Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Kubo and the Two Strings 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 26, 2016

Kubo and the Two Strings marks the directorial debut of Travis Knight, who previously worked with Laika Entertainment on Coraline, Pranorman, and The Boxtrolls. The film is a technical success to be sure but more than that a dramatic wonder and a film packed with relevant thematic purpose and depth. Its surface sees a meshing of complexity and fluidity and a blend of creativity and detail usually reserved for the best animated pictures. A Pixar-quality film in all but the label above the title, Kubo and the Two Strings is a wondrous experience that blends dazzling animation with incredible depth of story, resulting in one of the more unforgettable films of its kind to come along in some years.

Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson) is a boy on the verge of adulthood who has lived his life with one eye. He and his mother (voiced by Charlize Theron) share a cave outside of town. His father is deceased. He entertains local townsfolk with music and magic and has been warned not to stay outside after dark, lest his sisters stalk him to take his remaining eye. One evening, staying out late in hopes of communicating with his departed father, he stays out too long and is chased. His mother rescues him and magically whisks him away with instructions to find his father's magical armor. He's joined on his quest by new friends, Monkey (also voiced by Theron) and Beetle (voiced by Matthew McConaughey), who aid him in his quest and are closer to him than he knows.

Kubo walks that very fine, and rarely traversed, line between accessible children's fare and dramatically dark and perilous adult-oriented Action and Adventure film. The movie can be as bleak as it can be hopeful, as dark as it can be bright. It begins with a baby Kubo, washed ashore with his mother after barely surviving a harrowing storm at sea. The baby's face is partially wrapped in a bloody bandage, obviously the victim of some trauma to its eye. The film explores dark themes through Kubo's maturation to adulthood on his quest, but at the same time it builds a story of hope and heart, honest and soulful characterization, and detailed action that's ornate and complex yet not too scary for kids who are likely in it more for the raw materials than the substance below. The film finds that middle ground effortlessly and fully throughout, saying quite a bit about life and its adventures while building around blossoming cultural icons and identities as well as more universal concepts of life and what it means to both live and understand it.

Kubo and the Two Strings is a beautiful film, but its beauty extends well beyond its core and to its superficial support elements. Superficialities define much of the film. The attention to detail is astonishing. The movie is about as fluid as is possible for a picture of this type, and the dedication to craft and precision is obvious from the outset. So much care went into the movie that a typical day of shooting consisted of capturing less than ten frames. That's not ten shots, scenes, or sequences...frames. At the average of 24 frames per second, one can only imagine the intensive labor of love to not only shoot it, but to craft everything that went into each frame to define characters, environments, and even finely hone all of the detailed support pieces that have been meticulously researched, crafted, and conformed to fit in the movie's stylistic needs. Even as the story soars, the superficialities are most spectacular; the film is worth multiple watches if only to fully absorb story in one and style in another.

Kubo and the Two Strings 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kubo's Blu-ray 3D presentation doesn't really dazzle. It's not a disappointment, but the end product yields little more than a very simple 3D image that adds some basic depth and minor shaping to the picture but never does anything truly spellbinding with the material. Environmental stretch is commendable. Distances are easily perceived both near and far, whether larger expanses of land or smaller spaces between characters. The image doesn't get into the most intimate of spaces, though, failing to offer a very pronounced sense of small distance, say the spaces between Kubo's hair and face. Still, the added layer of dimension adds a nice quality to the image. Characters enjoy a little more tangible shape here than they do in the 2D-only version (also included with 3D purchase). There's not a lot of extra-screen content. Even in battles -- with the big skeleton partway through the movie or the final showdown at the climax -- the 3D presentation doesn't produce any flinch-worthy or eye-popping extra-screen dazzle. The image's basic attributes of color and detail hold up well enough. It's a shade or two darker here than in 2D, and very fine detail may not be as tangibly complex (Beetle's armor being a good example). It's a decent presentation, but not one that's going to really elicit a lot of excitement for the format's capabilities.

Kubo and the Two Strings 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kubo and the Two Strings features a rich, precise, big, and nuanced DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. In the era of added channels, Kubo demonstrates the power of 5+1 in creating an engaging and seamlessly enveloping listen. The track proves its worth right out of the gate in a scene featuring heavy crashing ocean waves, booming thunder, driving rain, a magical burst that parts the waters, essentially a symphony of sonic aggression that surrounds the viewer and spills into the stage with precision clarity and depth along the entire range. Big bass and aggressive action scenes are commonplace; the track is certainly not shy about letting loose and creating a plethora of highlight reel action moments that make perfectly balanced use of every speaker in the configuration and, again even lacking the added channels of the highest end tracks, shows no gaps in coverage. Movement is very fluid in more aggressive and calmer scenes alike. The track is expert at maneuvering sounds to match the action, again whether heavy action or lighter background ambience. Dialogue is clear and focused with consistent prioritization and clarity.

Kubo and the Two Strings 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Kubo and the Two Strings contains a six-part making-of, two featurettes, and an audio commentary track. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase. All extras are available on both the 2D and 3D discs, but play in 2D on the 3D disc.

• Kubo's Journey (1080p): A six-part feature.
• Introduction by Director/Producer Travis Knight (0:56): Knight touches on the challenges inherent to making the film and the quality picture that resulted.
• Japanese Inspiration (6:04): A discussion of idea origins, influences of Japanese culture, research for the project, a few character specifics and design details, the role of origami in the movie, prop and set construction, and core story elements.
• Mythological Monsters (9:25): A closer look at three of the movie's most impressive -- and dangerous -- creatures. It focuses primarily on the build and animation process.
• Braving the Elements (4:35): A discussion of the challenges of crafting a stop-motion film on and under water.
• The Redemptive and Healing Power of Music (5:55): A discussion of music's importance to the film, the merging of traditional Japanese and modern Western score elements, additional influences, and more.
• Epilogue by Director/Producer Travis Knight (2:11): Knight recaps the movie's themes and qualities.
• Corners of the Earth (1080p, 3:12): A quick look at the movie's adventure/"road trip" style, the diverse and large number of locations necessary to make it, and the people and work, including some digital support, required to bring it all together.
• The Myth of Kubo (1080p, 2:33): A closer look at the deeper themes beyond the adventure.
• Audio Commentary: Director/Producer Travis Knight offers an insightful journey through the film, including story basics, broader scope themes, imagery, influences, historic detailing, animation, film structure and technique, and plenty more. This is a very good track, well spoken, and incredibly insightful. A must-listen.

Kubo and the Two Strings 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kubo and the Two Strings walks that very fine line between accessible children's entertainment and deep, dark adult drama extraordinarily well. Extremely well made, thoughtful, entertaining, well paced, and nicely vocally performed, it's practically a Pixar quality film in every way but the name in front of it. Universal's Blu-ray 3D release doesn't really excite by way of its extra dimension. It's just as good a watch in 2D (which is also included in this set). Audio and supplements are fine. It's not the worst idea to splurge a little for the option of enjoying the film in 3D, but repeat watches are probably going to favor the 2D presentation.