The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic:
on KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (2016, 101 minutes, PG)
"If you must blink, do it now."
The Quick of It -
When a movie opens with such a powerful line, you know you are going
to experience something exceptional.
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS is that something exceptional and fills you
with a sense of adventure and wonder.
It’s about a courageous boy who must find his way to better understand
the secrets of his past, and where his future lies. Once only thought tales he retold to crowds in town to earn some
coin, he finds out how true they are and must quest for three powerful items to
protect himself from his single-minded, and awfully cranky, grandfather. They are legendary pieces his father once
sought; the Sword Unbreakable, the Armor Impenetrable, and the Helmet
Invulnerable. During his journey, he
meets some unlikely characters that help him complete these arduous tasks and
to find his place in the world.
This film comes out of the Laika studios, and they give us a 3D
stop-animation marvel. You would expect
this to be out of one of Japan’s highly regarded studios, but it was developed
out of our own backyard. Travis Knight,
making this his directorial debut, helms KUBO.
He comes straight out of their animation departments from previous hit
films, having worked on PARANORMAN, CORALINE, and THE BOXTROLLS. The writing is tight and tells far more than
a simple fiction. The original crafter
is Shannon Tindle, with credit for the screenplay going to Marc Haimes and
Chris Butler.
As sad as it sounds, I care little for the voices involved… since
there were no discernable reasons to believe they flubbed the film. They include Art Parkinson (DRACULA UNTOLD
and SAN ANDREAS), Charlize Theron, Ralph Fiennes, George Takei, and ‘The
Matthew of McConaughey’. There was no
way this going to be a disaster, and probably why I have little regard. Using familiar voices from recognizable
Hollywood titans instills a subconscious comfort level that allows for a
certain level of creditability.
The stylized imagery, the traditional Japanese sounds and music, and
the skillfully-crafted action makes this one of my top films for 2016, even
when surrounded by a plethora of box office ‘big boys’. The beginning alone will sell you on the
magical journey he must take. Kubo
entertains a crowd with his shamisen, telling a fairy-tale with animated
origami creatures and shapes that dance around and shoot fire, among other
things. This storytelling technique
reaches out to the real audience, setting the stage for the magic-realism that
surrounds this tale, making you not question what you are about to see.
So no questions… this is a must watch.
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