Kubo and the Two Strings – Film Review
From the acclaimed LAIKA Studios, the makers of Coraline and The Boxtrolls comes Kubo and the Two Strings, which focuses on a young guitar playing boy named Kubo (Art Parkinson), who unfortunately has to deal with his sick mother, and take care of her. But eventually Kubo unleashes a fearful spirit by accident, and joins up with Monkey (Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) to discover the ultimate legacy that Kubo’s father had.
The expectations were set high for this film, since Coraline was my favorite animated film of all time. I cherished the creepy and unsettling feel the film had, and it was so brave for the people at LAIKA to make such a different children’s film, that was not your typical children’s movie you would take your kid to see. Coraline was a different movie then most could expect. It was a film that was not at all your traditional children’s movie. I would even go as far to say that that film should have been given a PG-13 rating. It definitely wasn’t as light-hearted as the majority of children’s films released.
Even from the very first scene in Kubo, I instantly became overcome with the chills, as we hear Kubo and see what is happening in the first moments of the film. It quickly reminded me of Coraline with its creepy tone and feel and I was already hooked since that moment.
The story in the film moved me to tears, because it does such a flawless job at telling a story that anybody, no matter what age, can get behind, because all the characters and everything else surrounding the film feel so real and unique. There was not a single time in Kubo that I was bored for even a split second, and made me really emotional throughout the entire film, and I even enjoyed it more than Coraline, which previously mentioned, was my favorite animated movie, up until I saw Kubo.
Even the soundtrack accompanying the film is flawless, and fits the movie perfectly. There are quite a bit of songs in the soundtrack, and after seeing the film, I would adore having the soundtrack on a vinyl record.
In-Summary: Kubo and the Two Strings is one of the most unique movies I have ever seen, and had a story that left me in tears and wanting to see it again.
Overall Grade: A+
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements, scary images, action and peril
Cast: Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara
Directed by: Travis Knight
Distributed by: Focus Features
Running Time: 102 minutes