I
debated for quite a while before seeing this movie. From the first trailer I saw, it looked
absolutely stunning (it’s made by Laika Entertainment, who also did Coraline,) but it also showed me that
the wonderfully-animated Japanese characters on the screen were voiced by the
likes of Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes, and Rooney Mara –
to be fair, George Takei and Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa are also in it, but they play
easily the two least-prominent members of the main cast. While I won’t get into all of that right now,
there may unfortunately be a Dear Hollywood Whitewashers post in this film’s
future. Long story short, I couldn’t
decide whether or not it was a film I ought to give my dollars to. Well, here we are, so – for good or bad – you
can see what I decided.
Kubo is
a young storyteller living in a cave with his mother. Everyday, he walks to the nearby village and
earns their supper spinning tales with his natural showmanship and his
shamisen, a musical instrument that channels his magical abilities to make
origami come to life and act out his stories.
Kubo is in fact that grandson of the Moon King, a greedy god who stole
one of Kubo’s eyes when the boy was a baby and still wants to take the other
one. Kubo and his mother have stayed
safe by keeping out of the moonlight, but when Kubo misses curfew one night,
the Moon King and Kubo’s evil aunts catch his scent. Separated from his mother but remembering the
stories she taught him, Kubo goes on a quest to find a valuable set of armor,
the only thing that can protect him now.
Along the way, he is joined by a monkey (a wooden talisman brought to
life) and a samurai stricken by a curse that stole his memories and turned him
into a beetle.
It looks
incredible. My, oh my, just jaw-drop gorgeous. Kubo’s magic is brilliantly animated, all the
characters look great, and the landscapes are fantastic. And what’s more, all that stop-motion beauty
has an excellent story to go with it.
Although many of the story beats follow decently-well-worn paths, the
way they’re rendered here is very effective.
The ups and downs of the relationships between Kubo, Monkey, and Beetle
are a highlight of a film that already has a lot going for it, and even if
certain emotional moments are expected, they still hit the right notes.
There
are two themes I really want to mention.
The first is grief; despite the excitement, adventure, and magic, this
is also a pretty heavy film. Kubo still
feels the loss of the father he’s never known – Kubo lost his dad when he
(Kubo) was a baby, also at the hands of the Moon King. And though he’s lived all this time with his
mother, he feels like he’s been losing her for years. Whether it’s depression at the loss of Kubo’s
father, a reaction to leaving the Moon King’s realm and living in the mortal
world, or some sort of spell the Moon King or her sisters have put on her,
she’s been receding from herself, all but imprisoned in her own body and only
briefly able to come fully to life. As
Kubo carries out the quest based on his mother’s stories based on his father’s
deeds, he’s not just going on a hero’s journey.
He’s confronting his history.
The
second theme deals with Kubo’s role as a storyteller. The very first line of the film, and Kubo’s
repeated call throughout, is, “If you must blink, do it now.” It’s how he opens all his stories, with an
entreaty to the audience not to let their attention waver for an instant. The idea is that the hero is sustained through the audience’s investment and
needs them to carry the day – if they lose their focus, they could change the
outcome. I love that idea, the thought
that readers/listeners/viewers affect the stories they consume. Writing it out, it sounds a bit, “Clap if you
believe in fairies,” but in execution, it’s superb.
Warnings
Scary
moments for kids, some violence, and heavy themes.
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