Kubo and the Two Strings

Kubo and the Two Strings is a 2016 American stop-motion animated action fantasy film produced by Laika. It is directed by Travis Knight (in his feature directorial debut) with a screenplay by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler from a story by Shannon Tindle and Marc Haimes, and it stars the voice roles of Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Ralph Fiennes, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro, Rooney Mara, and Matthew McConaughey. Set in feudal Japan, the film revolves around Kubo, a young boy who wields a magical (a Japanese stringed instrument) and whose left eye was stolen during infancy. Accompanied by an anthropomorphic snow monkey and beetle, he must embark on a quest to defeat his mother's evil twin Sisters and his power-hungry grandfather, the Moon King, who is responsible for stealing his left eye. Laika's production designer Shannon Tindle pitched the fantasy story stop-motion animated film based on samurais to Knight. By December 2014, Laika announced that Kubo and the Two Strings would be released in August 2016, with Knight to direct and produce the project, as well as the voice casting announcement. He was enthusiastic about the project, owing partly to his affinity towards both the "epic fantasy" genre as well as Japanese culture in general, despite the studio never having ventured into the genre before. The stop-motion animation were inspired by Japanese media such as ink wash painting and origami among others. Assistance came from 3D printing firm Stratasys who allowed Laika to use their newest technologies in exchange for feedback on them. According to Knight, he mentioned that the story for the film was partly inspired by works of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. Dario Marianelli, who composed the music for Laika's one prior film, returned to compose the film's musical score for its second. Kubo and the Two Strings premiered at Melbourne International Film Festival on August 13, 2016 and was released by Focus Features in the United States on August 19. The film received critical acclaim for its craftsmanship, musical score, and story, but received criticism for its perceived whitewashing casting choice, and it performed poorly at the box office, grossing $77 million worldwide against a $60 million budget.