Kubo and the Two Strings
A stunning display of stop-motion animation, Kubo and the Two Strings combines dazzling animation with an emotional depth that I did not expect from the film. The movie is a dark fairy tale set in feudal Japan, about a boy named Kubo who goes on a quest to save his village from evil mystical spirits, accompanied by an overbearing monkey and an origami samurai beetle. The production value is ridiculous, with groundbreaking puppetry and stop-motion animation that would rival any work you’ve seen from Aardman or Tim Burton. But what I appreciate most about Kubo is that the story told is every bit as beautiful as the artwork — the characters are endearing, the plot has surprising twists, and breaks our expectations about how we measure the success of the hero’s journey.