Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

In 'Kubo and the Two Strings', a young boy travels on a journey to protect those he loves from his sinister past, along the way making strong bonds and learning the values of life. The film is a stop-motion styled animation with a strong origami feel to it that really gives the film a brilliant and unique style to it, along with an excellent musical score throughout. The director's previous works have included 'Coraline' and 'Paranorman' and with 'Kubo', I believe he has given the audience his best work yet.

The film has a very strong voice cast, especially when considering the lack of any real attention to the film, which is quite unfortunate. Art Parkison (Game of Thrones) plays the young Kubo with a maturity and strength that is strongly lacking in other family/children's films today. For such a young actor, the emotions and characterization he brings here really gives me hope that he'll see some great roles in his later years. Also included in the film is Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey as the quirky companions of Kubo and they have great chemistry together. They play off each other with humor and drama very well. You also get some very good performances from Rooney Mara and Ralph Fiennes as the villains of the piece, however they don't stand out vocally but rather their visual performances by the stop motion that make them stand out. And for fans of George Takei, he does appear in here as well, however I question his top billing on the posters and promo material as he is in the background as a villager and spouts out his famous catchphrase for laughs.

The artwork here is a masterpiece of cinema and that's no joke. Everything in this film is beautiful, charming, and haunting to look at with brilliant character and creature designs that really gives the audience a sense of the adventure they have gone on with Kubo. The stop-motion animation is also better than ever, with a real smoothness and fluidity with every movement and especially in the fight sequences, this film delivers for sure. 

Do I have anything really negative to say about the film? Well, not so much negative but rather some guidelines for those who wish to take their young ones. The film is rated 'PG' however, I think the filmmakers had a wider audience clearly in mind when making the film. It does contain strong emotional themes that those younger than maybe 10 years old will not fully comprehend and sitting in the theater, I could see the 6-7 year old sitting next to me that she was not getting into it and looked bored. The film does also contain some very scary and violent images that should be considered. I would compared 'Kubo' to a really strong Hayao Miyazaki film, akin to 'Spirited Away' or 'Howl's Moving Castle'.

I was very impressed with 'Kubo and the Two Strings'. It was hands down the best film I have seen in 2016, and it's disappointing to see the lack of attention that it is getting. This is a great film folks, take everyone you can to it. It's visuals, humor, emotion, and action appeals to both the young and the old. A masterpiece film that everyone needs to see.