The latest from Laika — the
independent, Oregon-based animation studio responsible for stop-motion
masterworks “Coraline,” “ParaNorman,”
and “The Boxtrolls” — is a visually stunning and wildly entertaining ode to the
power of storytelling, wrapped in the atmosphere of Japanese folklore. Though
still the relative new kid on the block, with “Kubo and the Two Strings,” Laika has finished a run of films that can easily stand
toe-to-toe with the works of Pixar.
Set in
ancient, mythical Japan, the film follows a one-eyed boy named Kubo (voiced by
Art Parkinson, known for Rickon Stark on HBO’s “Game
of Thrones”), who lives in a seaside cave looking after his ailing mother. Once
a powerful witch, she was left weakened after defending her newborn son from
his vindictive grandfather, the Moon King (Ralph Fiennes), who plucked out one
of the boy’s eyes in a vengeful rage. Kubo never knew his father, but during
her rare lucid states, his mother tells him stories in which he learns the man
was a great samurai who laid down his life attempting to protect his family.
Each day,
Kubo ventures out of their cave and travels into town, where he delights the
people, and earns a little bit of money, by telling epic adventure stories in
the village square. He acts out these tales using ornate origami figures he
magically brings to life by playing music on his shamisen. Kubo’s mother has
warned him never to stay out past dark, lest her family find him and finish
what they started by taking his other eye. But of course, Kubo eventually stays
out too late one day, and he’s immediately set upon by his evil aunts
(chillingly voiced by Rooney Mara) who wish to deliver him back to his
grandfather. Floating through the air, with faces hidden behind lifeless masks
as they call out to Kubo, the twin sisters come straight out of your
nightmares.
Once his
mother’s family is after him, the only thing that can protect Kubo is the armor
once worn by his father. So the boy sets off on a quest to find the mystical
armor and keep away from the nefarious side of his family. He’s accompanied on
his journey by Monkey (Charlize Theron), brought to life from a protective totem
by the last of Kubo’s mother’s magic, and later Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), a warrior whose memories were erased after
being transformed into a half-man, half-bug creature.
The voice
actors are all quite good in their roles, but for a film so steeped in Japanese
mythology, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the lead actors are all white.
That all the performers of Asian descent are relegated to small roles as the
villagers is more than a little disappointing.
“Kubo and the Two Strings” marks the
directorial debut of Laika CEO Travis Knight, and
it’s filled with the level of intelligence, artistry, and craftsmanship we’ve
come to expect from the studio. The film is loaded with endlessly imaginative
visuals and wondrous sights; the sheer amount of work involved in bringing these
stories to life boggles the mind. Laika animators’
innovative use of 3D printing to increase the number of faces for each of their
figures makes the animation impossibly fluid and the characters seem that much
more expressive. As with Laika’s previous films,
seeing “Kubo” in 3D isn’t required, but the format does add an additional layer
of tangibility and tactileness to the world the
animators have created.
Along with
the technical achievements, the ambition and scope of the kinds of stories the
studio chooses to tell continues to grow by leaps and bounds. That they also
function as thoughtful parables that can help children process the complex
world around them just makes their films that much more special. The script
from Marc Haimes and Chris Butler never talks down to
its younger audience, and weaves in poignant themes about love, loss, and the
ways that storytelling can be a form of remembering. It doesn’t shy away from
the role that death plays in each of our stories, and its ultimate message that
kindness is as important as bravery or strength is one that can’t be heard too
often.
Between
“Pete’s Dragon” and now “Kubo,” we’re ending a rather disappointing summer at
the movies on an extremely high note. A wonderful family film (in the best
sense of the word), “Kubo and the Two Strings” presents an imaginative,
dazzlingly beautiful world that successfully brings a sense of wonder and magic
back into a film season that’s been sorely lacking in both.
Check back on Friday for additional
film coverage, including reviews of “Don’t Think Twice” and “Southside With You.”
This article appears in Aug 24-30, 2016.
