My daughter and I saw Kubo and the Two Strings last week. It was incredible.
A bold declaration I know, but this movie is gorgeous. Its visually beautiful, layered with an intricate homage to ancient Japan. It features an epic story. There’s a little boy called Kubo. There’s a monkey and a bug. There is animated origami that made us laugh then blew our minds. Postmodern! Animation within animation. I like it.
There is much to cheer the jaded mother sick of swatting away the sea of pink and princesses that society surrounds her daughters with. No princesses. Pink, but only as one of a rainbow of beautiful colour options. Strength in all – male and female.
Also, Kubo takes care of his mother. The characters have deep compassion. Death is not ignored and characters honour their departed ancestors as part of everyday life. Forgiveness is considered as an option against revenge. These and other refreshing themes are woven throughout the story.
Its so good. Prepare to well up at an animation …
Its not for the under 8s though. Its rated PGR for a reason. This is a quest movie and there are epic battles to be had, freaky supernatural bad characters out to get the good ones (Laika also made Coraline), people dying, and edge of your seat suspense. The opening scene is beautiful but very full on and will scare younger children.
Hear it straight from an 8 year old’s mouth:
This is one of the best movies of 2016. Deserves an armload of awards. I will applaud from afar when it does.
Trailer:
And this clip gives some insight into the depth of talent who poured their hearts into this US$60 million movie. Including Kiwi animator Antony Elworthy. Yay!
Looking for more kids movie inspiration? Check out my thoughts on Finding Dory or The Angry Birds Movie. Liz xx
Liz Donnelly 
It was such an incredible movie. I’m Japanese, and went to it kicking and screaming because I was certain it would be filled with errors and misrepresentations. I came out crying unstoppably, it was so good. There are a few flaws, and it’s not perfect. But it is beautiful and full of heart. It’s not about a “great boy hero” fulfilling his own quest for glory or destiny or whatever—it feels a lot more like the core of it is relationships and the acceptance of an imperfect but beautiful world and its impermanent people. Definitely great viewing.
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You are so right @dropbear123. Its the best movie I’ve seen all year. The forgiveness theme in the story had me in tears. Its so beautifully crafted. I looked at the end credits and wondered where all the Japanese names were, so did some reading about that too. Liz 🙂
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