(SPOILER WARNING!!! This article does contain spoilers, if you haven’t seen the movie, just see the first paragraph to be informed without spoilers!!!)

Kubo and the Two Strings had everything you need, a great story, great animation for a stop motion film, funny comedy, and emotion; when it’s put all together, you get a work of art!!!

Rating: 5 Stars

Very briefly I can talk about stop motion animated movies. I’m not a fan, but I respect the art and work put into these films. Some of the movies, like recently, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls had cool stories, but the animation can give you a headache. In my opinion, the best stop motion movie has to be A Nightmare Before Christmas. As a kid, I really enjoyed watching this movie and how iconic it has become. It had stop motion design, but with a great story and Tim Burton’s imagination, it became an instant hit. No movie has even come close to that film, until now.

What I Like: Let’s start with the animation. For a stop motion film, it was superb. When I saw it on the trailers, I didn’t even realize that it was a stop motion film. Seeing quality of the art and animation was definitely great. I was astonished at how the water looked so real. Given the fact that each single scene was filmed frame by frame, it raises the standard for all stop motion films. It was awesome to see how they created these characters and monsters. For the monsters, I loved how creepily they were introduced, and you know you were in for some epic battles. The story was awesome as well. About a boy named Kubo, voiced by Art Parkinson, who has the power to make paper go alive to tell a story with the beat of his three string guitar. I loved the opening scene of seeing him telling the story using origami characters which really was a spectacle to enjoy. He didn’t know how powerful he really was until the evil Raiden the Moon King, voiced by Ralph Fiennes, found him and made Kubo have no choice but to embark on a great adventure and learn about his family. The theme of the story was his family, and the fact that the villain was his grandfather really ups the ante of this story’s emotion and drama. I really enjoyed seeing Kubo’s relationship with his mother, Sariatu voiced by Charlize Theron, where Kubo learns his stories, but can never have an ending because he doesn’t know how it ends. After his great adventure where he really learns about his family and what they stand for, where he finds his true moral and value, and actually created an ending to his story. I loved the fact that instead of killing his grandfather, he spared him by altering his mind from evil into a regular person with his family’s values. Matthew McConaughey voiced the character of Beetle whom Kubo find during his adventure. What I loved about his character is that he provides the comic relief of the movie which was funny, and had me laughing. I loved the fact that eventually it really was his father, Hanzo, who was altered into a beetle, and had his memory altered. His only memories were his artifacts where he believed he was someone’s apprentice. When the story all comes together, it really was a great work of art that kept me engaged and awed. I loved the quote, “If you must blink, do it now,” telling you that you will see something amazing, and this movie delivered.

The So So: I can get nitpicky and tell you that it was predictable, but I didn’t care. The way this film was executed, you didn’t have to worry that his mom was reincarnated to a monkey, or the strings from his family he collects will make his magic guitar more powerful, or the fact that his father was still alive. The movie made you forget the predictability and just enjoy the art and story it portrays.

What I Didn’t Like: There really was nothing to hate about this film.

Overall: Not only is this the best stop motion animated film since The Nightmare Before Christmas, but this is by far the best movie this year. It has everything you need to enjoy this artful film. Best of all, it is an animated film for all people to enjoy, and watch this amazing spectacle together. That has a making for a 5 star rating from me to make this one of the best of the year!!!

Rating: 5 Stars