Animation studio Laika produced Kubo and the Two Strings, a 3D stop motion fantasy action film rated PG. Travis Knight directed the film, Marc Haimes and Chris Butler wrote it and Focus Features released the film on August 19, 2016. Kubo and the Two Strings provided a fantastic stop motion film experience.

The story, set in a fantasy version of ancient Japan, follows a young boy Kubo, who loses his peaceful existence, teams up with Monkey and Beetle, who actually are a monkey and beetle respectively, and goes on an epic quest.
The cast features actors Art Parkinson as Kubo, Charlize Theron as Monkey, Matthew McConaughey as Beetle, Ralph Fiennes as Raiden the Moon King, Rooney Mara as the Sisters and George Takei as Hosato.
Kubo has the most character development throughout the movie due to the quests he completes. Kubo grows as a person and changes his viewpoint, becoming more mature, while Monkey and Beetle do not develop as much due the supporting role they play.

The movie has a great balance of action and humor. The transitions between serious to funny scenes are clean and not forced. It keeps the melancholy story from being too serious for a kids movie. The characters Beetle and Monkey help with this transition. The comic relief character, Beetle, makes the audience laugh and keeps the tone light while Monkey keeps the group on task.

The soundtrack accompanies the movie well. It brings the audience closer to the scene. It makes action scenes more intense, funny moments funnier, and sad moments more touching. The soundtrack overall adds to the storytelling of the movie, in essence making the film more enjoyable.

The stop motion animation proves a fantastic contribution to the film. The characters move cleanly. They express understandable facial expressions. The fight scenes flow smoothly and have exceptional choreography. The unique and visually appealing texture of the world adds to the overall beauty of the movie. The stop motion animation contributes to the movie greatly and becomes its strongest point.

The story does not have many clichés but instead throws in twists and surprises, making one pay extra attention.
The movie addresses many universal themes: family, revenge, forgiveness, love, sacrifice, redemption and memories. Story, the overarching theme, brings it all together. Kubo tells stories to his fellow villagers and other characters make references to “stories.” The film says “everyone has a story” and “how is your story going to be told?”

The film combines great aspects of storytelling with a unique style of stop motion animation to produce a charming film.