Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
Kubo lives a quiet, normal life in a small shoreside village until a spirit from the past turns his life upside down by re-igniting an age-old vendetta. This causes all sorts of havoc as gods and monsters chase Kubo who, in order to survive, must locate a magical suit of armor once worn by his late father, a legendary Samurai warrior. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Travis Knight
Written By: Chris Butler, Shannon Tindle, Marc Haimes
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, George Takei, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro, Rooney Mara, Art Parkinson, Ken Takemoto, Minae Noji
Genres: Family/Kids, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Country: USA
Where to Stream
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Kubo and the Two Strings belongs to 31 collections
1. Stop Motion (public - 13 stars)
2. The Next Picture Show Podcast (public: moderated by trippingly - 2 stars)
3. 89th Academy Awards Nominees (public: moderated by SpeedlimiT - 2 stars)
4. No Romantic Subplot (public: moderated by Hkit - 1 star)
5. 74th Golden Globe Nominees - 2016 (public: moderated by BeeDub - 1 star)
6. 89th Academy Reminder List (2016) (public: moderated by cowfrappe - 1 star)
7. Laika (Production Studio) (public: moderated by amazedemon - 1 star)
8. Laika (public)
9. Available on Divicast (public: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)
10. Netflix USA (private: mpowell - 8 stars)
11. Top 3000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (private: fanfic - 5 stars)
12. Best by different standards (private: sesito71 - 5 stars)
13. Academy Award Nominees for Best Animated Feature (private: gcat - 2 stars)
14. 89th Academy Awards: Nominees (private: okayfrog - 2 stars)
15. Top 2000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (private: fanfic - 2 stars)
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| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 8 |  |
Matthew Parkinson (CineMarter) | 90 97% |
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Kubo and the Two Strings is the best Laika film and comes awfully close to being the best animated feature of the year. It's the total package: it runs your emotions through the gamut, is visually stunning at every turn, is thematically rich, and doesn't pander to any audience group. It's effective regardless of the age of the person who watches it. Kubo and the Two Strings is a delight. [Full Review]
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| 8 |  |
Paxton | 78 83% |
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After it finished and the credits began, as I sat quite impressed at the mixture of amazing visuals, touching family dynamics and enough action to satisfy even my wandering mind, the couple next to me said, "Matthew McConaughey! I knew I knew that voice."
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| 7 |  |
Leonardis | 92 72% |
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The only problem I have with Kubo and the Two Strings is that it's a little predictable. Other than that, this was a pretty awesome movie. The story is short, but still deeply engaging and presented with some of the most beautiful and talented stop-motion film-making I have seen. I hope to see more from Travis Knight. It's going to be overlooked, but it's totally worth watching for it's endearing characters and animation.
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| 6 |  |
bakcheia | 82 73% |
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I'm torn. The animation is unarguably some of the best I've seen and it's consistently breathtaking. You can easily forget this is stop-motion at any point in time, and it stakes a claim as to why analog animation is irreplaceable. However, the story really kind of fell flat for me. It apes Miyazaki, but sits on predictable twists and Disney-dead-parent-porn to drive the narrative forward, letting aesthetics take the forefront. At least it's told with a level of grace that's elusive anymore.
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| 6 |  |
Suture Self | 8 81% |
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Its story arch pigeonholes itself into a lazy fetch quest, but I'll be damned if a more dazzling animated film is released this year. The opener is jaw dropping, and time and time again you're left stunned at this or that sequence, each of which is meticulously crafted via a frame by frame process. Stop motion filmmaking is a joy to behold, because it's the purest distillation of cinema's greatest magic trick: the illusion of movement. KUBO ranks among stop motion's best. Heartfelt and lovely.
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| 5 |  |
Ytadel | 7 83% |
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A handsomely mounted, fun. atmospheric and emotional production with a backstory and mythology that it doles out at a measured, patient pace. I would call it a must watch for any fans of fantasy adventure cinema.
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| 4 |  |
KeyUtkan | 86 96% |
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Great visuals, one of the best story told and screen play. Good theme, construct and nice view on Japanese myth tale. Movie ınclude two type of animation techniques.. CQI and Stop-Motion.. Collobration of those two kinda great.. End of the movie and also plot twist of the movie are far more unique and different than other similar animation works by the way.. I Love it, insparational, beautiful and meaningfull.. Sometimes its harsh and sad but this is the reality's itself and still looks stunni
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| 4 |  |
axleblaze | 81 50% |
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Absolutely gorgeous movie with a confused, convoluted plot and a message that it doesn't even seem to care about but still tries to shove down your throat. Still, it's so gorgeous that you won't care
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| 4 |  |
hellboy76 | 82 95% |
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Amazingly beautiful and for such a familiar story it rings as refreshing and never dull. The voice acting is top notch as is the gorgeous stop motion.
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| 4 |  |
TheRealJ-Ro | 90 93% |
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As much as I love Deadpool for everything it is, I love Kubo and the Two Strings just as much for everything that IT is. This has all the elements to get me and executes like few others. Feels truly authentic to its setting. Kubo and the Two Strings is aesthetically beautiful, refuses to deaden its themes and events for its assumedly-younger audience, and tells a rich story in simple-but-smart ways, ensuring connection with virtually all of its viewers. I love this movie. My favorite of 2016.
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| 3 |  |
Luna6ix | 84 86% |
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A fantastic stop motion movie. Laika is doing good things with three of their four movies thus far getting great marks from me. This particular one does a good job creating its own world within a well realized version of feudal Japan. You just wait, give it a decade and Laika may become a household name, giving Pixar a run for their money.
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| 3 |  |
dunbar | 92 95% |
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If I was still a child I'd be awestruck. Thankfully this was so sublimely animated I still got to feel some of that magic.
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| 3 |  |
Obdurate | 95 97% |
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Rarely does a movie that I was this excited for live up to those expectations but this did. There are a couple jokes that might have worked if I was a kid, but most of the humour did. It's a visually stunning fantasy movie in both animation and atmosphere, but what's most impressive is how you're watching it and you realize it's a pretty profound and beautiful look at memories and stories, made better by the fact that it's a dark, melancholy film that is basically for kids. Brave film making.
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| 3 |  |
TangVampire | 98 85% |
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Beautiful, creative, charming, and I definitely cried. Please see it and support it. Laika's best, in my opinion
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| 3 |  |
natebarrios | 70 56% |
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The animation is, as expected, phenomenal. The narrative isn't. The Beetle character makes a joke every one or two lines, in what I assume is an effort to make an Olaf-type character for kids. Why? Don't. Stop. But yeah, the setpieces are astounding and reminded me why I paid to see this.
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| 3 |  |
JackRyan2014 | 80 89% |
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Look fantastic with a mixture of photo-real CGI and well done stop motion. Great music and a really good story that deals with some dark material. My main problem is with the celebrity voice-acting which ranged from poor to merely okay with the exception of Kubo himself who was good. The beetle character strongly reminded me of Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story series and felt a bit out of place in this story. It's not quite up there with Coraline but I can't wait to see whats next from Laika
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| 3 |  |
Filligan | 85 60% |
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This film has a heart as large as the talent involved in bringing it to life. This should end up on every parent's shelf for their kids for its gorgeous artwork alone. There are a few points where the story gets sloppy, particularly at the start of the second act, but overall the film is emotionally potent and daring enough to end without everything tying together ideally for our little protagonist. A very likely chance of being the best animated film of the year.
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| 3 | Ippei | 85 94% |
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Amazing animation, set pieces and a story which is very engaging. It is pitched as a kids film, but the material is quite heavy, and at times, very dark. It is a tad predictable, but the biggest issues this faces is when it tries to play to the kids and have some light-hearted/funny moments, which felt misplaced. At its core though, it's a spectacular work of art.
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| 3 |  |
AFlickering | 5 76% |
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a mother hits her head and will slowly, frighteningly succumb to dementia. dad's already gone. later, kubo is chased by demons into a crowd of adults, friends; it disturbs when they can do nothing to help him. it's a kids' movie about how nobody is immortal, not even mummy & daddy. your only options are despair, or to build that last great fortress against death: art. with its elegant, elemental metaphors, this frequently hushed, intimate, wondrous fairytale may cast laika as the western ghibli.
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| 3 | tuerda | 74 64% |
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The animation is absolutely mind-blowing, and may be the best I have ever seen, but the story and presentation are not in the same league.
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| 3 |  |
goremeat | 70 57% |
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Surprisingly accurate reflection of Japanese countryside vibe, combined with wildly stylistic art. It does lose poignance with all the clowning, but overall it captures the sense of loss and purpose on a heroic scale. Quite a striking animation style and well put together - just a little too nickelodeon for the kinds of themes it wants to carry.
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| 3 |  |
JLFM | 86 91% |
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Intermittent tears occur throughout the first half, but the ending may leave you in a sobbing puddle. Dario Marianelli's emotive score sparks the picture, the script dares you to believe in movie magic again, all the while, achingly lovely visuals - that may illicit tears from their beauty alone - envelope it all. "If you must blink, do it now," indeed.
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| 2 |  |
mattorama12 | 71 64% |
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There's a lot to like here, but somehow feels like the whole is less than the sum of its parts. Very imaginative and, while I'm not a fan of the jittery effect of stop-motion, the design itself was really gorgeous. But the story felt perfunctory and prevented me from being fully engaged.
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| 2 |  |
matGuy3 | 4 26% |
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Laika has taken stop-motion animation to the absolute: the visuals in this film hardly resemble stop-motion at all, they're so fluid and complex. Nearly every scene is packed with powerful details and stunning imagery...which is why it saddens me that such staggering artistic talent is wasted on such a mediocre plot. There are some good ideas in here, but the story and characters consistently failed to captivate me even while the animation left me speechless.
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| 2 | Silent | 100 91% |
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Kubo & The Two Strings both brings an interesting adventure tale to life, but also breathes a bittersweet message into a world of children's films that exist to entertain and not to teach or to instill values. Kubo and the Two Strings is not a film to put on to keep the kids busy whilst you cook dinner in a rush, it is one to be watched with them, learning alongside them, holding the youngest in your arms as this film delivers a deep, heartfelt & touching message in a gentle, understandable way.
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| 2 |  |
wetwillies | 80 37% |
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Viewed September 5, 2016. The opening passages of this, right up until the moment the two spirits appear, reminded me of a Mizoguchi film more than anything else. At its best, Kubo and the Two Strings exhibits a level of grace rarely seen in movies today. I'm thinking of moments like the gorgeous introduction of Hanzo, the origami samurai, which perfectly shows off both the quality of the animation and the level of sophisticated filmmaking on display.
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| 2 |  |
coffee | 77 66% |
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The animation is great bu the script is not that much.
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| 2 |  |
yoohoo | 85 82% |
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The animation is what gives this such a high rating. The stop motion was absolutely breathtaking and there were some incredibly surreal but beautiful scenes. The story wasn't up to par for me, based on what I had read (calling it the animated masterpiece we've earned after a slog of movies this summer). It was intriguing enough and I felt for Kubo, but parts felt disjointed and character development wasn't up there. Although to be fair I was in a very loud and obnoxiously distracting theater...
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| 2 |  |
SirStuckey | 90 94% |
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A beautifully crafted film with a wonderful story that isn't afraid to hit on some dark material. The only problem is that it has a few pacing issues. It starts slow and thoughtful but starting with the second act they have a few too marks they have to hit and they just smash them in there rapid fire. It's not enough to make me dislike the movie but it is a bit jarring. Luckily they return to the slower pace I was enjoying by the end.
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| 2 |  |
Kavu | 70 49% |
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Technically superb with many great scenes, but the story falls awfully flat, especially in the end.
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| 2 |  |
cagedwisdom | 100 90% |
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Fantastic, animation of the year for sure. Laika are a force to be reckoned with.
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| 2 |  |
zmoats | 89 82% |
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I have never seen a more beautiful animated film than this one. Both the actual construction of the sets and characters to the movements of the scenery are creative and wonderfully executed. The story was also a fulfilling meditation on loss and death.
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| 2 |  |
INDYATMN | 75 41% |
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There've been several children's films getting rave reviews in the past few years that fail to live up to the hype and this is one more. A stunning visual achievement w/ the kind of frightening ideas most children's stories are afraid to go near these days (the villain wants the hero's remaining eye), it's still overwhelmingly style over substance w/ nothing more than a very pretty quest film - one so-so adventure after the next - to look at. The ending's a bit unusual, but getting there's meh.
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| 2 |  |
emtilt | 58 39% |
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Yes, the animation is stunning, but the same level of care didn't seem to go into everything else. It's got some weird cultural appropriation going on, some bad casting, some jarring dialogue and cuts, and the narrative kinda devolves into generic-ness. Even the outro cinematic (both the animated part and the needless behind-the-scenes footage) and music are quite out of place and do not serve the tone or themes at all.
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| 2 |  |
Mentaculus | 79 70% |
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Every once in a while, there is a weird pubescent flourish, as if the filmmakers were embarrassed by the maturity of the myth they were telling and had to take it down a notch. It's a shame, because outside of those moments, there is so much to love: from the classical, rather Eleusinian tale aping the Persephone myth, to the frank and beautiful depiction of loss. To its eternal credit, Kubo (and I) would argue death and loss are not the same thing at all - a moral well worth the telling.
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| 1 | Exirel | 5 42% |
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It's a good movie for children. Maybe I'm just too old.
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| 1 |  |
buffratings | 92 88% |
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Original, unpredictable, yet entirely accessible, Kubo and the Two Strings is a beautifully-animated marvel.
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| 1 |  |
The Pirate | 87 86% |
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This movie will bring tears to your eyes. Any movie that tries to focus on the importance of stories usually follows a pretty predictable route, and while this movie does do that, it has enough originality to make up for its other cliches. The major flaw is it's attempts at comedy which waver between decent and flat out annoying (looking at you McConaughey), but the drama is extremely effective, the imagery amazing, and the music beautiful.
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| 1 |  |
Maaxwell | 60 40% |
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Even more so than previous Laika features, this deals with themes of loss and death in a commendably open and mature manner for a children's film. The story however is a jumbled, half-baked mess with too many thinly developed ideas and no cohesion or sense of purpose, and the spectacular animation sadly isn't enough to compensate for this.
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| 1 | PUNQ | 70 96% |
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Pretty much a timeless animation film. Not going to say it's going to be among my super favorites, but it's definitely wonderful storytelling and at times glittering animation. Didn't feel the comic elements was all that good. The sentimental portions was always what was the driving force. Nice to have a more serious animation film in a time when all the big cartoons are pure gag-reels on speed.
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| 1 |  |
KenMeisters | 83 90% |
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Beautifully stop-motioned (this is a word now!!!), with a lot of heart and humour. Surprisingly grown up material storywise, which works perfectly for the movie.
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| 1 |  |
Boxcars | 8 71% |
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Laika proves they've still got it with their most visually ambitious picture yet. While the story isn't the strongest element of the film, it still has enough emotional power to compensate for the narrative's weaker moments. And if the poignancy doesn't affect you, there's no way the gorgeous origami-inspired stop-motion and CG animation won't.
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| 1 | CStewart64 | 15 82% |
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W4E1P2S1V2M2A1R2. Amazing visually, great music, and touching, if a little haphazard at times.
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| 1 |  |
jamasiel | 92 88% |
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Probably the best, most touching animated feature I've seen in years, and that includes a group of very good ones (Zootopia, Inside Out). Possibly my favorite since Up.
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| 1 |  |
Groovy_Souls | 85 82% |
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Kubo was truly astounding. Definitely one of the most beautifully animated movies of the year, with lovable characters and an entirely endearing story. Some of the voice acting was a little strange all things considered, and parts of the story felt more out of place, yet it's stop-motion Legend of Zelda-like story is bound to enchant many.
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| 1 |  |
Monisit | 85 74% |
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Beautiful animation, and probably the best I've seen (I cried at the first act just based on the animation alone, seriously) I really liked all the characters, but it felt like your typical Hero's Journey, with a faulty end. Not many surprises, but it makes for a fun time that isn't afraid to tug the heartstrings.
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| 1 |  |
Ryan Lueders (ReelRyan) | 87 78% |
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I definitely wasn't Ku-bored. This movie had a lot of exciting scenes and really neat animation. In fact, I haven't loved animation so much since seeing the Nightmare Before Christmas for the first time. I thought the character Kubo was really interesting and his monkey and beetle companions were really funny together. The Twin Sister, bad guys were really scary and cool. I just really liked this movie. I loved how Kubo could manipulate paper and make fantastic creations from origami... [Full Review]
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| 1 |  |
SlrSoapbox | 90 92% |
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Breathtakingly beautiful animation, with a deep, poignant and unusual story. There is a lot of Miyazaki influence in this film, and it's very apparent that a lot of love was put into producing KATTS. It's not like any other Western animated film I've ever seen. It is unfortunate that most of the cast is white (McConaughey was absolutely pointless casting), but the quality of the film makes up for it.
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| 1 |  |
Trooth | 76 73% |
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The movie's one fine piece of eye candy. Great scenery, character designs, and action scenes. Not to mention great music! The only drawback is that the story is very start-and-stop. After every great scene of action or excitement, you get an overlong scene of people sitting around a campfire talking, or walking down a path and talking, and it really throws a wrench into the flow of an otherwise great piece of art.
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| 1 |  |
mandy | 7 74% |
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Beautiful animation that crosses the generations, It has a timeless and cross cultural feel to it.
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| 1 | Malcym | 5 32% |
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Dazzling animation - this is really quite beautiful throughout - married to an unengaging plot. A missed opportunity, although I did appreciate the underlying sadness.
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| 1 |  |
Alex Watkins | 4 70% |
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It's an alright little story, told in the most beautiful way possible. I'm glad we'll never have to worry about Laika going belly-up, because the world needs more stop-motion animation.
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| 1 |  |
PeaceAnarchy | 75 44% |
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The visual style is a highlight, even if the mouth movement was distracting to me. The rest is a good mix of action, humour and chosen one narrative. Nothing that rocks my boat, but perfectly enjoyable.
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| 1 |  |
msprague | 76 79% |
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Beautiful animation.
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| 1 |  |
chemical404 | 50 38% |
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No idea why I keep watching these Oscar nominated animations, year after year, when I never really cared for them.
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| 1 |  |
fenixdown | 81 79% |
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I love it! The animation is ridiculous and the fairy tale world feels like a good combination of traditional and modern.
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| 1 | dunetails | 75 64% |
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Worth it for the animation alone
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| 1 |  |
chemtrails | 80 90% |
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Looking good
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| 1 |  |
Kingjohnbbq | 87 55% |
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the visuals are stunning. The story had me drawn in. My issue with the movie is that all of these fantastic elements winded down into a tone deaf ending in my opinion. rather than being its own fantastical tale, it cornered itself with sappiness and became less than what it had set out to be.
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| 1 | xacviant | 77 44% |
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Kubo (Art Parkinson) lives with his traumatized mother (Charlize Theron) and makes his living telling stories with the help of his magical shamisen. But when the evil forces that drove him and his mother into exile appear, he must go on a magical quest to assemble his father's armor and fight them. A frustrating film, gorgeously animated, with superior voice acting (Matthew McConaughey as a beetle cannot be overlooked), but hampered by a messy script with a particularly unsatisfying resolution.
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| 1 |  |
d_r_e_s_ | 4 90% |
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It doesn't differ from it's dark storytelling to accomodate the young viewer. It gives us a beautiful and memorable story with impressive visuals. *Very Good
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| 1 |  |
AAAutin | 40 29% |
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(SUPER NINTEN-KUBO)
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| 1 |  |
Naypalm | 66 28% |
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Sexy visuals but a crap storyline. Basically a shit anime.
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| 1 |  |
guy piranha | 60 39% |
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Could you possibly waste more effort on mediocre storytelling? It's like morgan freeman reading fifty shades of grey.
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| 1 | damil | 65 54% |
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I think my expectations were a little too high for this one. The story never quite took off and I also didn't quite connect with Kubo and the other characters. It never totally got me, emotionally speaking. The art design and overall look of the film is beautiful. The animation is, of course, breathtaking - Laika never fails in this regard. Generally speaking, I wish I had connected with the film more, but it was still really nice and certainly not a bad movie for kids.
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| 1 | ericambler | 78 72% |
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A visually stunning movie with an attitude that can only be described as "casually supernatural," KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS leans toward the sober end of the fairytale spectrum. Worth seeing for its technical achievements alone, the film does not lack for variety or adventure, though its uniformly delicate, stage-whisper vocal performances don't exactly match the epic scale of its story. It's rather serious for a movie appealing to children--but sometimes children live in serious times.
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| 1 |  |
fuzzleshnops | 70 42% |
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Predictable throughout. Yet, the ending made me cry. :')
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| 1 |  |
SheWas | 47 42% |
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Would it hurt to mention just once that he plays a shamisen and not a guitar??
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| 1 | deanazhollis | 94 79% |
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For something so soft spoken and almost slow movement, it's eye candy colors and animation, joined together with a quest, to make a poetry of a cool breeze of delight. It captivated the very young with it's images and kept the adults in a dreamlike awe. It pulls you in so much that you just have to sit and continue to feel its resonance while the credits rolled on.
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| 1 |  |
MontyCircus | 60 68% |
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Pretty good. Some darkness to it which was appreciated for this older viewer. Enjoyable adventure film with plenty of action.
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| Average Percentile 61.98% from 1804 Ratings |  |