KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)
Release Date: November 22, 2016
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Video: 2.39:1 1080p Widescreen
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DVS Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish DTS 5.1
THE RATINGS
The Movie Itself - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Video Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Audio Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
Special Features - ★ ★ ★
Overall - ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
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THE FILM ITSELF Our Reviewer's Take
"If you must blink... do it now."
"If you must blink... do it now."
Reviewed by Gavin King
In a year of film that was largely overstuffed with junk cinema and rather uninteresting storylines, animated features have - surprisingly - been some of the highlights of 2016's year of movies. Early in the year, we got Disney Animation's incredibly hilarious and wonderfully entertaining Zootopia, a real charmer of an animated film that steps back from today's traditional animated tropes and takes a closer look at the more mature themes and subject matter that separates predator and prey. This summer hasn't disappointed either. We've gotten fun little animated adventures such as The Angry Birds Movie and Finding Dory, as well as some irresistible yet hard-hitting joys like The Secret Life of Pets. However, one film seemed to slip under the big charts of animated film goodness this year, and that film is Laika's brilliant Kubo and the Two Strings. Starring the voice talents of Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Rooney Mara, Ralph Fiennes, and George Takei. Brought to us by the creative team behind excellent films like Coraline and ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings is an exceptional film in every sense of the word. Whether raving about its phenomenal animation, briskly-paced storyline, or its uniquely fleshed-out characters, it's one of the best films I've seen all year so far and one that's sure to be looked back on for years to come.
One-eyed Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson) resides with his mother in a small cave atop a mountain in ancient Japan. He enjoys venturing down to the nearby village to entertain the fellow villagers with his unique stories featuring origami characters, particularly one being a mighty samurai by the name of Hanzo. One day, Kubo learns about the village's tradition of honoring their ancestors by placing paper bag lanterns in the nearby lake. When Kubo is praying to his long-lost father one night, he's angered that he doesn't get much of a response. His anger triggers the presence of his mother's sisters, which raid and attack Kubo's village. During the attack, his mother arrives to fend the two off, and sends Kubo (using her magic) on a journey to find his father's sacred armor; the sword: unbreakable, the breastplate: impenetrable, and the helmet: invulnerable. On his quest, he meets Monkey (voiced by Charlize Theron), Kubo's old wooden Snow Monkey charm, and Beetle (voiced by Matthew McConaughey), who claims have been a sidekick to Kubo's origami Hanzo.
Kubo is a film of lush characteristics. There's a noticeably darker, yet gleefully attractive, palette that's rightfully representative of studio intentions and one that fits the film's plotline and setting extraordinarily well. The storyline is beautifully fleshed-out onto the screen and never downgrades to unnaturally loud and/or ultimately too safe. It's a story that neither borrows heavily from various sources nor gloats itself saying "Oh, look at me! I'm such a standout! Woohoo!". It is, quite simply, the perfect example of how to do storytelling. It's gentle yet effective, subtle yet strong, and lovely yet dark. It's all balanced expertly in the perfect package of a lovingly family-friendly yet exceptionally mature script that knows its place and audience skillfully.
The film's performances are fantastic. Young Art Parkinson is remarkable as the adventurous Kubo. He fits his style and personality appreciably in a way that's charming and makes him a hero to truly root for. Charlize Theron's Monkey performance shouldn't be overlooked either. Her seriousness and fierceness that spike her character's tone fit the piece of the puzzle with hard-hitting power. Matthew McConaughey is, once again, the voice of spunky Beetle, and his voice performance is just as enjoyable. Even if he's ever-so-slightly overshadowed by Kubo's intensity as some viewers of the film may believe, he delivers a totally fun comic relief that prevents the film being just one big serious Zack Snyder-esque experience.
But if there's one big aspect of the film I'd be remiss if I just shied away, it would, without a single doubt, be the film's stop-motion animation. Wow. Wow. Wow. One cannot watch Kubo without thinking deeply about all of the painstaking hard work that must have went into create each single frame. What an achievement. In fact, the film's animation is so damned beautiful and appealing to the eye that, during my first viewing of the film, I was actually caught off guard by some of the movements of the animation passing for realistic. Every single character, landscape, body of water, glare of light, and big special effect has been rendered absolutely astonishingly from the digital cameras the filmmakers used to shoot each frame onto the big screen with truly amazing detail and nuance. So much care and effort went into molding and building each of the film's elements, and it undoubtedly shows on the final product. It's a major shame the film didn't do a whole lot better in the box office. It deserves so much more.
One-eyed Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson) resides with his mother in a small cave atop a mountain in ancient Japan. He enjoys venturing down to the nearby village to entertain the fellow villagers with his unique stories featuring origami characters, particularly one being a mighty samurai by the name of Hanzo. One day, Kubo learns about the village's tradition of honoring their ancestors by placing paper bag lanterns in the nearby lake. When Kubo is praying to his long-lost father one night, he's angered that he doesn't get much of a response. His anger triggers the presence of his mother's sisters, which raid and attack Kubo's village. During the attack, his mother arrives to fend the two off, and sends Kubo (using her magic) on a journey to find his father's sacred armor; the sword: unbreakable, the breastplate: impenetrable, and the helmet: invulnerable. On his quest, he meets Monkey (voiced by Charlize Theron), Kubo's old wooden Snow Monkey charm, and Beetle (voiced by Matthew McConaughey), who claims have been a sidekick to Kubo's origami Hanzo.Kubo is a film of lush characteristics. There's a noticeably darker, yet gleefully attractive, palette that's rightfully representative of studio intentions and one that fits the film's plotline and setting extraordinarily well. The storyline is beautifully fleshed-out onto the screen and never downgrades to unnaturally loud and/or ultimately too safe. It's a story that neither borrows heavily from various sources nor gloats itself saying "Oh, look at me! I'm such a standout! Woohoo!". It is, quite simply, the perfect example of how to do storytelling. It's gentle yet effective, subtle yet strong, and lovely yet dark. It's all balanced expertly in the perfect package of a lovingly family-friendly yet exceptionally mature script that knows its place and audience skillfully.
The film's performances are fantastic. Young Art Parkinson is remarkable as the adventurous Kubo. He fits his style and personality appreciably in a way that's charming and makes him a hero to truly root for. Charlize Theron's Monkey performance shouldn't be overlooked either. Her seriousness and fierceness that spike her character's tone fit the piece of the puzzle with hard-hitting power. Matthew McConaughey is, once again, the voice of spunky Beetle, and his voice performance is just as enjoyable. Even if he's ever-so-slightly overshadowed by Kubo's intensity as some viewers of the film may believe, he delivers a totally fun comic relief that prevents the film being just one big serious Zack Snyder-esque experience.But if there's one big aspect of the film I'd be remiss if I just shied away, it would, without a single doubt, be the film's stop-motion animation. Wow. Wow. Wow. One cannot watch Kubo without thinking deeply about all of the painstaking hard work that must have went into create each single frame. What an achievement. In fact, the film's animation is so damned beautiful and appealing to the eye that, during my first viewing of the film, I was actually caught off guard by some of the movements of the animation passing for realistic. Every single character, landscape, body of water, glare of light, and big special effect has been rendered absolutely astonishingly from the digital cameras the filmmakers used to shoot each frame onto the big screen with truly amazing detail and nuance. So much care and effort went into molding and building each of the film's elements, and it undoubtedly shows on the final product. It's a major shame the film didn't do a whole lot better in the box office. It deserves so much more.
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS Blu-ray - Video Quality
Kubo and the Two Strings's 1080p Blu-ray transfer is nothing short of visual perfection. The high-definition image is rife with all sorts of stop-motion animated excellence, whether soft fabrics or denser, harder textures. Colors are exceptionally presented. The orange hues of a leaf-made boat pop with stunning visual grandeur. Darker hues, such as the dimness of a lake when Kubo's mother's sisters arrive, are likewise excellently showcased onto the big screen. Details are also terrific. The lack of motion blur allows for certain details and facets to be remarkably more prominent. Beetle's metal-like suit reveals all sorts of scruffs that bring his armor to incredible life. Sandy terrain and crashes of waves offer up startlingly-crisp detailing and flawless precision. The encode is marvelously crisp and is not afraid to show off what its original brilliant source animation has in store for home theater projection systems everywhere. Black levels are magnificently deep and even. Noise is slightly present in extremely scant amount most viewers won't even care to notice. This is a sensational video presentation from Universal Studios and one that does justice to the source material's really special animation techniques.
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS Blu-ray - Audio Quality
Kubo and the Two Strings was released theatrically in Dolby Atmos, but is only received a 5.1 audio mix, encoded in lossless DTS-HD Master Audio, for its Blu-ray release. Still, the six speaker experience is prodigious. Early on in the film we get a storm sequence that's filled to the brim with excellently immersive sound effects wrapping the listener into the environment, with the sounds of waves crashing, thunder striking, and underwater ambience fully saturating the viewer into the climactic scene. It's a great example for what's soon to come from the track. Action scenes deliver with the crisp-precision effects of swords clanking and other big battle fight elements. They envelop positively around the surround channels to help better immerse the viewer into the chaos. The surround track also shows its presence with some lush ambient environmental effects. Whether the chatter of Kubo's small village or more powerful gusting winds near the 30-minute-mark, the track utilizes its atmospherics to wonderfully-immersive effect. Music is well-defined and nicely prioritized around the stage. Dialogue is crystal-clear and enjoys some smartly-placed panning effects when the characters move from side to side or such. Even without a Dolby Atmos track, this 5.1 release compliments the film's beautiful visuals very, very well.
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS Blu-ray - Special Features
• Japanese Inspiration takes a look at the Japanese history that inspired the film's dominant tone.
• Mythological Monsters looks upon the film's main monsters and how the filmmakers brought them to appealing life.
• Braving the Elements The Laika crew and team explain the ways they made challenging stop-motion elements, such as water, happen on the set.
• The Redemptive and the Healing Power of Music focuses mainly on Dario Marianelli's excellent score and the reasons why musical score is so important to Kubo and the Two Strings.
- Corners of the Earth is a piece that looks at Kubo's unique locations, landscapes, and structures that bring Kubo's inventive world to life.
- The Myth of Kubo is similar to Kubo's Journey. This supplement summarizes on the how Laika's latest film is such a marvelous technical achievement.
- Feature Commentary with Director / Producer Travis Knight Film director Travis Knight narrates this commentary, telling about the behind-the-scenes quips, locations, and themes of Kubo. This is a great commentary track that fans of the film like me are sure to enjoy.
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS Blu-ray - Overall Recommendation
12 Extra Screenshots for this review will be up later.
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