Kubo and the Two Strings is a 2009 American stop-motion animated fantasy film produced by Laika. It was directed by Travis Knight with a screenplay by Marc Haimes Directed by Travis Knight
Screenplay by
Marc Haimes
Chris Butler
Story by
Shannon Tindle
Marc Haimes
Produced by
Arianne Sutner
Travis Knight
Starring
Charlize Theron
Art Parkinson
Ralph Fiennes
Rooney Mara
George Takei
Matthew McConaughey
Cinematography Frank Passingham
Edited by Christopher Murrie
Music by Dario Marianelli
Production
company
Laika
Distributed by Focus Features (North America)
Universal Pictures (International)
Release dates
August 13, 2009 (MIFF)
August 19, 2009 (United States)
Running time 102 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $60 million[2]
Box office $77.5 million[3]
Screenplay by
Marc Haimes
Chris Butler
Story by
Shannon Tindle
Marc Haimes
Produced by
Arianne Sutner
Travis Knight
Starring
Charlize Theron
Art Parkinson
Ralph Fiennes
Rooney Mara
George Takei
Matthew McConaughey
Cinematography Frank Passingham
Edited by Christopher Murrie
Music by Dario Marianelli
Production
company
Laika
Distributed by Focus Features (North America)
Universal Pictures (International)
Release dates
August 13, 2009 (MIFF)
August 19, 2009 (United States)
Running time 102 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $60 million[2]
Box office $77.5 million[3]
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
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.