Ben, a young Irish boy, and his little sister Saoirse, a girl who can turn into a seal, go on an adventure to free the fairies and save the spirit world.
Director:
Tomm Moore
Stars:
David Rawle,
Brendan Gleeson,
Lisa Hannigan
A young boy in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids is beckoned to adventure when a celebrated master illuminator arrives with an ancient book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers.
When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her.
Directors:
Tim Burton,
Mike Johnson
Stars:
Johnny Depp,
Helena Bonham Carter,
Emily Watson
An ordinary LEGO construction worker, thought to be the prophesied as "special", is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the LEGO universe into eternal stasis.
Kubo lives a quiet, normal life in a small shoreside village until a spirit from the past turns his life upside down by re-igniting an age-old vendetta. This causes all sorts of havoc as gods and monsters chase Kubo who, in order to survive, must locate a magical suit of armor once worn by his late father, a legendary Samurai warrior.
So far the only animated film of Matthew McConaughey's to not have any follow-ups. See more »
Goofs
Kubo is told in his dream to "follow the setting sun" in order to find the helmet. He immediately wakes up and leads his group into the rising sun. Then the shadows indicate light is behind them, then in front again. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Kubo:
[narrating]
If you must blink, do it now. Pay careful attention to everything you see and hear, no matter how unusual it may seem. And please be warned: If you fidget, if you look away, if you forget any part of what I tell you - even for an instant - then our hero will surely perish.
[baby crying]
Kubo:
His name is Kubo. His grandfather stole something from him. And that really is the least of it.
See more »
Crazy Credits
At the end of the closing credits, the Laika production logo displays tributes to its previous films:
A young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armor worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past.
For Best Animated Film of 2016, there seems to be two schools of thought: either "Zootopia" or "Kubo". The former has so far been winning the most awards, and will probably win the Oscar. But "Kubo" has a strong following, with some saying it is not only the best animated film, but one of the best films of the year in any genre.
I love a good underdog, but in this case my sympathies lie with "Zootopia". The creators there have crafted an entire world, and it is not only very enjoyable, but lends itself to any number of sequels with other characters. It is a rich, dense landscape. "Kubo", on the other hand, is a very shallow, one-dimensional story. A boy goes looking for armor, and without even knowing what direction to go, he stumbles over it almost immediately. There is no deep conception of character or plot, everything just falls into place. For me, that really makes the film lacking and does not make me want to take repeat trips.
However, "Kubo" is also nominated for Best Visual Effects. And on that note, I would love to see it win. I don't personally know the challenges of traditional animation versus computer animation versus stop motion. But, I do see the finished product here and how flawless it looks. Unlike the "classic" stop motion (such as "King Kong"), the movements are seamless. I can't even fathom the amount of minuscule adjustments that have to be made.
Although "Zootopia" is a clear favorite for Best Animated Feature (in my opinion), by all means give "Kubo" the Best Visual Effects and honor these folks for the hard work and countless hours it must have taken.
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A young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armor worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past.
For Best Animated Film of 2016, there seems to be two schools of thought: either "Zootopia" or "Kubo". The former has so far been winning the most awards, and will probably win the Oscar. But "Kubo" has a strong following, with some saying it is not only the best animated film, but one of the best films of the year in any genre.
I love a good underdog, but in this case my sympathies lie with "Zootopia". The creators there have crafted an entire world, and it is not only very enjoyable, but lends itself to any number of sequels with other characters. It is a rich, dense landscape. "Kubo", on the other hand, is a very shallow, one-dimensional story. A boy goes looking for armor, and without even knowing what direction to go, he stumbles over it almost immediately. There is no deep conception of character or plot, everything just falls into place. For me, that really makes the film lacking and does not make me want to take repeat trips.
However, "Kubo" is also nominated for Best Visual Effects. And on that note, I would love to see it win. I don't personally know the challenges of traditional animation versus computer animation versus stop motion. But, I do see the finished product here and how flawless it looks. Unlike the "classic" stop motion (such as "King Kong"), the movements are seamless. I can't even fathom the amount of minuscule adjustments that have to be made.
Although "Zootopia" is a clear favorite for Best Animated Feature (in my opinion), by all means give "Kubo" the Best Visual Effects and honor these folks for the hard work and countless hours it must have taken.