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Kubo and The Two Strings (PG.)
Directed by Travis Knight.
Featuring Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara and George Takei. 102 mins.
Anyone who goes into animation is surely not someone predisposed to making things easy for themselves. Even with computers it is protracted and frustrating work. You'd need to be some kind of obsessive to commit yourself to it. (Perhaps this why animators - going back to the old days of Walt Disney right up to the recent Sausage Party controversy where animators were forced to work unpaid overtime – always seem to get treated badly. Everybody regards them with the kind of contempt reserved for nerds and trainspotters.) That goes double for anyone involved in the painstaking process of stop motion animation, and double and then some for anyone working for stop motion specialists Laika who seem to bend over backwards to make life difficult.
Their latest is set in ancient Japan and is a mythic tale of a boy and his magic guitar on a quest with a monkey and beetle samurai to find a suit of armour to protect him from the Moon King: it is a beautifully animated piece with strong characterisations full of humour and drama, but it doesn't lend itself to a catchy synopsis and its appeal can't be easily conveyed in a trailer. Usually in animation, everything is done to make young audiences feel comfortable and engaged, but Kubo doesn't feel inclined to hold a child's hand. It looks harder and more abrasive. It is lots of fun and lighter in tone than previous Laika productions (Coraline, ParaNorman) but there is still something quite serious and sombre about it. Like Ghibli animations, it is one of those films that parents want their children to watch; and on the evidence of my Sunday morning experience kids seem to respond to it. Getting them into the cinema in the first place may be a challenge though.
Generally animation seems to be working at a much higher standard than the rest of the film industry but in the last year or two it has been possible to see signs of stagnation. All these impeccably produced computer generated animations are good, but they are not special anymore. Kubo and the Two Strings reminds you of how exceptional animation can be.
Kubo and The Two Strings (PG.)
Directed by Travis Knight.
Featuring Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara and George Takei. 102 mins.
Anyone who goes into animation is surely not someone predisposed to making things easy for themselves. Even with computers it is protracted and frustrating work. You'd need to be some kind of obsessive to commit yourself to it. (Perhaps this why animators - going back to the old days of Walt Disney right up to the recent Sausage Party controversy where animators were forced to work unpaid overtime – always seem to get treated badly. Everybody regards them with the kind of contempt reserved for nerds and trainspotters.) That goes double for anyone involved in the painstaking process of stop motion animation, and double and then some for anyone working for stop motion specialists Laika who seem to bend over backwards to make life difficult.
Their latest is set in ancient Japan and is a mythic tale of a boy and his magic guitar on a quest with a monkey and beetle samurai to find a suit of armour to protect him from the Moon King: it is a beautifully animated piece with strong characterisations full of humour and drama, but it doesn't lend itself to a catchy synopsis and its appeal can't be easily conveyed in a trailer. Usually in animation, everything is done to make young audiences feel comfortable and engaged, but Kubo doesn't feel inclined to hold a child's hand. It looks harder and more abrasive. It is lots of fun and lighter in tone than previous Laika productions (Coraline, ParaNorman) but there is still something quite serious and sombre about it. Like Ghibli animations, it is one of those films that parents want their children to watch; and on the evidence of my Sunday morning experience kids seem to respond to it. Getting them into the cinema in the first place may be a challenge though.
Generally animation seems to be working at a much higher standard than the rest of the film industry but in the last year or two it has been possible to see signs of stagnation. All these impeccably produced computer generated animations are good, but they are not special anymore. Kubo and the Two Strings reminds you of how exceptional animation can be.
