Kubo and the Two Strings Review!
Kubo and the Two Strings is the latest stop motion masterpiece by the amazing studio Laika, and is one of the best examples of this year of why I love movies. At its heart Kubo is all about storytelling. You can tell that this film has been infused with amazing talent on production and voice acting, but what makes these points standout so much is the fact that there was so much love in crafting the story of Kubo and the Two Strings. I didn't need to be in the writer's room to see this, all I needed to do was watch the film and see and feel how much passion was behind it.
Like any movie there is a big gamble at making a good film, however, when it comes to animation like stop motion, or hand drawn, it really shows you how good the script has to be in order to make a film like this. It's time consuming, and if a scene doesn't work it's more effort to make it work than a regular film with human actors in it. Every frame of this movie has been altered with human hands, crafting the illusion of motion in order to trick our eyes into thinking they're real characters come to life, and as a goal of animation this film has done that and more. You are so wrapped up into the world of Kubo that you forget it is a stop motion film. The visuals are so fluid that you can't grasp the mastery of this film until you sit down after the credits and really soak it in. At times you won't believe it's even stop motion. Not just because of how fluid it is, but seeing how certain items and characters gracefully do tricks that will make you think it was computer generated. The highest praise I can give this film is that I was instantly sucked into this world and that I completely forgot it was stop motion animation.
The second success of this film was having a fleshed out story. At the beginning of this film you learn about Kubo's past, at least parts of it, and you can tell that there's more history and legacy that we're not aware of. The film does a fantastic job of slowly unraveling it and creating a tight mythology that will make you want to revisit this film again and again just so you can relive it. This is definitely a fantastic journey that sweeps you along for laughs, and heart ache, because what this film does better than most live action films lately is character development.
This isn't your average kid hero with a twisted family type of story. Characters have arcs, and honestly end up in a surprising place that I wouldn't have thought of. Each character had their own personality, and the actors behind the voices really brought them to life in tandem with the people bringing the puppets to life. The kid sounds and acts like a kid. You can see his hopes and high optimistic dreams as the adults are more moody and rough from living in the world. The kid laughs and complains, the mom is sweet and strict, and the villain affects the kid as a catalyst for growing up. Every character feels like a three dimensioned person, and personally I felt they were more developed than what you'd find in your average blockbuster. Everyone has a purpose in this film, and through Kubo's journey you come to love every character as if they were real.
At the beginning of the film it tells you not to blink, to pay attention to every detail no matter how small because it all matters. Kubo and the Two Strings is a dense film in the sense that if you go back to watch it you'll start to notice things about the story, or visuals, presented to you and find a deeper meaning behind it all. If you take their advice and do pay attention you'll see the twists coming in the film, but by no means does that detract from them. In fact it only shows how masterful the storytelling is. The twists are still powerful for the simple fact that they're great storytelling plot points. Their reveals affect the characters, and change the dynamics, putting tension between the team and unearthing layers that can only be expressed with silence. And it's those quiet moments that really make this film powerful.
I believe Kubo and the Two Strings to be Laika's greatest work yet, and seeing the amount of expression they got out of this film is a testament to that. The biggest surprise out of this was how expressive the characters can be, and how emotional I'd feel by the end of it. It is easy to tell that a lot of hard work and pure passion have been infused into this film, and it shows in some of the best ways possible. By far Kubo and the Two Strings is one of the best films of 2016. So much emotion, and powerful storytelling evoke the best theater going experience you'd wish for.
10/10
