Image credits: cinemorgue.wikia

I was a little bored yesterday afternoon after feeling really dizzy and having headaches. I rested on my bed but felt there's a need for me to be entertained while resting. I then opened my Netflix account and started browsing on a good film to watch.

In my quest, I bumped into this action fantasy movie with a title which has a Filipino equivalent. So I started playing it and was definitely glad I did because I had a good time watching it! Today, let me tell you about the movie, its story and the lessons of course that it taught me.

Kubo and the Two Strings Story

Image credits: anygoodfilms

Kubo, a 12-year-old Japanese boy who earns a living by manipulating origami with the music from his shamisen, a three-stringed Japanese musical instrument, storytelling to the town folks about the battles of Hanzo, an origami-inspired but he never finishes the story because he has no idea what happened to his father, a mighty knight.

Kubo's mother, Sariatu has been dealing with memory loss also, she's has great magical powers too, the strongest of the three daughters of the Moon King but she was tagged as an enemy after falling in love with a human, Hanzo. When she had Kubo, her father Raiden stole his left eye. Sariatu had to flee and lived inside a mountain cave. She had always reminded Kubo not to stay long outside that he must get home before the sunset so his grandfather and aunties won't find him.

Image credits: moviedeskback

However, when a friend told him about Bon Festival, that he would be able to speak to the departed loved ones through the lanterns, he stayed out longer and was found by his aunts, Karasu and Washi. They attacked him but Sariatu came just in time to fight back and save Kubo, sending him to a far place with a thick and strong snow storm and told him he must find his father's sword, breastplate, and helmet.

Kubo was awakened by a Monkey which was his wooden charm that came to life when her mother summoned it. It was the monkey's job to take care of him. They went on looking for the armor and met Beetle, a human-beetle combination who joined their conquest.

Image credits: vox

The sword unbreakable was found in a cave called Hall of Bones which was guarded by a giant skeleton. They were successful with securing the sword and then they went to search the Breastplate Impenetrable. They found it in the ocean but there were some Garden of Eyes monsters which will try to lure anyone who looks into the eyes.

Meanwhile, while Kubo was looking for the breastplate into the water, Kirasu came and had a fight with Monkey. Sariatu won the battle but was wounded. In the water, Kubo was able to realize that the Monkey is actually her mother.

Image credits: io9.gizmodo

The last and final item was the Helmet Invulnerable which was in Hanzo's abandoned fortress. They met Raiden and Washi there and battled against them and Washi revealed that Beetle is actually Hanzo who was cursed. During the battle, Hanzo was killed unfortunately and Monkey sacrificed herself so Kubo could use his shamisen to kill Washi but the two strings were broken with the last fight.

Video credits: Mark Anthony Paler via YouTube

Now, Kubo uses the last string to travel back to the little village as he figured the helmet is actually the bell. But in the village, Raiden transformed himself into a dragon and attacks Kubo because he wants his grandson to give him his eye so he can be immortal. Raiden was defeated and was left to become a normal blind man without any memories.

But although he had done a lot of bad things, the villagers still managed to inform him that he was a good one. He was told of his many positive traits and was accepted into their village.

Kubo and the Two Strings Review

"If you must blink, do it now!"

This is what Kubo says before performing or playing his shamisen.

Image credits: dotandline

Upon reading the movie's information on Wikipedia, I learned about stop-motion, a kind of animated-film making technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion when the series of frames is played back as a fast sequence. Information from wikipedia

This is definitely a kind of filmmaking that made me respect the producers and the people behind the creation of those objects which as per the film background, it took numerous effort and days to really give them life.

Image credits: artofvfx

Its animation was totally smooth too which made me think how the after editing was done, it was totally amazing to see that this was a stop-motion type. Most especially the moving origami part, that was another outstanding portion of the film. The action was on point too! Note the fight scenes because they were absolutely marvelous.

But I also adored the music, properly selected and relaxing. If you love Japanese music or Asian in general, you must watch this because the music is totally gorgeous!

Video credits: Focus Features via YouTube

The Asian touch and the animation were really fun but the ending was not the way I thought it would be. Perhaps that's really how hard most action stories are being ended! Although, its adventure and lines were entertaining, however, I must admit upon looking into the actors who voiced over them, they were of no Asian background.

If you ask me, my favorite character in that movie was Monkey for sure!

Threw Lesson from Kubo and the Two Strings

Mothers know best.

Image credits: the-peak.ca

Children can learn that our mothers sought only for what's best for us. In Kubo's part, it was just hard to miss the Bon Festival because he was just 12 years old and I know it is very tempting to be out there trying to communicate to your deceased father. It was just a hard chance to miss.

But again, movies are there to teach us a lesson. Kids, out there must be very diligent in following their mom's commands.

Mother's love is sacrificial.

Image credits: filmmisery

As seen in the movie, our parents, especially our mother is willing to die for us. It is a story of sacrificial love indeed. Kubo had learned this twice, first, when Sariatu died during a clash with her sisters and second at Hanzo's fortress when Washi was attacking them.

Everyone deserves a second chance.

Image credits: villains.wikia

At the end of the movie, Raiden was defeated, leaving him as a normal powerless human being. But instead of attacking or killing him, the villagers told him of good traits. Since he had no memories left, he was informed that he was a good man and he was accepted to the village.

True enough, we all deserve a second chance, we must not waste that opportunity.

Thank you for reading! What kind of movies do you like?

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About the author:
Jean Beltran-Figues is a photography enthusiast. 
A traveler who wants to promote her beloved country, the Philippines.