Review of Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) by Skeptic303 — 03 Oct 2016

A grueling six months after the amazing mid-February movie The Witch, there is finally another amazing movie that absolutely deserves the Academy Award for best animated feature: Kubo and the Two Strings.

This third film from Laika studios covers themes of loss and family better than many films I can think of. It has a great story with well developed characters, and it a textbook example on how to make a great hero's journey and a great kids film.

To me, this actually puts The Jungle Book (2016) to shame. Even if The Jungle Book appears to be a hero's journey like Kubo, quite a few moments ruined it for me. Kubo avoids that problem entirely by keeping the tone. Kubo also attains the award for scariest kids film of 2016 with menacing villains and intimidating situations. Again, Kubo keeps its tone and throws in a few laughs along the way.

2016 may not be over yet, and there may be films like Moana that will definitely compete against this film in the same category, but as of now, Kubo is (narrowly) the best 2016 has offered. It will receive a seal of approval and a perfect score from me.