Easily one of the prettiest movies to come along in a very long time, it was made up in Portland! Land of the siblings for Liz and I! I remember seeing the hype around this movie last year, never quite understanding what the movie was about, but knowing that people were talking about it.
I…still don’t quite know what this movie was about 🤷♂️ But, damn is it pretty, and it’s very, very sweet.
The Blurb:
Young Kubo’s (Art Parkinson) peaceful existence comes crashing down when he accidentally summons a vengeful spirit from the past. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) to unlock a secret legacy. Armed with a magical instrument, Kubo must battle the Moon King (Ralph Fiennes) and other gods and monsters to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known.
What worked:
The visuals. Standout. It deserves the buzz it got last year, including a pair of Oscar nominations (though, I don’t think it actually won…?). In fact, it deserves more buzz. What they captured up on screen is breathtaking at times. Not aaalllll the time, but there are some sequences, particularly a battle out on the sea, that truly spin your head around and make you ask ‘Wait, they stop-motioned this???’
Also, the creatures in this movie are faaannntttaasssstttiiiccccc. Genuinely scary, and innovative and different to the point where I found myself thinking about Miyazaki. Yes, it’s because I *just* watched him, but I don’t mean that they’re ripping him off. They’re not ripping anyone off that I’ve ever seen. The sister twins are terrifying, the skeleton monster is sooo fun, and the eyeball monster under the sea is one of the creepiest monsters in a kids movie I can remember in a long time.
Both Liz and I agreed that Charlize Theron is wonderful as the monkey, and we love the character of Beetle if not so much his execution all the time. And Kubo is plucky and heroic. The trio works. They’re very charming.
What Didn’t Work:
The story overall, unfortunately, was muddled. The magic system was very unclear, as was Kubo’s specific story arc. It was actually a wonderful example to me of why its so important to show not tell your main story points: we have to see how something works, not just be told it. We have to see why something is important in order for it to pay off later down the line. You can’t just throw in a line of dialogue and then lean on that line of dialogue for your entire third act.
What did Kubo need to learn? It’s there…kinda? Not clear. Not strong. And not compelling. And man…that really undercuts the movie. There are also so, soooo many things that are revealed that have no real explanation. It’s clear how they serve the story, but there’s no actual logic behind it.
In a nutshell, this sums up for me how the movie falls short: I can’t really tell you what the title means. We kind of get it, we have a point where it gets used, but in that moment, we as the audience are like “wait…what just happened?” And it’s left at that.
There are also several scenes in the movie with terrible pacing. Too quiet. Too much air between lines. The movie kind of grinds to a halt.
I also can’t write a review of this movie without mentioning that it stirred up quite a bit of controversy upon its release. It was a movie with Asian (specifically Japanese, I believe) characters–at least culturally–played by a bunch of white people. Yes, it’s animation, but that’s only one tiny, teeny step away from yellow face…and that’s just not good. If you’re making an entire movie with Japanese-American characters (they spoke english), cast Japanese actors.
In the end, this movie is beautiful, and super sweet. It’s about family, and bravery, and there is plenty in it to like. Kids will love it. I’d have loved it as a kid. But a classic, it is not. Which is a shame because of how legitimately amazing the animation is. I’ll say this: so much of my problems with it can be explained with inexperience. I don’t think this is a story told by someone(s) at the top of their game…which is to say: I look forward to more!
5 out of 10 – see it for the visuals