Kubo and The Two Strings: Steelbook Edition - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Kubo and the Two Strings: Steelbook Edition

Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
I originally was clued in to the existence of Kubo and the Two Strings when I saw the theatrical trailers early in 2016. I was intrigued by what looked like a fun movie, but I didn’t have time enough to see it during the theatrical run. However, the word of mouth was simply amazing, with every one of my friends gushing over it like “Kubo” was the second coming of film making. The cynic in me was overly worried of ANOTHER fad film that would just fade away, but the overly excitable film fan couldn’t put out of his mind how amazing the trailers looked. Now, finally available on Blu-ray I got the chance to view it for the first time and I have to say, the positive reviews were NOT lying. Kubo and the Two Strings is a simply fabulous film and ranks as one of my absolute favorite movies of 2016. Directed by a first timer Travis Knight (who worked on other stop motion films like Coraline, Paranorman and The Boxtrolls), Kubo is visually a STUNNING film, but also one with an incredible story that is better told than most blockbusters.

Sadly Kubo didn’t do very well theatrically. Given a $60 million budget, the animated flick barely squeezed in $69 million worldwide (rule of thumb is that a film needs to make twice its stated budget in Gross sales to break even, sometimes 2.5x depending on the marketing budget), making it one of the most disappointing financial flops of the summer. While it may not have captured the audience’s wallets with all of the big blockbusters it was competing against, Kubo is one of the best movies of the year, almost rivaling Mel Gibson’s return to director’s chair once more with Hacksaw Ridge (my favorite 2016 film so far). Travis Knight and his writing crew captured the pure essence of mystical quest, steeped in Japanese lore, and made it into a dark kid’s film that dances a line between being adult and child like at the same time.

I can’t describe the plot of Kubo and the Two Strings without giving away SOME spoilers, but I will make sure to make them as superficial as possible. Years ago the Moon King (Ralph Fiennes) sent his daughters to destroy a Samurai by the name of Hanso who had captured the heart of his eldest daughter. The thing is, his eldest had born a son to this samurai and had become a threat. This child, named Kubo (Art Parkinson) was whisked away by his mother who barely escaped with her life. Left bereft of most of her powers living as a mortal, she protected Kubo as much as possible. Until the night when Kubo makes the fatal mistake of going out into the moonlight, right into the gaze of the ever watching Moon King. Now the king and his two daughters have the location of the missing heir and will stop at nothing to destroy the boy.

Using the last of her magical powers to protect Kubo, his mother imbues life into a small monkey charm belonging to the boy and instructs the monkey to take care of her son long enough for him to find the magical armor of his father’s. Armor that will allow him to protect himself from the insatiable Moon King. Trekking out across the land, Kubo, Monkey (Charlize Theron) and a beetle that has been infused with the power of an ancient samurai (Matthew McConaughey ) have to find the last pieces of the armor before the Moon King and his vicious daughters destroy the line of Hanso and his wife forever.

Kubo dances a delicate line between sweet child accessible animated film, and something much darker. At times it can be light and breezy, with sly jokes and humor perfectly aimed at the children’s audience. Other times it gets rather dark, with a bleak and terrifying adventure that borders on the edge of being adult. That’s not to say that children shouldn’t see it. In fact, as long as you’re not showing it to an easily frightened 6 year old (that’s of course up to the child as each and every one is different) there shouldn’t be a problem. It’s just that Travis Knight does an amazing job at making it a film that everyone of all ages can love and glean something from. There are themes of love, of the power of memories and how loss can fuel that power beyond your wildest imaginations. I was simply mesmerized by what I was seeing, not only visually but story wise as well, and had to watch Kubo multiple times in one day just to experience it again.

I do have a small problem with the very ending battle of the movie, but that is fairly minor. The childish element took over once more and while it is rather sweet, it feels ever so slightly awkward considering the seriousness of the last 15 minutes or so. In all honesty, it’s a blip on the radar but just enough to keep it from being a perfect movie for me (thus the 4.5/5 instead of 5/5. Especially since I don’t like to give out 5/5 ratings will nilly).

Everyone gives the movie their all. Young Art is perfect as the naïve but determined Kubo, and McConaughey is FANTASTIC as beetle. He gives the character an over the top bravado and “dumb” humor that makes him a blast to watch. Yet at the drop of a hat he can emote a sense of sincerity and seriousness that acts as a foil to his normally goofy exterior. The same goes for Charlize Theron. She’s simply magical as Monkey (he he, pun intended) and her gruff and tough exterior with a marshmallow center is touching. Honestly. Kubo is better acted with just voices than most movies do with live action




Rating:

Rated PG for thematic elements, scary images, action and peril




4K Video: Video:

All of the Shout Factory released 4K UHDs of the Studio Laika films have been SUPERB, and Kubo is no different. The digitally created stop motion animated film looks AMAZING in 4K, with stronger color balance and a more rich saturation to said colors thanks to the HDR/Dolby Vision application. Fine details are more nuanced, such as Kubo’s hair, or the waves and broken boards when the witch sisters attack the boat near the middle act. Black levels really shine here though, as they allow for better realization of detail levels underwater, as well as the pitch blackness before the final ghost battle. The typical Blu-ray banding is heavily minimized to the point of being nearly non existent, and the slightly dimmed brightness levels (something typical of HDR style applications) make the film seem less blown out with some of the most stylized lighting in the dark. All in all, this is a 5/5 transfer and well worth checking out if you’re an animated fan.







Audio:

Upgrading to Dolby Atmos, the already perfect 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is just a LITTLE more perfect. Reality is, this is a rather impressive upgrade, despite how amazing the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track has been all these years. The track is still gut wrenchingly powerful, with deep bass and wildly dynamic surrounds, but it is more fine tuned and the separation amongst the channels seems to be a bit better. I could pinpoint sound locations a little better, and the overheads get some really cool use with the sea battle and the final battle. It’s slightly more dynamic, and I would say a bit more agile in how the sounds shift around the room. Basically, it’s more perfecter (yes, that is a word) than the perfect 5.1 mix.







Extras:

• NEWLY REMASTERED IN 4K
• DOLY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• NEWLY REMASTERED IN 4K
• Feature-Length Storyboards
• Inside LAIKA -Revisiting the Puppets with LAIKA's Animation Team
• Inside LAIKA—Confronting the Epic Challenges of Kubo and the Two Strings
• Audio Commentary with Director/Producer Travis Knight
• "Kubo's Journey"
• Original Featurettes

Final Score: ​

Kubo and the Two Strings is a must watch whether you’re an adult or a child. My young nephews loved the movie and were simply awestruck by the gorgeous visuals, but I was simple floored at the incredibly in depth and intelligent story that went along with the window dressings. Every bit of the movie was vibrant and alive with emotion, plucking at your heart strings one moment, and the next being on the edge of your seat with excitement as fantastic martial arts fights unfolded on screen. I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed Travis Knight’s directorial debut and even though it bombed in theaters, the film is already gain a cult audience from the incredible word of mouth. The 4K UHD is a rather nice upgrade over the already stunning Blu-ray, and I think well worth the purchase. Amazing video, just as amazing Dolby Atmos, but the extras are the same across the board from the 2021 Shout Factory Blu-ray. Not a big deal, just thought I'd mention it. Also, for those who don't want the Steelbook packaging Shout Factory has released the 4K with a regular edition as well.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Matthew McConaughey
Directed by: Travis Knight
Written by: Marc Haimes, Chris Butler
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French, Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: PG
Runtime: 102 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: February 28th, 2023

Recommendation: Must Own

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I have seen this and also recommend this as well.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

LOVED this movie.