I tend to believe that originality is rare in today’s realm of film entertainment, and as I sat down to watch Kubo and the Two Strings, the twenty minutes of previews, for the rest of the year’s animated fair, seemingly proved that belief. There were literally four film trailers in a row that were more concerned with selling their corresponding soundtracks than a story; not one offering looked to be more than a commercial for a ninety minute commercial, and instead of being appalled by them, I just shook my head in apathy. “This is the film world we live in” is an easy thing to say, and complain about, but after sitting through Kubo and the Two Strings, I realized it’s even easier to take originality for granted.
Kubo and the Two Strings is one of five animated films that I’ve enjoyed this year, and I’ve made the mistake of not acknowledging that originality has literally been in front of my face. Perhaps it took a completely original story, told through the most difficult form of animation to create (stop-motion), for me to see it; perhaps it was the film’s message of seeing beyond what’s in front of you to find what matters, even if what matters has to come from your goodness. If anything else, Kubo and the Two Strings has opened my eyes.
And what sights it provides.
The film tells the story of Kubo (Art Parkinson), an adolescent boy who lives in a cave with his mother (Charlize Theron), that’s isolated from the local town. They are years in hiding from her twin sisters (both played by Rooney Mara) and the Moon King (Ralph Fiennes), Kubo’s grandfather. I won’t spoil why, as one of the film’s pleasures is the unfolding of it’s story. Suffice to say, the whole hiding thing fails for the film’s plot to be set into motion, and Kubo begins a quest for the three artifacts to defeat what’s coming to kill him. Oh, and he’s accompanied by a Monkey (again Charlize Theron) and a Beetle samurai (Matthew McConaughey).
It’s funny that I’ve been talking about the film being original, when it has a simple structure. A search for three objects to defeat an enemy is hardly unheard of, but when the first set piece reminded me of the artistic video game The Shadow of the Colossus, followed by the second being reminiscent of a sequence from The Lord of the Rings, I knew I was in the hands of filmmakers that appreciated a wide variety of art. Add in influences that varied from Kurosawa to Del Toro, and you wind up with a surprise around every corner.
The biggest surprise is the film’s melancholic tone that sets in from the opening narration, and continues until it’s final frame. Animated films all have their moments of despair, but it’s rare to see a major release that prefers to be fixed in feeling of an autumn afternoon, as opposed to a golden spring morning. But it’s that fearless choice that makes the film so special, understanding that children know that life is not full of such constant joy, and that we must make do with the hand we’re dealt. There in lies my one gripe, as the film tries to force moments of comedy where they’re not needed; some of these moments worked, but a large amount of them felt like a bit of studio interference. Maybe it had nothing to do with the studio; either way, it personally kept the film from perfection.
The voice cast is excellent; Art Parkinson shows more talent with his voice here than in six seasons on Game of Thrones, though he gets little to do on that show; Charlize Theron is perfect in every sense of the word, being both Furiosa and motherly; Rooney Mara delivers chilling work as a pair of frightening wraith-like twins; Ralph Fiennes is a little too Voldemort at times, but he brings an elegance to the role that matters in a crucial scene late in the story. The one performance that felt a little off was McConaughey, as I recognized him immediately without knowing who was in the cast going into the screening. His character brings the film most of it’s humor, which as I’ve said, felt unnecessary.
Laika Entertainment has brought us stop-motion work over the past few years; ranging from the quite good Coraline, to the not so good Boxtrolls, but they’ve outdone themselves here, resulting in the best looking animated film of the year so far, if the not the best overall of 2016. There’s something so wonderful about stop-motion that I can’t put my finger on, maybe it’s the knowledge of how crazy you have to be to have that much patience; maybe it’s the imperfections in the animated movement that let’s you know you’re looking into the window of make believe, and choosing to believe anyway.
Motionswee77 
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