11 – St.

Hilda
English for Academic Purposes
Ms. Lagonoy

RONQUILLO, 32
Rianna G. 02/26/2019

Kubo and the Two Strings: A Celebration of Life and Loss

Another stepping stone for the stop-motion film industry was the release of Laika’s fourth
feature film entitled Kubo and the Two Strings directed by Travis Knight. With its setting dating
back to the Edo Period of Japan in the 17th-19th century, the film was basked in glorious cinematics
and animation. The story is ultimately a classic hero’s journey, revolving around a half-blind boy
named Kubo who entertains townsmen with origami figures which he wields with his magic guitar
and his fight for survival.

Although the film is a movie for children with its witty humor and enjoyable action scenes,
the themes are dark and the antagonists are ridiculously terrifying. The mere fact that the story is
centered on the idea of memories and death separates it from the usual children movies. At the
beginning of the film, Kubo’s mother, Sariatu, is seen carrying Kubo and escaping her father, the
Moon King, who wants to gouge out Kubo’s other eye. With his failure to do so, he sets upon harm
to humans along with his other two daughters, Karasu and Washi, hoping to find Kubo. Their
cryptic motives could be a result of Sariatu’s decision to marry Hanzo, which they saw as betrayal
to her family. They could not accept that they lost their most powerful asset to a human, which
made them loathe humans more. Another reason could be that they just hate how humans are
earthly and mortal, deeming them as weak individuals.

Another underlying metaphor from this wonderfully produced movie is Kubo’s family’s
eyes. The Moon King and his two daughters were so obsessed with making sure that Kubo would
be blind to all humanity and the traits they possessed, just like them. This was one theme is the
movie that was found confusing, for why would a grandfather want to steal his only grandson’s
eye, when he already stole the other in the first place? It is later explained in the movie that the
Moon King wants to take Kubo’s remaining eye to blind him from his humanity. He offered Kubo
immortality and a throne next to him in the celestial world, which Kubo refused to accept. Kubo
wanted to remain human, remembering what his mother told him from when she fell in love with
Hanzo, and how she was finally able to see the good in people and the love they could give.

Besides the vengeance, the sword-slashing, the face-ripping and the violent deaths of some
characters, the movie is somehow very kid-friendly. It celebrates the power of storytelling, with
Kubo amusing folks with his origami figures and magical guitar. His talent of storytelling plays
an integral part to the development of his quest to find his father’s armour and eventually save his
town from doom. As the film progresses, Kubo’s magic grows stronger as he learns more about
the story he so desperately wants to finish. This ability of his also enables him to make smart and
wise decisions, given the difficult situations he is faced with. It also plays its most important role
as Kubo decides how he ends his own life’s story.

The film ends with Kubo’s grandfather leaving his celestial state and finally transforming
back into a human being. This scene was quite remarkable and a very good ending to the tale. The
townspeople’s decision to disregard his evil doings could be because they wanted to give him
something that Kubo never had as a child─ a fresh start. This act of kindness and compassion was
a choice by those people and an event that broke the cycle of vengeance. However, I feel that this
shocking response to his transformation was somehow contradictory to the film’s theme of
redemption. I would have liked it better if the villagers, in their most gentle and kind way, told
him about his wrongdoings and he be sorry for them.

Overall, Kubo and the Two Strings was a remarkable ride of visuals and emotions, playing
on the importance of love, family, and memories. The film emphasized on the importance of the
memories we have of those we keep close to our hearts, and why we should cherish those memories
forever. The stories we have memorized in our brains remind us of who we are, and who we can
become. Despite its flaws, the film did an amazing job of letting us experience the best and most
colourful moments of life, along with its reality of loss, grief and everything else in between.