Kubo and the Two Strings Review

2016 has seen the release of several outstanding animated movies.  Disney has been hitting things full throttle and has been making outstanding advancements in animation.  Just look at Zootopia, where not a single background character stands motionless, and they manage to fill the frame with millions of subtle details.  You could also look at Finding Dory, where Pixar has been pushing the limits in what they can do with lighting, and they also managed to animate a a boneless octopus.  If you pay close attention animation, you know that these achievements are spectacular, and that it isn't at all easy to do what these animation companies are doing.  On top of it all, Disney and Pixar have crafted great stories that challenge the viewer, either to look at stereotypes in a reasonable light or to relate to a fish with short-term memory loss.  These are great stories.  These are great movies.

Which is why my sisters were a little offended when advertisements claimed that Kubo was the greatest animated movie of the year.  "Really?  Haven't they ever heard of Disney?"  Their presumption was, apparently, that only Disney-style animated movies can be great.

I will stand by what those critics were saying.  It's all subjective, but I simply can't put it behind what Disney and Pixar have accomplished this year.  It's good; it stands out; and it's memorable.  It made the lasting impression that I like to see in an animated movie.

If you're like my sisters and have trust issues when it comes to animated films outside of the Disney domain, since they can often be cynical, crude, Shrek-like, and exploitative, take comfort in knowing that this film is PG and has a strong storytelling spirit.  It wasn't conjured up just to earn a cheap buck, like Minions or The Secret Life of Pets.  It's a film for the family, and yet is distinct from Disney and has an identity of its own.

Most especially, the animation is beautiful.  Technically, Disney and Pixar's animation is the best there is in the world, but it still isn't as beautiful as Kubo's.  In this movie, every other frame puts me in awe.  This movie is simply wonderful to look at.  I don't know what the technical demands of this animation were, and if Kubo made any innovations, but the end result is too stunning to discount.  The director Travis Knight made sure that everything about this film was filled with elegance and played to the strengths of animation.  He has an eye for beauty and employs it constantly, turning Kubo and the Two Strings into a mystical series of idyllic paintings.  Some people have a good sense of rhythm, others have a good sense of humor, and Travis knight has a great sense of beauty.  On the simplicity of its beauty alone, the movie was worth the price of admission.

The visuals weren't the only thing to be simple and beautiful, though.  Kubo is a somewhat short film, and keeps its story to the important stuff.  This shortness really helps with the pacing, since the story arrives at each of its stages in relatively short order.  The scenes last long enough for you to be satisfied with them, but they don't go on so long that they make you impatient for the next big thing to happen.

Perhaps the story could have have been filled with a few more events during the rising action, but Kubo is a straightforward Hero's Journey that doesn't need much more than a few basic plot points, and it also proves that a story can be one of those without ripping off Star Wars (I'm looking at you, Eragon).  The details of this journey might sound a bit familiar.  At the beginning of the film, Kubo is a kid living a life in a normal community, until adventure calls and he's thrown into an epic quest to find three important artifacts in order to confront the big villain.  Does that sound familiar?  It could be because these are the elements of classic myths and epic poems, and this movie tells them in a fresh way.  It's simple and primal enough that a child can watch it regularly without it getting old, just as I did with my old Disney VHS tapes back in the day.

Finally, I appreciate that this movie is willing to treat death as very real and offers its two cents on the subject, as well as what it means to be human, and it says it in language that I think that kids can understand and that adults can appreciate.  There are a few scenes that might scare younger children, hence why its rating suggests parental guidance, but they play well into the Kubo's themes.  In many ways, this animated film is pretty serious once you actually think about it, much as Zootopia was.  So if you liked the one, I see no reason why you wouldn't like the other.  Kubo has quite a bit to offer.