Kubo and the Two Strings - Review
This review of Kubo and the Two Strings is spoiler-free!
Animated filmmaking is absolutely fantastic, as it can come in all different types. There are shows that work with 2D animation, 3D animation, stop motion animation, and now a mixture of all of those. In the past, Pixar has dominated the animated area of film, with hits such as Up, Coco, and The Incredibles, it's hard to think of anything outside of Pixar that does as well as their films in the animated genre. Enter: Travis Knight and Laika, the production company he was the CEO of. He wanted to take a risk and do something that stood out in the animated world. What he and Laika came up with was Kubo and the Two Strings. For so long I heard about how this film was a revelation for animation and stop-motion filmmaking as a whole, and I had fully intended to watch it when I had the time. As you can see, that never came to pass, but now here I am finally committing to a review. My first thoughts? Kubo is just as great as everyone thought it was.
As is usual around these parts, let's talk story! Kubo is about a young boy by the name of, you guessed it, Kubo! He's a young boy whose been through some very traumatic incidents in his past. He leads a quiet life in a small village and lives in the mountains. In the town, he tells stories of the legendary hero Hanzo to the townsfolk with his magical shamisen. When darkness falls over the town after he fails to heed the warnings of his mother, he must go on a journey of self-discovery in search of the armor of the real Hanzo to banish the demons that haunt him. Kubo may come off the screen as a rather child-like and happy story due to the animation, but it really is anything but. Darkness and sadness inhabit this story which you feel through the characters. Even with all this sadness though Kubo is a happy kid and the friends he meets along the way really help to lift him up. All in all, the story was well balanced and one of the best in an animated film.
Talking about characters, Kubo is the main emotional punch of the story. Art Parkinson's voicework as the young boy with dreams of a better future for him and his family just flows off the screen. Parkinson carries the overall story too, at the beginning he's a rather humble and caring young man who just follows the rules set by his family, but you can feel him growing as a person throughout the film with the help of his companions. Parkinson also feels as if he grows with the character and that's powerful. You can feel the difference in voice work throughout the film and I applaud him for that. Discussing other characters in the story could potentially ruin the film, but Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey are absolute studs. They're both comic relief and also their own beating heart for the film. Each of them brings their own unique spin to the characters that make them stand out.
The standpoint of Kubo for me though has to be the look and animation style. Kubo melds 3D animation and stop-motion to create a style that while isn't necessarily a new style, looks like it actually somehow made dolls and miniatures come to life. They have a realism that I haven't seen before and it simply is stellar. Fitting this with the overall aesthetic of a feudal setting, and it really plays well together. There is a point in the film where people go to place lanterns in a river and you see them all slowly going downstream with the light reflecting off the glistening water and it looked simply stunning. There are tons of moments in this film that make you stop and realize just how absolutely stellar the animation work is. Travis Knight's vision was taken from his head and put onto screen beautiful, I hope we continue to see films in this vein moving forward.
Kubo and the Two Strings is one of the best-animated films I've seen in a long time. Whether it be a story that excellently balances itself between light and dark themes, or a character in Kubo who is relatable to nearly every type of viewer you are going to find something here to enjoy. While it didn't win the best-animated feature at the Oscars in its release year, I believe that's not a slander to the film. Kubo is different, and that also adds to just how good it is. It doesn't play by the books of animated film-making and it really stands out overall. If you were to sit down and check out an animated film, put Kubo near the top of the list!
8.75/10
