I went and saw Kubo on opening day when I was off for Friday and I really gotta say, the film blew my mind, I have never seen a film so beautiful, so mesmerizing, and at times, sad film in all my times of animation. Let’s dive in.
Story: The story goes is that after being rescued by his mother when he was a baby, Kubo grew up helping to take care of his mother who was losing her memories during certain times of the day, so she would be very quiet during the day and active during the night. Kubo would go down into the village to tell stories using his paper craft characters while playing on his shamisen. He is told never to stay out of his home during night or else his twin aunts, who are dark goddess’, hunt him down to take his other eye since the Moon King, the villain, needs both of them. Kubo’s mother sets him flying into the air and away from the fight that ensues between mother and aunts causing his mother to use the last of her powers to summon Monkey to aid in his adventure. Along with her, his paper figure of Hanzo, and Beetle, they set off on a journey to find the mystical samurai armor to defeat the Moon King. This is your typical kind of adventure story for the most part, but it is set up very nicely where no moment feels to rushed or feels to long, and is helped conveyed by the characters in this movie who help balance the overall wit and peril that will really help sell the point home in the finale. There are even moments of great artistic vision like the opening sequence where Kubo is helping his mother get ready for the day and it is all set to peaceful Japanese music with no dialogue what-so-ever. It’s moments like those that make animation worthwhile.
Character: This film boasts some interesting characters. Kubo (Art Parkinson, Rickon Stark in Game of Thrones) is a young boy who had one of his eyes removed by his grandfather the Moon King and helps to take care of his ever fading mother till he is sent on a journey to better himself and defeat his grandfather. Monkey (Charlize Theron, Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road) is Kubo’s mentor after his mother passes away and helps guide him on his journey. Beetle (Mathew McConaughey, Acadamey award winning actor in Dallas Buyers Club) is a giant sized beetle warrior who was said to have lost his memories after being turned into such a creature that he must find the son of his mentor to help him on his journey. I gotta say, all these characters, while definitely strange for a film of this nature, really help complement each other in this film of pretty little characters, which can be a good change of pace in animated films. It makes it even more emotional with how close these characters share in connection with one another in the near climax of the film.
Animation: Once again, Laika has brought us into their world through the under-rated, but never half assed world of Stop-Motion. Every emotion, movement, and action in these characters you can feel. There is passion in this company’s animation that I feel I don’t get anywhere else when it comes to films of Stop-motion nature. Even Aardman I think can learn a few tricks from them. But it’s not just the character animations that are sublime, it’s also the environments that are very beautiful and give off the atmosphere of the moment perfectly. From a sunset-traveled hill, to the ocean on top and below the surface, to the finale battle in a destroyed town with blue light glowing beneath it. All the set pieces are their to help set the mood and really bring you into their world of fantasy in a Japanese setting. Also, just like Laika’s previous efforts go to outdo their previous films, this one pulls it off in spades with probably one of their most complicated and BIGGEST stop-motion puppets ever made, the Giant Skeleton in the fight to get the sword was massive and larger then life. You even get to see a small glimpse of how the puppet was made during the credits, so stay during the credits for that, as well as the gorgeously traditional hand-drawn animations in the credits. Trust me, its not to miss.
Music: Music in any film can be very important to help tell its story through mood and character interactions, and we have Dario Marianelli (Laika’s previous film BoxTrolls) to thank for that by bringing us the sweet subtle moments of Japanese instrument to the banging drums during its intense moments. While he did a nice job with BoxTrolls score, I think this is his best score yet.
In the end, I give this film 9.5 out of 10. It is a near perfect film, and probably my number 2 animated film this year right next to Zootopia. It is by far the best Animated Film from Laika, with Coraline being my number 2 favorite now. I really wish the best of luck in this studio, cause they need the money for these kind of films. If you like Stop-motion go see it, if you like Japanese art styles, go see it. Hell, if you love animation through and through, get off your ass right now and go see this film, you won’t regret it.
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7 years, 8 months ago
02 Sep 2016 00:21 CEST
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