Kubo and the Two Strings

A visually beautiful animated fairytale from Japanese culture. The story is fine, the bosses are quite cool, the samurai beetle is very funny, and overall it looks very nice. In the end, they surprise with a plot twist, but at the same time, it ends very sadly. But for its originality, I give it weaker four stars. 7/10. (17/01/2021)

I was expecting a very good show, and I was not disappointed despite the pacing being a bit slow, because the moment Kubo's wicked twin aunts appeared and the dark atmosphere reigned on the screen, I knew I was watching something exceptional. The narrative was quite respectable; I liked the various twists, although I figured out some of the surprises very quickly, like who the "troublesome samurai stag beetle" is, for example. I also liked the ending, which I found was quite unexpected and basically much better than if they had ended it the way children's stories usually end. The thing I probably most enjoyed, though, was the animation. I liked the style a lot, the ideas the anime's authors put into it and all the creatures, whether real or just made of paper, were literally thrilling. The action passages were dynamic and visually very good and I enjoyed the movie very much. I must also praise the nice end credits and especially the passage that showed us a little bit about how the movie was actually made. Kubo and the Two Strings (or "and the enchanted sword," as the Czech movie distributors called it, although the Sword Unbreakable does not really play an extremely prominent role in the end) is simply a very interesting and original fantasy movie that has a great atmosphere and is very moving. 8.5/10. (10/10/2016)

First of all, a beautiful looking animated film, far better that non few computer-generated ones; secondly, a rather unconventional story in a rather unconventional presentation. I was fascinated and very entertained by the melancholic mood, and the gradually unfolding story as well. It’s for adults rather than kids, but a fairytale nonetheless. Not just his two strings, all of Kubo is magical. (27/11/2022)

A family animation flick with only one really funny character and a story hastily put together in the manner of children's mythological tales. What can't be denied, besides the excellent voice acting, is the absolutely amazing animation, the impressive play with the environment and the flawless interaction between the characters in the middle part of the story, which is royally entertaining thanks to the irresistibly wisecracking Beetle. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see anything particularly original and the routine ending degrades an otherwise at least relaxing and visually inventive spectacle a notch lower in my eyes. 65% (27/02/2017)

Kubo and the Two Strings offers unorthodox animation, a fairly consistent and original story and quite a few quirky characters. It is definitely not a fairy tale for the youngest viewers, which is not a bad thing, I really liked the rather gloomy touch. In fact, the very idea of relatives lusting after a little boy's eye isn't exactly the best for children. Of the characters, I was most impressed by the wacky Monkey, the goofy Beetle and the duo of bloodthirsty aunts. I also liked the unconventional ending for a film of this genre. (17/02/2017)

Beautiful animation is the first asset of this film, but it is not the only one. There's also a beautiful poetic quality that permeates the entire film, along with humor that hits at just the right moment. On top of all that, there's a beautiful story about self-discovery and exploring the past, which has surprising moments. (22/11/2016)