Kubo and The Two Strings

Short Verdict: While it may take some narrative short-cuts, at its heart Kubo is an achingly beautiful film about loss, rendered in breath-taking stop-motion animation

Minor spoilers

When presented with a stop-motion animation film, critics often fall back onto bemoaning the rise of CGI-animated films and the subsequent homogenising of the art form. Often more old-school forms of animation fall by the wayside becoming the exception and not the norm. While I do sing the praises and potential of CGI animation (one only needs to look at the golden years of Pixar or Disney’s current second Renaissance as evidence of this) there is something refreshing about alternative forms of animation. The gorgeous hand drawn black-and-white animation of Persepolis.  Studio Ghibli’s beautifully rendered 2D animated vistas. Aardman’s uniquely British blend of good-natured and quietly witty earthy animation. The beautiful swathes of Irish animation studio Saloon. The works of American studio Laika, who debuted with the wonderful adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and followed up with Paranorman, have continually pushed the limits of stop motion animation to tell unique stories well outside of the mainstream. Kubo and The Two Strings is yet another great entry into this canon and is by far one of the most visually impressive animated films I have ever seen.

Kubo follows the titular the character, a young boy (Art Parkinson), on a journey of self-discovery set in a fairy-tale inspired Japan of the past. Kubo spends his days telling stories to local townsfolk with the help of his magical abilities and his trusty guitar (regaling his stories using origami figures brought to life by his magic) and taking care of his mentally unstable mother, a kind, nurturing and very protective soul Despite advice from his mother, Kubo accidentally unleashes a vengeful spirit from the past and is forced to go on the run. Along the way he encounters a mysterious creature called Monkey (Charlize Theron) and a cursed samurai, Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), who must team up in order to solve the mystery surrounding Kubo’s family legacy (revolving around the scattered pieces of armour Kubo’s father left behind before his death) and defeat the vengeful spirits who are threatening the live of Kubo and his loved ones.. 

Stop-motion animation has a eerie effect. Quite how pieces of plastic can elicit emotions out of me is just as magical as Kubo’s guitar. The plot itself follows an almost dreamlike/fairy tale logical and the animation suits this. Whether it's a subtle conversation between Kubo and his friends or the incredible opening in which Kubo delights an audience with his origami figures or small details such as the wind brushing against Monkey’s fur, Laika are  truly masters of the form. This is bolstered by an incredible art-design that strongly evokes East Asian (in particular Japanese) art styles. The magical sets and landscape almost evoke a pop-up story book. Everything appears to be lovingly hand-crafted to create a cohesive fantasy world. The creature designs in particular are incredible, the highlight being a gigantic skeleton warrior and an eerie multi-eyed demon hidden at the bottom of a lake. The use of lighting is also incredibly effective. The opening cliff-side exchange between Kubo and his mother is rendered through a setting sun. The sudden drop from day to night signals the arrival of the terrifying ‘aunt’ characters. The very subtle CGI enhancements do not detract from the hand-crafted feel to the film and only serve to punctuate or emphasis aspects of a scene. Technically, Kubo is flawless.

Kubo boasts a vast array of characters, all with great and unique designs and strong personalities. Kubo, whilst not the most ground-breaking child-protagonist, is instantly likeable, marked by his long emo fringe covering his eye-patch, a wound inflicted when his villainous grandfather tried to claim both his eyes  His good-natured approach to the quest makes him an appealing hero.  The highlight of the film is Monkey, an incredibly fun character, born from magic imbued by on an old token by Kubo’s mother, who is also hiding a great secret. The design is very subtle and is not gendered at all. Theron’s performance as the character is the highlight amongst the voice actors. Presenting a world-weariness and a deep compassion, Monkey is a more than suitable companion for Kubo’s voyage of self-discovery. Beetle, on the other hand, mostly serves as comedic relief and at first struggles to fit into the film in a satisfying way. However, by the time the gang are crossing the long lake, the character comes into his own, becoming almost like a surrogate father to Kubo. As mentioned previously, the ‘aunts’ who are relentlessly pursuing Kubo, are truly terrifying and are almost like ring-wraiths in their undying desire to accomplish their master’s goals. I don't want to get into accusations of white-washing in the film (Asian designed characters voiced by white American actors), so all I’ll say is that the actors give great and lively performances and suit the roles well.

The film has an incredibly powerful first act that emphasises visual story-telling and a steady pace. The second act does take an odd turn and the film’s central goal does become a bit lost in and amongst the incredible set-pieces and comedic relief. It throws a little bit too much in the way of its narrative arc (a fetch quest, comedic lines, world building, tender moments, crazy creatures etc.) which threatens to undo some of the hard work in the first act. The film fortunately finds itself again in the final act, following a major reveal about Kubo’s family, and begins to work towards a somber ending that respects its young audience. The dead parent trope is a cliché of children’s entertainment at this point and has  become a lazy shorthand for why an audience should care about this character. However Kubo takes a more philosophical look at death, that is effecting and is a fairly important lesson for its audience to learn. How we deal with death is just as important with how we deal with life. The film’s very brave ending ends on a quiet note with Kubo having learned these important lessons on his adventure.

Long Verdict: Kubo is one of the visually arresting stop-motion animated films of all time that excels in its slower pace, strong world building and powerful themes of loss. While its themes are lost a little in its second act, the film pulls itself together for an emotional and surprisingly mature ending. One more draft of the script would make this a modern classic but as it stands it’s a brave, unique and classically told tale.

Rating: 8/10