Kubo and the Two Strings 2016
I knew Kubo and the Two Strings got very good reviews, but it lost the Oscar for Best Animated Feature to Disney's Zootopia. I wound up buying a 4k digital copy of the movie in a bundle of other Laika movies. This is definitely Laika's masterpiece. Though parts of it definitely look like stop motion animation, much of it looks like 3D rendered animation, giving the movie a lot more punch and scale. Also there is some very clever, often very funny, writing at work. I feel like Matthew McConaughey was an odd choice to voice a samurai beetle, but it works and I liked him a lot better than in Sing. Charlize Theron is even better as a tough talking snow monkey. The story is also very good, a classic hero quest. The whole thing borrows heavily from Japanese folklore, although Laika is an American company. It gives it a nice fantasy element, rooted in real history, and also allows some neat effects with origami. I really enjoyed Zootopia and it finished second on my 2016 Top 10 list, but Kubo makes me wonder if Oscar got it wrong.
Written: 23 Mar 2024
Owned on: Digital