Leave it to Laika to remind you that quality animation is not solely in the pocket of Big Mouse. After their amazing interpretation of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, their homage to classic horror and Goonies-esque 80’s adventure films with ParaNorman, and a wild urban fairy tale with The Box Trolls, brings us a new treat in the form of a Japanese folk tale in Kubo and the Two Strings. If you want to avoid any of the spoilers that may follow this and just want a straight up opinion, I’ll just say what I told my friend after the movie: “If more movies were like that, I’d actually go to the movies more often.” It’s a story that is tight, where everything is established and foreshadowed, the characters are well acted and given well rounded three dimensional personalities, the animation is gorgeous and the cinematography is artistic. In short, this film should be on your Must See list even if your not a normal fan of animation. It’s not just a great animated movie, it’s a great movie in general.
Spoilers to follow beyond the break.
Vrykerion 