Kubo and the Two Strings Movie Review

Article by Gabe Zia

Lazy Film Critic Movie Review

Kubo and the Two Strings

So I just saw Kubo and the Two Strings, the five year venture of stop-motion animation studio Laika, the same people who made Coraline and Paranorman, two of my favorite animated movies of all-time. So going into this movie needless to say I was pretty excited to see what Laika could do, along with a very talented cast (Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew Mcconaughey, Rooney Mara, Ralph Fiennes), my expectations were very high, and this movie more than met all of them.

As anyone who's read my reviews for any animated movie, you'll know I'm a sucker for good animation. And despite my love for hand-drawn style animation like Iron Giant or Paperman, my second favorite style will always be stop-motion, simply due to the time and effort and dedication it takes to bring it to life. And Kubo is a shining example of how amazing it can look on screen, the animation in this film is hands down the best I have ever seen from stop-motion before, and the combination of CGI and stop-motion is absolutely jaw-dropping. The animation alone is more than reason enough to get out and see this movie.

However, lets assume you're not just seeing this movie to see animation, and fair enough a film should deliver on more than just the visual side of things. Following in the line of Coraline and Paranorman, Kubo delivers a story rife with a darker nature than the majority of family films and delves into some pretty deep philosophical topics. However, the one minor gripe here is that the actual story itself is fairly cookie-cutter, but the execution of it is what makes it special. Sure, it's never as dark or mature as Coraline or Paranorman (movies that I would argue aren't even for kids at all, those movies would give kids nightmares), but it gets the job done to set it aside from the rest.

Final Rating
Guys, I'm begging you here. Literally, I'm getting on my knees and begging you. Go see Kubo and the Two Strings this weekend, don't let this movie be a box office bomb. The animation alone is more than well worth the price of entry. The gripes I had with it are incredibly minor, and the best aspects of this movie more than make up for it. I adored this movie for every second of it, and I highly recommend you check it out.