences, just that they are not the focal point.
These slower moments are actually the best parts of the movie where the voice actors truly shine in their abilities. Charlize Theron, especially, as Monkey, watches over Kubo like a dutiful mother and gives one of her best performances that will leave the audience agape as her destiny gradually plays out. McConaughey as well is fantastic as Beetle with none of his stereotypical “all right all right all right” frat-boy charm leaking into a heartfelt performance.
To say “Kubo” is the best animated movie of the year is an understatement, as the last one that reached this level of excellence was “Inside Out”, and like that, it exists to live on in our minds long after the credits have rolled. While young children may not enjoy it as much as the rest of us, this is required viewing and one of the best films this summer has to offer.
9.5/10