Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
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A young boy with a magical musical instrument must embark on a quest to reclaim his heritage and defeat his powerful relatives.
The story
Set in feudal Japan, the film follows Kubo, a young boy who wields a magical musical instrument and whose left eye was stolen during infancy. Accompanied by an anthropomorphic Japanese macaque charm and a human/stag beetle hybrid, he must embark on a quest to defeat his mother's baleful twin sisters and his ominous grandfather, the Moon King, who is responsible for stealing his left eye. The journey begins after Kubo attends a local festival and is separated from his mother, leading him to seek his father's lost armor in a distant land.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In feudal Japan, 12-year-old Kubo lives with his ailing mother, performing with a magical shamisen to tell the story of his missing father, Hanzo. After failing to return home from a festival before sunset, Kubo is separated from his mother and finds himself in a distant land with his awakened monkey charm, Monkey, and a beetle-hybrid warrior named Beetle. Together, they seek three pieces of his father's armor: the Sword Unbreakable, the Breastplate Impenetrable, and the Helmet Invulnerable. Along the way, Kubo learns that Monkey is his mother's reincarnated spirit and that Beetle is actually his father, Hanzo, who was cursed by the Moon King. After a series of trials, they reach a fortress where the final sister kills Beetle. Monkey sacrifices herself to allow Kubo to use his instrument to defeat the sister. Finally, at a village, Kubo faces the Moon King. When the King transforms into a massive beast, Kubo restrings his instrument with his parents' and his own hair, summoning the spirits of the villagers' loved ones. This collective memory strips the Moon King of his power, turning him into a mortal man. Kubo eventually reconciles with the villagers and speaks to the spirits of his parents.
- First release year
- 2016
- Runtime (minutes)
- 102
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Travis Knight
- Writers
- Marc Haimes · screenplay; Chris Butler · screenplay; Shannon Tindle · story; Marc Haimes · story
- Cast and characters
- Charlize Theron · Monkey; Art Parkinson · Kubo; Ralph Fiennes · Moon King; George Takei · Hosato; Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa · Hashi; Brenda Vaccaro · Kameyo; Rooney Mara · the Sisters; Matthew McConaughey · Hanzo/Beetle
- Genres
- fantasy; adventure
- Themes
- memory; family; sacrifice
- Tone and mood
- epic; dreamlike
- Premise and plot tags
- stop-motion; fantasy; adventure; mythology
- Content notes
- scary
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim for its craftsmanship and story, though it was a box office disappointment.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 84 · scale: 100 · review count: 38; CinemaScore · score: A · scale: A+ to F; PostTrak · score: 85% · scale: percentage
- Awards and nominations
- BAFTA Award · Best Animated Film · win; Academy Awards · Best Animated Feature · nomination; Academy Awards · Best Visual Effects · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film's animation was inspired by Japanese media like ink wash painting and origami.; The giant skeleton is a record-holding stop-motion puppet.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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