One of my closest friends told me this movie is her favorite, so I decided to turn to my best friend, Netflix, and watch it.
Kubo is set in feudal Japan, and it starts with a woman who fights to save her baby from her family’s magic and ends up building a life with her one eyed son in a small village.
Many years later, the one eyed baby, now a 12 year old boy named Kubo who struggles to look after his sick mother and himself, while growing more powerful in his own magic.
He manipulates papers with his shamisen playing, and makes money out of story telling with his magic. He always tells the stories of his father, Hanzo, that his mother always speaks of. However, Kubo never finishes his stories and always runs back home before dawn.
It’s a rule by his mother that he always comes back before dark, because her father and sisters would try to find Kubo and take him away from her if he exposed himself under the night sky.
One day, Kubo hears about people speaking to their deceased loved ones, and sets off to speak to his father. While waiting for his father to respond to his prayer, Kubo realizes that when everyone else gets a reply, he isn’t about to.
Upset, Kubo forgets to go home at the sunset and is found by his mother’s sisters.
When they’re about to take his only eye, his mother comes to his rescue and sends him away with her magic, telling him to find Hanzo’s armor.
Kubo, having been sent off somewhere far and safe, wakes up to a talking monkey who claims to be the small monkey charm Kubo always carries around. As it turns out, the monkey is brought to life by his mother to protect him.
They then start their journey to find Hanzo’s armor. Then a Beetle samurai, an apprentice of Hanzo’s, finds them and joins their quest.
Kubo’s character reminds me a lot of Harry Potter, for some reason, with Monkey being the Hermione and Beetle the Ron in the story. It probably doesn’t help the case that Ralph Fiennes voices Kubo’s evil grandfather. That is legit Voldemort right there.
The movie got me confused in so many ways, and I got a lot of unanswered questions. I wish I got footnotes or just some sparks notes during the movie.
However, the visual is stunning. The characters are engaging. And the story is something everyone can fall in love with and appreciate.
Laika did well with this one, and I’m thoroughly impressed.
Kubo and the Two Strings got a 7/10 from me. It’s a fun movie, good for family, and got good lessons for everyone.
I’m glad I saw it. Still a bit confused here and there, but I’m glad I invested some time in watching this.
Would absolutely recommend this movie to my friends. Go see it if you haven’t, Netflix is just the best!
OpinionHuis 