Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

Director: Travis Knight

A young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armour worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past.

‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ is an action adventure fantasy that follows the adventures of a young boy who goes on a dangerous quest. With its stunning animation I so badly wanted to like this film, but I have mixed feelings, and my final opinion strongly edges towards dislike.

When he was just a baby, Kubo’s eye was taken by his Grandfather and Aunts. Years after an accident, Kubo’s mother is still not well, and as a 12-year old boy Kubo supports his mother by doing magic in a nearby village. His mother warns him not to stay out after dark, or his Grandfather will find him.

Off course, Kubo does stay out after dark and his Grandfather does find him. Now, Kubo must go on a quest to find his father’s magical armour. I kinda enjoyed the movie until the quest started and Kubo was joined by a monkey and a beetle. The moment the quest started, along came the annoying, cliched Hollywood humour. So much time was wasted with silly, ‘humourist’ chit-chat – in typical Hollywood superhero style – intended to be funny. Well, it wasn’t and I became annoyed…and bored.

Is the film magical? Yes. Is it imaginative? Yes, definitely. And being and adventure with beautiful animation I was supposed to enjoy this, right? Yeah, well, I didn’t. Well, I didn’t not enjoy it; I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I was hoping to. There were several other issues also, but I rest my case.

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With ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ being a disappointment at the box office, I guess I’m not the only one who didn’t enjoy it all that much…

Would I watch it again? No.