Look guys, I appreciate stop motion. I've seen some shorts that feature it, mostly Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. I even saw The Oscar nominated Shaun the Sheep movie while traveling to Paris. But I haven't seen any of Laika's movies. Not even Coraline. But when the trailers made it intriguing, I knew I was going to miss something big if I didn't go. I'm glad I did go (Note: this review will be spoiler free).
The story is about Kubo, a storyteller with the ability to use two strings to animate his storytelling, who must go on a quest to find his fathers magical armor to fight his grandfather, the Moon king. Going into it, I thought it would be too similar to other action packed animated films, but I was incorrect. The story is sometimes unique, yes action packed, and entertaining. I do have one nitpick to give out, but I won't say it do to spoilers.
Along with the great writing, we are brought a cast of memorable and charming characters. Kubo is a likable main character that is bright, funny, and brave. What is more interesting about him and the journey is that the journey he goes through is similar to the story he tells. The monkey (who came to life from a money charm) starts out as the impatient guardian of Kubo through his journey, but then becomes less harsh on Kubo and more caring. She was my personal favorite character due to bringing humor in her impatience and sarcasm. Bettle, who was formerly trained by Kubo's samurai father and then cursed to become a beetle, is the more dim-witted one, but is very funny and charming as well and serves some purpose to the plot. Kubo's two aunts (who are on his grandfathers side) are CREEPY beyond belief, and those two characters make it more suitable for audiences older than 6. There's a few others I won't spoil, but they bare importance to the plot as well.
The animation in this movie is unbelievable. The animators took years of effort to create figures and animate them, and the effects and character movements came out so great that has just as good animation as the lego movie. It looks realistic and beautiful, and the credits are similar to Hotel Translvania where they have traditional animation. Also, the humor in the movie is really funny, and makes the movie even more enjoyable.
Kubo and the two strings is a movie that I highly recommend to 8 or over. The writing is solid, the animation is beautiful, and the characters are memorable. So all I can say is go watch it. Just do it. It's a movie for kids and adults alike, and it gives Zootopia a run for its money (No pun intended, it's not getting even close to what Zootopia got in the US and Canada).
9.5/10
The story is about Kubo, a storyteller with the ability to use two strings to animate his storytelling, who must go on a quest to find his fathers magical armor to fight his grandfather, the Moon king. Going into it, I thought it would be too similar to other action packed animated films, but I was incorrect. The story is sometimes unique, yes action packed, and entertaining. I do have one nitpick to give out, but I won't say it do to spoilers.
Along with the great writing, we are brought a cast of memorable and charming characters. Kubo is a likable main character that is bright, funny, and brave. What is more interesting about him and the journey is that the journey he goes through is similar to the story he tells. The monkey (who came to life from a money charm) starts out as the impatient guardian of Kubo through his journey, but then becomes less harsh on Kubo and more caring. She was my personal favorite character due to bringing humor in her impatience and sarcasm. Bettle, who was formerly trained by Kubo's samurai father and then cursed to become a beetle, is the more dim-witted one, but is very funny and charming as well and serves some purpose to the plot. Kubo's two aunts (who are on his grandfathers side) are CREEPY beyond belief, and those two characters make it more suitable for audiences older than 6. There's a few others I won't spoil, but they bare importance to the plot as well.
The animation in this movie is unbelievable. The animators took years of effort to create figures and animate them, and the effects and character movements came out so great that has just as good animation as the lego movie. It looks realistic and beautiful, and the credits are similar to Hotel Translvania where they have traditional animation. Also, the humor in the movie is really funny, and makes the movie even more enjoyable.
Kubo and the two strings is a movie that I highly recommend to 8 or over. The writing is solid, the animation is beautiful, and the characters are memorable. So all I can say is go watch it. Just do it. It's a movie for kids and adults alike, and it gives Zootopia a run for its money (No pun intended, it's not getting even close to what Zootopia got in the US and Canada).
9.5/10