Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

As the first animated film I was going to review on this site, I was excited for it. I knew that it was nominated for best animated feature and best visual effects at this year’s Oscars. I had seen the trailers and loved the style of the film, which made me hopeful for the finished feature. I thought that the story was about an orphaned boy that gains magical powers through the use of a guitar style tool along with the help of a talking monkey and talking beetle. I was definitely hopeful for the balance of humour and drama. Similarly, I was excited to hear Charlize Theron‘s voice because she is an actor I respect because of her memorable roles in Mad Max: Fury Road, Hancock, and of course, Arrested Development. It was also a chance for me to see Matthew McConaughey as a voice actor because this was his first animated feature film. Of course, there were going to be many people I would recognise from just their voice, I just didn’t know they were going to be in this film. With this being said, I was more excited for the story and the natural visuals that come with stop-motion animation rather than being excited for the performances. With this, I jumped into the film.

My immediate reaction to this film was pleasant, I think that first time director Travis Knight did a decent job with this story. It had been a while since I had watched a children’s film and had forgotten how they were. They are very obvious with themes, messaged and morals. It was definitely an easy watch, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a boring watch. The biggest character, in my opinion, was Beetle(voiced by Matthew McConaughey) but then, I have always had an affinity with the comic relief characters over the serious ones or even the protagonists. Speaking of the heroes, I thought that Kubo(voiced by Art Parkinson) was a passive character. By this, I mean that since the inciting incident, he would not actively participate in the action around him to a degree that I noticed. Of course, you could pick out moments where he struck a cord or pulled a sword, but overall, he failed to be active enough for me to notice and that makes for a weak protagonist to follow. He had to be saved in almost every set piece besides the climax. It did not really matter if Kubo had powers or how special his heritage was, it could have been anyone taken on this journey. As well as this complaint, I didn’t really like how carelessly the screenplay dealt with plot twists, especially the one about Monkey(Charlize Theron) being Kubo’s mother. For one, the voice actor didn’t change but also the dialogue hinted at the twist a bit too heavily. We knew that Monkey is his mother before Kubo knew so that when it was revealed to him, it wasn’t so effective. While I am talking about the dialogue, I would like to mention how some lines were just over dramatised which took me out of the film. An example of this was soon after the trio found the unbreakable sword and Monkey and Beetle started a heated discussion that made Kubo say, “are you two going to fight again?” I disagree with the use of this line because we really haven’t seen that much in the way of arguments between the two. We have seen Monkey being her usual cautious, grumpy character and Beetle seemed unaffected by it. With this build up not connecting to the overpowerful line that was read with some vigour makes for a confusing moment which is never what filmmakers want to make in a family film. Other than this, and a few other slips away from a great film, I enjoyed the feature especially the visuals.

I enjoyed the original style that the film used to show its story. Stop motion animation in itself looks gorgeous in most styles from Wallace and Gromit to The Nightmare Before Christmas to Fantastic Mr. Fox. This style is quite different to these and stood true to the origami that is a main theme in the film. The motion of the characters was very smooth and realistic. Yet at the same time, it was fantastical. You may think that a story with a talking monkey and a samurai beetle will always seem fantastical, however, that is reduced my the realism of movement and added to through the artistic style. I wouldn’t say that anything groundbreaking was done in the cinematography. It showed all the action but the camera did not seem obviously motivated through its angles. Much like the protagonist of this film, the camera was passive. The perspective, too, was unfocused. We see all the action that Kubo sees but then we saw the fight between Monkey and one of the sisters(voiced by Rooney Mara) when Kubo was unconscious underwater. I understand that I shouldn’t get hung up on this, but it also meant that we knew more than Kubo did which lead to a weak emotional reveal later on. As I am on the subject of perspective, I can talk about the absent villain. We hear about the primary antagonist a whole lot during the film, but we do not see the moon king(voiced by Ralph Fiennes) until the final fifteen minutes of the film. Now, personally, I am not entirely sure whether not showing the antagonist is a good thing or a bad thing for this film. Perhaps just having the villain as a myth throughout the story makes the reveal of him in the final act makes for a larger moment. However, I didn’t feel that reaction. I felt like if there were more hints towards the physical appearance of the Moon King in the visuals of the film then there would have been more of a pay off when he was revealed. By hinting at his appearance, I mean that Knight could have thrown a silhouette or shape in the background of suspenseful scenes to show the Moon King’s omnipresence. I feel that using these visual tools would have made for a much more intimidating villain in the end.

Overall this was a pretty good film and very good for a first time director; worth the best animated feature nomination. However, there were some weaknesses in the film that made it less three-dimensional than it could have been. I would recommend this as a good family film, but it probably isn’t amazing for academic study due to its obvious nature. The messages were heavy handed with even the protagonist saying, “I should have listened to my parents.” Along with this, there were some missed opportunities for visual storytelling despite its gorgeous look. In terms of watching films, this feature has taught me that I can point out when there was opportunity for foreshadowing or another tool. In terms of making films, this feature has shown me the options a villain can take on screen. It could be possible to have the idea of an antagonist represented through its minions(the sisters) to create the conflict necessaary. This is not close to the best way to do it, though. I thiink of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, as a film that hinted towards a villian before a reaveal effectively.