Kubo and the Two Strings
Kubo and the Two Strings is a 2016 American stop-motion animated action fantasy film directed by Travis Knight (in his feature directorial debut) and produced by animation studio Laika. Written by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler, it stars the voice roles of Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Ralph Fiennes, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro, Rooney Mara, and Matthew McConaughey. The film revolves around Kubo, a young boy who wields a magical shamisen (a Japanese stringed instrument) and whose left eye was stolen during infancy. Accompanied by an anthropomorphic snow monkey and beetle, he must embark on a quest to defeat his mother's evil twin Sisters and his power-hungry grandfather, the Moon King, who is responsible for stealing his left eye. Laika's production designer Shannon Tindle pitched the fantasy story stop-motion animated film based on samurais to Knight. By December 2014, Laika announced that Kubo and the Two Strings would be released in August 2016, with Knight to direct and produce the project, as well as the voice casting announcement. He was enthusiastic about the project by owing partly his affinity towards both the "epic fantasy" genre as well as Japanese culture in general, despite the studio never ventured into the genre before. The stop-motion animation were inspired by Japanese media such as ink wash painting and origami among others. Assistance came from 3D printing firm Stratasys who allowed Laika to use their newest technologies in exchange for feedback on them. According to Knight, he mentioned that the story for the film was partly inspired by works of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. Dario Marianelli, who composed the music for Laika's one prior film, returned to compose the film's musical score for its second. Kubo and the Two Strings premiered at Melbourne International Film Festival on August 13, 2016 and was released by Focus Features in the United States on August 19. The film received critical acclaim for its craftsmanship, musical score and story, but was a box-office disappointment, grossing $77 million worldwide against a $60 million budget. It received criticism for its perceived whitewashing casting choice. The film won the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film, and was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Visual Effects, becoming the second stop-motion animated film ever to be nominated in the latter category following 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the first Laika film to be nominated for both. (Wikipedia).
