Laika, the stop-motion experts behind Coraline, Paranorman and The Boxtrolls, have pushed themselves even further visually in their new film, as the first trailer for Kubo And The Two Strings demonstrates.
The film features Art Parkinson as the clever and kind-hearted Kubo, who lives quietly telling fantastical stories to people in his seaside town. But when he accidentally summons a mythical, ancient spirit that is pursuing an age-old vendetta, Kubo has to go on the run. He joins forces with Monkey (Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) for a quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his father’s death. With his shamisen (a magical musical instrument), Kobo will have to battle gods and monsters.
It certainly promises some spectacle, looking sometimes like paper sculpture come to life and a cast that also includes Ralph Fiennes (back on villain duty), George Takei, Rooney Mara, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagwa and Brenda Vaccaro. Laika might well face some opposition to the casting decisions here, though: the leads are primarily white and Western, with Asian actors largely in supporting roles. Could the same concerns be raised as with Mara and the Lost Boys in Pan?
Kubo And The Two Strings arrives in the US in August and heads to the UK on September 9.