Kubo and the Two Strings

Name: Kubo and the Two Strings
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Animation, Family
Released: August 19, 2016
Duration: 101 min
Rating: 84
Cast: Art Parkinson, Brenda Vaccaro, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Charlize Theron, George Takei

2016

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 38 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 542 Ratings

See All

8.1

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8.1	Your Score
8.1	User Score Universal acclaim based on 542 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Kubo And The Two Strings

Now Playing: Kubo And The Two Strings

Movie Details & Credits

Focus Features | Release Date: August 19, 2016 | PG

Starring: Art Parkinson, Brenda Vaccaro, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Charlize Theron, George Takei, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara

Summary: Clever, kindhearted Kubo ekes out a humble living, telling fantastical stories to the people of his seaside town. But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a mythical spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey andClever, kindhearted Kubo ekes out a humble living, telling fantastical stories to the people of his seaside town. But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a mythical spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey and Beetle and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen – a magical musical instrument – Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King and the evil twin Sisters, to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family and claim his heroic destiny.… Expand

Director: Travis Knight

Genre(s): Adventure, Fantasy, Animation, Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 101 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Jordan Farley

Jan 21, 2017

Visually astonishing and touchingly told, Kubo is utterly wonderful. Read full review

100

Michael O'Sullivan

Aug 18, 2016

"Kubo" is both extraordinarily original and extraordinarily complex. Read full review

Dominick Suzanne-Mayer

Aug 25, 2016

A simple story told well can still be effective if the emotional resonance underneath it comes through. In Kubo, it absolutely does, thanks to the uniformly excellent voice performances. Read full review

Ty Burr

Aug 18, 2016

The movie is genuinely creative, genuinely outside-the-box, and often genuinely scary; parents of toddlers and nightmare-prone children are herewith warned. Read full review

Sam Adams

Aug 14, 2016

It’s not a flawless movie, but there’s real magic in it, and that’s more important, and no less rare, than perfection. Read full review

Empire Jonathan Pile

Aug 14, 2016

It’s a beautifully animated tale (keep your eyes on the way Kubo’s hair moves) that balances story with comedy and moments of effective (if light) horror. Read full review

The Guardian Jordan Hoffman

Aug 12, 2016

Little kids will be bored, as there are only a few scenes with any action, and of those, only one, featuring an enormous skeleton with swords sticking out of its skull, has any oomph. Read full review

SEE ALL 38 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

TheShrike222

Jan 14, 2017

It seems that many of the best movies I've seen this year are ones that are quietly waiting to be discovered, not the mainstream fare. After watching Kubo, I sat stunned through the credits and spent two days analyzing every last detail of the picture. It was delicate, sublime, sad,It seems that many of the best movies I've seen this year are ones that are quietly waiting to be discovered, not the mainstream fare. After watching Kubo, I sat stunned through the credits and spent two days analyzing every last detail of the picture. It was delicate, sublime, sad, triumphant, exciting.... put in another 200 adjectives and that should cover it. It was also mind blowing to realize how much exacting work went into a stop-motion movie with quite a lot of action. I could watch this again forever. That's my favorite type of movie.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Eilidh2

Aug 20, 2016

Kubo is staggeringly beautiful both visually and aurally. Dario Marianelli's score is sublime. The stop-motion animation has so advanced that nothing previously done is comparable in quality.

The story is simple. The hero Kubo must acquire the arms to protect himself from the evil MoonKubo is staggeringly beautiful both visually and aurally. Dario Marianelli's score is sublime. The stop-motion animation has so advanced that nothing previously done is comparable in quality.

The story is simple. The hero Kubo must acquire the arms to protect himself from the evil Moon King, his grandfather. Along the way he is helped by Monkey a magical being Kubo's mother created from a talisman and Beetle, a giant man-beetle hybrid who suspects (he doesn't have a memory) that he must have been a warrior serving Kubo's father the greatest samurai.

The story is incredibly moving with great flashes of humor alleviating the mournful tone. Matthew McConaughey provides the comic relief as Beetle and, ultimately, a great poignancy. Charlize Theron is very forceful as the determined Monkey. The constant banter between the two is very amusing and gives the viewer the chance to catch their breath between stunning action sequences and the terrible sadness of events in the film.

As Kubo, Art Parkinson gives a performance that is haunting. It may only be a voice performance, but it is one of the best a child actor has ever given.

Rooney Mara playing both of Kubo's evil aunts is as creepy as the twins in The Shining. Ralph Fiennes was the only (slightly) disappointing performance.

When the audience discovers the significance of the "Two Strings" of the title, it may be hard to hear the rest of the dialogue for the audible sobbing in the theater!… Expand

2 of 16 users found this helpful214

VictorCruz

Aug 19, 2016

After a summer of disappointing sequels and blockbusters, we finally got an outstanding original story. Kubo and The Two Strings is the best animated film of the year and one of the best films of 2016. It has a compelling story, stunning visuals, remarkable animation, and great voice acting,After a summer of disappointing sequels and blockbusters, we finally got an outstanding original story. Kubo and The Two Strings is the best animated film of the year and one of the best films of 2016. It has a compelling story, stunning visuals, remarkable animation, and great voice acting, especially by Charlize Theron.… Expand

19 of 37 users found this helpful1918

BrianMcCritic

Nov 22, 2016

A breathtaking emotional journey involving family, honor, and the art of story telling. Laika has been doing great work for years, but with Kubo and the Two Strings they set a new bar. A

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

BrunoVn00

Aug 18, 2019

Fantastic animation with a not so fantastic story. Seriously, the animation work here is just impressive. The amount of effort put into animating every single thing onscreen really shows. This might be one of the most stunningly animated stop motion films I've ever seen. But obviously justFantastic animation with a not so fantastic story. Seriously, the animation work here is just impressive. The amount of effort put into animating every single thing onscreen really shows. This might be one of the most stunningly animated stop motion films I've ever seen. But obviously just because the animation is amazing, doesn't mean that it's an amazing film overall. The story is average.The twists are predictable and the movie tries to make it look like they're big reveals. There are no stakes because the characters seem to be able to do whatever the script says. There's too many plot conveniences and lazy writing that if it wasn't for the incredible animation, this would be just an average movie. Overall, good movie but nothing great.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Ohurra_Banwajee

Sep 8, 2016

This movie was nice. I loved it like a sibling whose health and well-being I have utmost concern about, and for whom I’d willingly overlook the need to run errands as a mild inconvenience that comes with siblinghood. For whom I’d loan a hundred dollars under the understanding that it IS aThis movie was nice. I loved it like a sibling whose health and well-being I have utmost concern about, and for whom I’d willingly overlook the need to run errands as a mild inconvenience that comes with siblinghood. For whom I’d loan a hundred dollars under the understanding that it IS a loan, then forget about it because that, too, comes with the territory. For whom I’d pick up from their home to drop off, wait for, and return home from the supermarket without asking for gas money (not to mention the unquantifiable compensation for time).

But I wanted to love it more like a child whose needs I feel obliged to meet without question; whose well-being is not just important, but necessary; whose bright future shouldn’t just be a concern, but assured. I wanted to love it more than I did, but I couldn’t. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good movie, but to me, it was one of those that was good enough to be better. It was ‘generalistic’ enough that it could fascinate younger audiences, it was deep enough that it could resonate with the more mature, and it was thought-provoking enough that it could appeal to the very cerebral. So why, in the end, wasn’t it even better than it was?

Kubo himself took centre stage early on, with wails that brought his spent mother to his side. The story goes on to keep him in the spotlight, and throws in a few sidekicks that are as varied, capable, and witty as a light-hearted movie of this nature is intended to be. However, despite the occasional flash back or real-time dialogue, it never gets beyond superficial explanations of anything, leaving you to answer your own questions about everything - if you even bothered to ask. In my opinion, character development could have been deeper, and though I liked the art style, I couldn’t help but wonder if this wasn’t one of those that would have received more critical acclaim if only the sidekicks and the effects alone were CG.

In the end, it’s a smooth ride at a casual pace with enjoyable music that could put the driver to sleep. Kubo and the Two Strings makes for a fun romp but not a must-see. It brings to an end a summer of non-blockbusters, causing me to postulate that depth is being traded for effects. It delivers an action animated movie with a nebulous storyline that makes me wonder why it wasn’t performed by real characters in the first place! The strumming of the guitar and the telling of the stories might have been a sight to behold if it were performed in person by Neel Sethi or the likes. But alas, it was nice, and in the absence of overwhelming choice, I’ll settle for nice.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

HealingToolbox1

Nov 21, 2016

Most original, inventive and deep movie I have seen in 2016. Hardly a derivative bone in its body. A boy learns how to resource and make use of his inner parents, a benefit which will stay with him for the rest of his life. A spiritual movie in the same sense as the 1978 Star Wars. TheMost original, inventive and deep movie I have seen in 2016. Hardly a derivative bone in its body. A boy learns how to resource and make use of his inner parents, a benefit which will stay with him for the rest of his life. A spiritual movie in the same sense as the 1978 Star Wars. The Force is used but not talked about much. Very unusual for adventure stories, the chief villain is not killed at the end. One of the themes is memory. At the end the villain is reformed by giving him new memories by an entire village working together. I'm a VFX and stop=motion nerd and even I cannot fathom this convergence of stop-motion and CGI animation. The facial animation rivals anything we have seen in 2016 from the major effects vendors. Several astonishing character flourishes and responses are attempted--and pulled off. Really remarkable for any animation let alone stop-motion. By far the strongest Laika movie yet, a wonderful convergence of script, voice case, animators and spirit.… Expand

1 of 19 users found this helpful118

SEE ALL 114 REVIEWS

29	#29 Best Movie of 2016
33	#33 Most Discussed Movie of 2016
54	#54 Most Shared Movie of 2016