Movie of the Week: Kubo and the Two Strings

Alexa: I had never seen a Laika film until “Kubo and the Two Strings,” and I must say I’m impressed. First of all, this movie is gorgeous. Even if the story were dreadful, I would have gladly sat through the entire movie just to watch the animation. The stop-motion style immediately sets it apart from other modern animated films, and on top of that the aesthetic is so visually rich that you’re immersed in it from the first frame. It’s the perfect canvas for the film’s magical elements. The story itself is pretty familiar and formulaic. The Monkey and Beetle reveals were predictable. But not everything has to be a cinematic game changer. The hero’s quest is a timeless story structure for a reason, and “Kubo” executes it in an emotionally compelling way. I loved its emphasis on the importance of storytelling as a tradition, and I completely agree with Jason that the ending was perfect. Particularly in today’s vitriolic political climate, it’s refreshing to see a resolution reached through compassion, and it made for much more interesting storytelling than a good-versus-evil showdown with no shades of gray. “Kubo” isn’t without flaws but it’s a beautiful movie visually and emotionally, and I can’t wait to see what Laika does next.

Joel: Laika is fast making it to Pixar levels when it comes to reliability of turning out quality work. Kubo and the Two Strings is their fourth movie to date (others are Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls) and it is probably their most ambitious one as well. Kubo takes the form of a quest, or an epic journey, a story that would be handed down, storyteller to storyteller, from generation to generation. This story could fit in nicely with tales from Greek mythology or maybe some of the more action packed stories from Arabian Nights or the Grimm fairy tales. It’s a wonderful story, one that feels new and exciting, and yet somehow comforting and familiar at the same time, like something you would listen to before bed when you were a kid. So much of what works about this story, is how simple, and perhaps familiar it’s beats are. A hero must go on a quest, find three items, and then face a bad guy. But Kubo offers such a rich telling of the familiar tropes, keeping the movie captivating at all moments.

Laika is no stranger to making scary movies for kids. Their first to movies had some genuinely terrifying characters/moments in them and their lightest movie to date is still about monsters who live where we can’t see them. Kubo continues this tradition with a set of villains that are genuinely scary. This leads to more than a few action sequences that would be tough to pull off in any kids movie, not to mention one that was animated in stop motion.

Where this movie really knocks it out of the park is with its animation. Laika’s animation trademark is to use puppets and stop motion animation, but this movie goes beyond perfecting the craft. There are so many moments in this movie, visually stunning shots that you know had to be difficult to pull off. And you can tell how easy it would have been to adjust this or that aspect of the movie to make things easier. Maybe this village doesn’t need quite so many people walking through it. Maybe the wind doesn’t need to be blowing in this scene so the grass doesn’t have to move. But Kubo takes the challenge head on and creates a world that feels more lifelike than anything they’ve achieved so far. The world creates a visual atmosphere that’s easy to get lost in. It feels like each frame of this movie could be printed out and the result would be a piece of art worthy of hanging on anyone’s wall.

Chris: Honestly, any issue I may have had with Kubo, I’m willing to overlook them because of how incredible the animation is. Sure, I may have gotten annoyed that during a couple of fight scenes, the people fighting where just laying out the entire exposition on a silver platter but boy did it look great. I’m not sure if we were suppose to be surprised when we learned the true identity of Monkey and Beetle because I felt like that was telegraphed but again, it’s not enough to ruin the movie for me. There’s plenty of great moments to point to and I’d highly suggest this movie if the family is all home and you need to find something to watch.

Jason: This movie felt like it came out of nowhere. I remember seeing the first teaser trailer that showed very little of what the movie was and being instantly intrigued. And I gotta say, the payoff was worth it. I have enjoyed all of the films Laika studios have put out and this one was no exception. The imagination and magic they put into their stories is awe inspiring. This one in particular is legitimately a fairy tale. The magic does not feel out of place and the cast of whimsical characters are relatable and fun. My favorite part of this film is the ending. Kubo’s compassion wins the day and instead of destroying his foe, he shows love and acceptance. It is such a different ending to so many stories that are told today.

The thing that really strikes me about all of the movies made by Laika is their sound design. It always hits me just how immersive they can make these movies using sound alone. Kubo takes it one step further by making the sound integral to the story. His shamisen is his magic wand and his weapon. It just really impressed me.

Closing thoughts, if you play D&D and are trying to decide what class to play, go watch Kubo and the Two Strings and then tell me bards aren’t the best!