Review of Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) by Pipec — 09 Sep 2016

Laika Dethrones Pixar with "Kubo and The Two Strings".

Impeccable and majestic beauty; Laika is already a strengthened production studio of distinguished films that combine traditional animation with a reserved use of digital technology, obtaining an air more craft and realistic, technique present in feature films such as the gloomy "Coraline" or the terrifying "ParaNorman", Laika has established a great fortitude and prestige in a world in where Pixar prevails year after year; "Kubo and The Two Strings" consolidates the essence of prior all films of the studio while adding something extra courtesy of a timeless visual and narrative magnificence, an eloquent feat of 2016 and openly a direct nominated to The Academy Awards.

It has been a dilated and tortuous summer full of sequels and reboots that are going nowhere, but generate money at the box office; Alright! there were some surprises which astonished and excited to the general public, however, they did it on a template already employed, with characters, settings and even already existing soundtracks; nevertheless, thanks to Focus Features lands with Japanese moves the salvation of animated movies of this year, an original and nutritious film that will entertain to adults and instruct in children solid and beneficial teachings, even if I fear that will not receive what merits, this should not go unnoticed because it does not deserve it.

Visibly, based and influenced by Eastern traditions, Kubo is a Japanese boy who lives with his disturbed mother on a crag close to a small village, the threads of the film are constitute in a magical and chimerical atmosphere, for this reason, Kubo attends to his village in order to bring to life realistic characters made of origami papers, which build an amazing story, story with a significant particularity, it never ends. Kubo knows that his father was an acclaimed warrior, who died by saving the eye right of his beloved son of the clutches of his grandfather and therefore, freeze the threat that revolved around his family, nonetheless, the danger is omnipresent as soon as the sun descends. Kubo, Monkey, and Beetle will move on a wild journey in looking for the different parts of the armor of his warrior father to eliminate the ghosts that invade his life of sorrow and bitterness and finally, give a real end to his grim own story.

If Kubo would like to make use of the charms of the silent film - there is certain initial part in the movie that takes advantage of the muteness - to capture the attention of the spectators would be equally ostentatious, since, it only gives narrative strength - and what solidity! -, it also conceives meticulousness and scrupulousness in each frame, the arduous challenge of photograph and recreate settings, which are recognizable from our idea of reality, makes that the visual inventiveness and the proposal to appreciate the intricate effort provided by each member of the crew intensify. The melancholic individual scenes assimilated the same prestige than an intense action sequence. When you attend to the movie theater, you will be willing to realize of the most intricate details of its production, in case you discover any inaccuracy, however, from the first minutes dazzles us into its blinding landscapes and we forget our purpose radically, because if you must blink, do it now.

Travis Knight, CEO of Laika, marks his directorial debut (Travis paid attention to every simplicity in the making of the films in order to develop his own movie with the strengths of each production) with a work brought to life with the greatest possible devotion, standing out among other adaptations of Hayao Miyazaki, because it is the only one that has reached to equalize his genuine imagination; This does not make human beings, magicians do it. The hair of monkey, the difficulty to create water ripple, the fascinating origami figures and the invention of the giant skeleton - the largest construction ever made in stop-motion - (all, all is absolutely of flesh and blood!) are reflection of the experience of Knight and he must prepare for the storm of proposals coming for him considering that a talent of this magnitude will not go unnoticed.

Wabi-sabi is the author of the fluidity in textures of time and movement within the film, the art of seeing the beauty of the imperfect, and I don't mean that aesthetics is imperfect, on the contrary, it is fabulous, but Kubo does not become obsessed in capture detail to detail of Japanese culture, it strives to conceive a tremendously humane story coordinated with the physical reality of the characters and atmospheres ( better appreciated in 3D) captured by the meticulous stop-motion, serving of perfect vehicle for progress in the fleeting story.

Sincerity, the overcome of death, the value of parents, the acceptance of the maturity and, above all, naive love prevail in every eloquent teaching that the movie wishes to instill. "Kubo and The Two Strings" is the animated film of summer, of the year and of the studio; with so many strengths and so few errors, the debut of Knight ensures its place in something more valuable than a golden statuette, "Kubo" ensures one place in the mind of each child and in the heart of each adult, simply excellent.