*I received airfare and accommodations for attending the Press Junket, however as always opinions are 100% my own.
Travis Knight is such an insightful person. It was very enjoyable to sit down with him and listen to how he came up with the idea of Kubo and the Two Strings. Travis is the director/producer of this movie along with the president and CEO of Laika. This isn’t something that a person can say very often.
Travis’s amazing talent inspired me to want to be a better person. To listen to him speak about where his ideas came from for the movie felt like he was letting us in on a personal part of his life. You see the movie is actually a version of himself which didn’t appear to him until later in the making of the movie.
Kubo’s character is an artist, a storyteller, a musician, and an animator through the entire film. Kubo’s journey mirrors Travis’ journey through life. I didn’t realize when I first heard about this movie if it would be “my type of movie”. I am going to be very honest with you, it was and even more. I will let you in on a little more about that when I do my overview of the movie that comes out on Friday, August 19.
Life Changes
Life has a way of changing both on screen and off and no matter what you do there are very few people in this world that are truly here for you. Normally a Mother’s love is one of the most beautiful relationships ever to be felt, for me that is the way I was raised but I also know others are not as blessed as I am. Travis and Kubo both have a beautiful relationship with their mothers and it is truly inspiring to watch the storyline unfold. In life there are moments when those things begin to shift and then change forever; when we learn that truth that to love is to hurt and those things go together and you know, love is a wonderful thing because it opens us up and it makes us unguarded. At the same time, it heals us and it gives us strength and it makes our life worth living. That’s one of the kinds of rooted themes that are at the heart of this movie and every scene, to varying degrees, has elements of that at play.
Travis’s Favorite Scene
I always enjoy hearing what the director/producers favorite parts of the movie are for them. When this question was asked, Travis simply said, “It is very incredibly satisfying to see it all complete.” He poured his heart and soul into creating a beautiful set design, incredible animation, cinematography, and of course making it come to life as living breathing things. It took five years for them to complete Kubo and be able to see all finished was wonderful for all of them.
Travis said, “I’m incredibly proud of the film. I love the whole thing. I mean, artists just poured their souls into it over years and I think it’s just a beautiful slice of humanity; it’s a beautiful work of art. “
Loss and Grief
Loss and Grief go hand in hand sadly in our lives, we know that and understand it more than a child of any age does. Kubo and the Two Strings found the perfect harmony to explain loss and grief in an energetic way. They handled everything without sugar coating things but told the story in a sensitive and lyrical way so that way the youngest member of the audience understood what was happening. But what we all need to remember is that we aren’t grown ups, we are grown up kids with kids of our own. Parenthood changes us all for the better in most of the time.
I do not like to spoil anything as far as the movie goes. You will have to wait until August 19th when it comes to the theaters. It’s as close to a magical experience as it gets and making mistakes as people make the characters come to life.
Kubo and the Two Strings is an epic action-adventure set in a fantastical Japan from acclaimed animation studio LAIKA. Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson of “Game of Thrones”) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town including Hosato (George Takei), Akihiro (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), and Kameyo (Academy Award nominee Brenda Vaccaro). But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Academy Award winner Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey), and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen – a magical musical instrument – Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King (Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) and the evil twin Sisters (Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara), to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family, and fulfill his heroic destiny.
Director: Travis Knight
Voice Cast: Art Parkinson, Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, Rooney Mara, Ralph Fiennes, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro
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Coming to theaters everywhere on August 19, 2016.