00:00So I finally had a chance to sit down and watch Kubo and the Two Strings,
00:06the latest animated movie from Laika Entertainment,
00:09starring the voice talents of Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, and Matthew McConaughey.
00:15This is the story of a one-eyed boy named Kubo who lives with his mother
00:19near a small seaside village in ancient Japan.
00:22And young Kubo spends his days telling stories to the villagers using his magical guitar,
00:28which can form these sheets of paper into these intricate origami figures
00:33and bring them to life as he tells the stories.
00:35But one day, his entire world is turned upside down as his evil relatives come to kidnap him,
00:41and his mother manages to fend them off while Kubo escapes.
00:45And so, accompanied by a giant talking monkey and a giant talking samurai beetle,
00:51he sets out on a quest to find his father's lost armor
00:55so he can defeat his evil aunts and their father, the Moon King.
00:59I'm glad I finally got a chance to see this one,
01:02because I have been hearing nothing but glowing praise about this film,
01:07and justifiably so.
01:09Holy shit, this was good.
01:12This may be the best-looking stop-motion animation movie I have ever seen,
01:17which is probably what I should expect from Laika at this point.
01:20Everything looks fucking gorgeous.
01:23The characters, the environments, the various things Kubo constructs out of the paper using his magical guitar.
01:30There's a point in this movie where they fight this huge freaking skeleton monster,
01:34which I think I read somewhere is the largest stop-motion puppet ever created.
01:40And I can believe it.
01:41And the sisters, Kubo's aunts, those two are creepy as all hell.
01:48Oh, God, the combination of the character design and the voice work by Rooney Mara just,
01:55oh, they're gonna give me nightmares for a while, let me tell ya.
01:58I really enjoyed the story for this movie.
02:01It's certainly an inventive story, to say the least.
02:04The journey of a boy and his monkey and beetle companions
02:08as they search for his father's mystical armor to defeat the Moon King,
02:14along with his magical guitar of telekinetic origami powers.
02:19How do they come up with this stuff? I have no idea.
02:22This is the most ridiculously awesome story ever, and I love it.
02:26The action sequences are a ton of fun, the comedic moments hit pretty well,
02:30and the tragic moments are genuinely very sad, especially the stuff with Kubo's mother.
02:36Kubo's father gives his life to protect him and his mother so they can escape,
02:40and during the escape, his mother nearly gives her own life,
02:43survives, but sustains a nasty head injury that she never really recovers from.
02:49And throughout the first act, her mental faculties are constantly in flux.
02:53Sometimes she's all there, and sometimes she's just gone.
02:57And it is heartbreaking.
02:59And it's pretty heavy stuff for what is essentially a kid's movie.
03:03The voice acting is pretty damn good across the board.
03:06You got Art Parkinson as Kubo.
03:08You may remember him as Rickon Stark on Game of Thrones.
03:12Although, not anymore, speaking of tragic characters, but he was really good.
03:17Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey play the monkey and beetle, respectively.
03:21They were awesome.
03:22You got Ralph Fiennes as the Moon King.
03:25He's as great as he always is.
03:27And George Takei has a small part in this movie, and yes, he does get to say his signature line.
03:34Oh my.
03:36As soon as I heard that line, I think it's the first thing he says in the movie.
03:39As soon as I heard that, I'm like, that is either George Takei or someone doing a really good George Takei impression.
03:45But yeah, it's the man himself.
03:46And again, Rooney Mara as the sisters.
03:51Ugh.
03:52So creepy.
03:54And you would hope a movie that so prominently features a musical instrument as part of the plot would have a great soundtrack.
04:01And Dario Marianelli does a fantastic job here.
04:04The movie also features a really neat cover of While My Guitar Gently Weeps by Regina Spector.
04:09And it's very well done.
04:12The only thing I didn't really get, and I'm sure I'm not the only person to bring this up, but fuck it, I'll say it anyway.
04:19Why is it called Kubo and the Two Strings when his guitar has three?
04:23And I'm sure there's a very simple explanation for this, and as soon as I find this explanation, I'll be like,
04:29Oh, that makes total sense.
04:32And I'm gonna be kicking myself for not getting it earlier.
04:35In fact, if the explanation is out there, I'm sure at least 50 people will mention it in the comments.
04:40But right now, it's a little confusing.
04:42But that's really the worst thing I could say about this movie.
04:47The title is slightly confusing.
04:49Other than that, this is damn near perfect.
04:51If you have not already seen this movie, you need to.
04:54It is amazing.
04:56You will not regret it, I promise you.
04:57You need to go see this, because I think it's only made about $40 million so far,
05:02and it deserves 10 times that at least.
05:05This is fantastic.
05:06It deserves your money.
05:08Let them have your money.
05:09And that's all I got to say about Kubo and the Two Strings.
05:11So until next time, take care.
