Kubo and the Two Strings

A young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armor worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past.

For Best Animated Film of 2016, there seems to be two schools of thought: either "Zootopia" or "Kubo". The former has so far been winning the most awards, and will probably win the Oscar. But "Kubo" has a strong following, with some saying it is not only the best animated film, but one of the best films of the year in any genre.

I love a good underdog, but in this case my sympathies lie with "Zootopia". The creators there have crafted an entire world, and it is not only very enjoyable, but lends itself to any number of sequels with other characters. It is a rich, dense landscape. "Kubo", on the other hand, is a very shallow, one-dimensional story. A boy goes looking for armor, and without even knowing what direction to go, he stumbles over it almost immediately. There is no deep conception of character or plot, everything just falls into place. For me, that really makes the film lacking and does not make me want to take repeat trips.

However, "Kubo" is also nominated for Best Visual Effects. And on that note, I would love to see it win. I don't personally know the challenges of traditional animation versus computer animation versus stop motion. But, I do see the finished product here and how flawless it looks. Unlike the "classic" stop motion (such as "King Kong"), the movements are seamless. I can't even fathom the amount of minuscule adjustments that have to be made.

Although "Zootopia" is a clear favorite for Best Animated Feature (in my opinion), by all means give "Kubo" the Best Visual Effects and honor these folks for the hard work and countless hours it must have taken.

Kubo was the first fully Claymation film I have scene, and it was fantastic to see. I am a huge fan of the art style and want so much more of it. The story was charming, and even exceptionally enthralling for the first half of the film, but slows to a halt during Act III, crippling its momentum. The art style alone makes this movie worth watching, and I will see anything that took this much work and artistic talent on the big screen in coming years.

Stop-Motion animation can be a thing of pure beauty. I've been a fan of Laika's previous films (particularly Coraline and ParaNorman to a great extent), and so I really was excited for this. Based on the trailers, it looked like a dazzling experience and I was sure that it would not fail to meet expectations. I was right. There's a real sense of artistry to the film that is missing in a lot of other kids' animated films. It's about family, the power of memory, and longing, and it manages to create some truly memorable, fantastic villains that happen to be both well-written and really terrifying. More than anything, the themes at its core really resonate. This may likely be the best animated film of the year.

Reviewers Notes;

1. As I write this, the top-rated IMDb review starts with the header "a hard movie to explain..." and that pretty much nails it. The film starts very slow, builds gradually, has the viewer hooked like a fish by the mid-point, and then falls a tiny bit short in the climax. But overall the experience is unforgettable, magical, and great fun.

2. In Japan anime, they revere not only their movies but their studios. It was always considered that the NA studios, even Pixar, don't measure up. But Studio Laiko in this amazing film has done things with stop-motion and color which make it a world standard and as good as or better than the best that Japan has to offer. I am even going to use some frames a screen saver, they are THAT good.

3. Lots of great voice acting but Charlize Theron steals, literally steals, the film and takes it to a new level. Makes you forget all about the goldfish that initially started the trend in "star" voices. Truly an incredible performance.

Kubo and the Two Strings might be one of the best movies I've seen all year. In a crowded year of comic book movies, sequels, and remakes, that's probably not saying much. I wanted to be fair though and look at those movies with an open mind and a little background on their franchises for what each movie wanted to accomplish. However I've been waiting for so long to see something fresh, original, and holy cow this was it. Kubo is a stop motion animated film by Laika studios who've produced Coraline, Paranorman, and the Box Trolls. I really enjoyed Coraline and didn't really like Paranorman or the Box Trolls so I had no idea what to expect from this movie. My friend and I went opening night because the trailers looked interesting, and we were into the entire run time. It's so beautifully shot, the story is simple yet engaging, and the action is just amazing to behold. I don't want to give away anything about the story because I went into this movie blind not knowing that much and I think people should try to do the same. It's surprisingly also very funny! My friend and I just looked at each other shocked at how much this movie made us laugh. The characters are great and the voice work is very impressive. Everything about this movie is just so impressive. For little kids maybe it's not something to hold their interest, but older kids and adults I think should seriously consider checking this out. It's a fun, well written, and very emotional story. Not only should this movie win best animated feature so far, it should be nominated for best picture I'm serious! Lovers of film, animation, storytelling. PLEASEEEE go out and support this movie I heard it will have a low opening weekend and it's such a shame. We need to make this film a hit I want more animated movies of this quality, check it out!