“He looked into my eyes and uttered four simple words. These
words changed everything… ‘You Are My Quest,’ he whispered. I have seen the
wonders of the universe, but the warmth of his gaze as I looked into his eyes.
That… that I had never known. It was his humanity I saw.”
Kubo and the Two
Strings is an extraordinary film that provides some complex themes along with
some of the most strikingly gorgeous animation that I have ever seen. To
express its story, the film uses a blend of origami and stop motion. It’s
Laika’s best film since Coraline.
The film is set in
Japan and references Japanese folklore, the samurai code, and Buddhism. "Recognizing
his compassion, I recognized my own." It's like the lessons of Buddhism
can be condensed to that one sentence. The director Travis Knight said that his
mother-in-law and her family are Buddhists and he wanted a film that dealt with
that because that sort of spirituality is something one hardly sees in a film.
I’m glad that he did that because Buddhism is a beautiful thing and it really
adds to the story. The film provides how the Buddhist custom of the festival of
Obon is like when the spirits of loved ones come back. I also like how they
incorporated cranes into the story. It shows the Western viewers a different
way of conceptualizing death, human identity, mourning, and memory.
The story is about
a one-eyed child named Kubo. He lives in an uninhabited mountain with his
mother who is very grief-stricken. When he isn’t taking care of his mother he
performs origami tricks with his magic shamisen for the neighboring village. He
always tells the same story about his father who is on a mission to destroy the
Moon King with help from three pieces of golden armor (sword, helmet, and
breastplate). After accidentally
disobeying his mother by staying out after dark he encounters his mother’s
sisters who are just as evil as the Moon King. His mother reawakens to save her
son from her sisters. She uses the last of her powers to protect Kubo. He
awakes in a blizzard and sets off to find the three pieces of golden armor to
defeat the Moon King once in for all. On his journey the strict Monkey, Kubo’s
origami model of his father Little Hanzo, and the forgetful Beetle accompany
him.
The film tells the
viewers that everyone has the capability to tell their own stories. The theme
resonates quite a bit in the film. When Kubo’s mother tells him the tale of how
she encountered his father we find out she was ordered to slay him. She then
changes her story during their fight when she lets herself love him and to be
loved by him. Kubo thinks he knows how his story will end till he fights the
Moon King. He comprehends that vengeance isn’t the perfect ending, but kindheartedness
is.
When watching animated
films I always search for morals that will teach children valuable lessons. So
I was quite pleased with Kubo and the Two Strings. It teaches that loss can be
good. Death is inevitable, but with death comes transformation and with that
comes peace. Regardless of how much it can hurt or upset us that with our
memories of them they’ll always stay with us. Memories give us strength.
What does “the two
strings” in the title mean? I think it changes throughout the film. First it
starts off with life and death, then mother and father, Monkey and Beetle,
Buddhism and Shinto, and lastly creativity and storytelling. At least that’s
what I got from it.
There’s only one
flaw about Kubo and the Two Strings. The film is set in Japan and the
characters are Japanese, but white actors voice the main characters. The
performances are great even though I wish that Japanese actors did the voices.
Granted some of the minor roles are played by Japanese actors like
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Mortal Kombat, The Last Emperor) and the great George
Takei (Star Trek, “Oh My”). I think Laika did this to attract many Western
audiences to their film with big name actors.
Kubo and the Two Strings provides a
deep-rooted emotional experience. The sound and visuals bring such a depth that
you feel a wide range of emotions. There were times that I felt melancholy,
happiness, loss, and much more. Kubo and the Two Strings is one of the better animated
movies I’ve seen since How To Train Your Dragon 2 and Big Hero 6. I recommend
this film highly.
4.9 out of 5
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