MovieChat Forums > Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) Discussion > Huge Disappointment

Huge Disappointment

posted 7 years ago by theothercoraline
23 replies | jump to latest

I keep seeing nothing but praise for this movie, and I just don't get it! I am a huge stop-motion fan, and Coraline is my absolute favorite movie. But Laika, for me, has just gone steadily downhill since. Paranorman was pretty good, but definitely not as good as Coraline, The Boxtrolls was... meh, and now Kubo was honestly such a disappointment... I can't think of even one redeeming quality.
So, because I'm not here just to whine that I didn't like it, here are the reasons why;
Well, first of all, the animation. Like I said, I absolutely love stop-motion, but the whole point is that it's handmade and real objects being manipulated into moving. When I watch a stop-motion film, I want to be able to see all of the care put into it, the little touches and imperfections and warmth and creativity that make it come to life. Kubo may as well have been totally cg with all the cgi they used. They went too far and made it too cold and perfect looking.
The story was very... uninteresting I suppose. It was very predictable, until the veeeery end which didn't sit right with me at all how they resolved that grandfather thing (but that's a whole other topic!) Not to mention, all of the things it "borrowed" from Coraline. There is a difference between leaving little easter eggs in your work/putting a spin on past themes, or just being lazy and rehashing old ideas. The whole finding-three-magical-items quest was exactly what Coraline had to do (down to the taking one out of a creepy hand on a stage), the creepy lady telling the main child "give me your eyes", and a magical parental figure telling the main child to give up their eyes so they can go and live with them in a much better world. They already did all of that in Coraline, and did it so much better! Even the beetle was reminiscent of all the beetles in Coraline.
And lastly, I just did not care for any of the characters. The monkey was so annoying, and even though I love Charlize Theron, her voice is too distinct and doesn't fit at all. The main kid was bratty and annoying, and the character designs were just very unpleasant to look at, mainly the monkey and beetle. Plus, the fact that the majority of the main voice actors were white was 1. yeah kinda racist.. especially coming from a newer studio that seems to pat itself on the back for being so progressive and 2. just honestly didn't fit with the movie, and pulled me out of it.
That's just my opinion though, thoughts? Anyone else just not feeling the love everyone has for this film (it's even rated higher than Coraline!)?

[–] Therru_Babayaga 7 years ago

Like I said, I absolutely love stop-motion, but the whole point is that it's handmade and real objects being manipulated into moving. When I watch a stop-motion film, I want to be able to see all of the care put into it, the little touches and imperfections and warmth and creativity that make it come to life.

I'm sorry, but if you're not blow away by the animation in Kubo, you simply just don't love that much stop-motion animation. You just like the idea and a certain style, but certainly not the art as a whole. It's like saying modern video-games graphisms sucks because you don't see as much pixels as before. Or seeing no strings on puppets in Jim Henson's movie.

Do you realize that Laika has reached such a level in mastering their art of choice that it can easily pass as CGI-animation? To me, that's simply amazing they were able to push their limits so far. At every turn, I was wondering "That's so beautiful and flawless, how did they do that with stop-motion!?" I would watch a whole movie only about the making-of of this movie, and I hope there will be plenty of features on the Blu-ray.

I was enchanted because I knew how much work they had to put to reach such perfection, and I could feel nothing but admiration and almost worship seeing such things on a big screen.

If you don't see the care into Kubo, I really don't know what to tell you, except that you don't like stop-motion that much.

The whole finding-three-magical-items quest was exactly what Coraline had to do (down to the taking one out of a creepy hand on a stage), the creepy lady telling the main child "give me your eyes", and a magical parental figure telling the main child to give up their eyes so they can go and live with them in a much better world. They already did all of that in Coraline, and did it so much better!

Your username tells me all I need to know about your fascination towards "Coraline", but you're really pushing the connection there.
Looking for three magical objects was a very very small part of what Coraline had to do to fight the other mother, and it was used to show us that the other world was build on lies and deception. In Kubo, it's used to allow the hero to take a journey and discover himself and his family, it's pretty much the whole movie, and its pay-off is very different in the end also.
As for the eyes, in Coraline it was used to bind the children to the other world, like a pact with the devil. In Kubo, the eye is used to symbolize the outlook we have on humanity, on death and on mourning, on remembering our loved ones and how we are being remember. Someone who turns a blind eye to human nature or death can only be cruel and bitter, like the Moon King and his daughters, before the Moon King is forced to face the sweeter side of death through Kubo's eye.

It was not predictable at all, it was full of mysteries and wonders, and lots of reflection about life and death and family and the story we tell.

I get that some people don't like Kubo, but that's purely based on taste and some complaints are just weird (the "too-perfect" animation, seriously?)

[–] theothercoraline 7 years ago

I'm sorry, but if you're not blow away by the animation in Kubo, you simply just don't love that much stop-motion animation. You just like the idea and a certain style, but certainly not the art as a whole.

I have watched many stop-motion movies, shorts, BTSs, and even those silly 30-second post-it note youtube videos. I've even made a few videos myself in different mediums (not that they were any good lol.) Of course I love the art as a whole, but that doesn't mean I have to love every individual style of stop-motion. I'm sure there are ones you like less than others too.

Do you realize that Laika has reached such a level in mastering their art of choice that it can easily pass as CGI-animation? To me, that's simply amazing they were able to push their limits so far.

If the goal was to pass as cgi, then yeah, kudos to them for being able to achieve that, but I just don't find that style as appealing.

Your username tells me all I need to know about your fascination towards "Coraline", but you're really pushing the connection there.

I will admit some of it is reaching, but when you put all the similarities together you really can't deny it was influenced by Coraline.
And yes, I like that movie, but I'm only comparing them because of their similar backgrounds (same studio, same sort of animation, less than 10 years apart) and the obvious parallels.

It was not predictable at all, it was full of mysteries and wonders, and lots of reflection about life and death and family and the story we tell.

I was not surprised by any of the twists, but I suppose I watch a lot of movies.

I get that some people don't like Kubo, but that's purely based on taste and some complaints are just weird (the "too-perfect" animation, seriously?)

I never said otherwise, this is just my opinion. If you liked the movie, I respect that that's your opinion :)
Yes, seriously. Flaws give charm and uniqueness. Not saying people should be trying to make their movies bad on purpose, but it just looked like it was trying too hard to be like every other cgi animated movie for me to enjoy it.

Thank you for the reply.

[–] Jazz_thieve 7 years ago

Member since november 2016. Yeah, that's says enough about you.

[–] theothercoraline 7 years ago

I'm sorry, I didn't realize I had to wait a set amount of time before being allowed to post? Please tell me when I am allowed to start posting. 

I have made a lot of posts about different movies, and only one thread in Kubo. Please tell me why I am not allowed to make this thread? It's not like I have only posted Kubo hate since the day I joined (which would understandably weaken my position.)

[–] Sandman-27 7 years ago

From theothercoraline:

I keep seeing nothing but praise for this movie, and I just don't get it! I am a huge stop-motion fan, and Coraline is my absolute favorite movie. But Laika, for me, has just gone steadily downhill since. Paranorman was pretty good, but definitely not as good as Coraline, The Boxtrolls was... meh, and now Kubo was honestly such a disappointment... I can't think of even one redeeming quality.

First of all, stop-motion animation has nothing to do with story. Comparing the story of Coraline with this movie is complete apples an oranges. It's like comparing Grave of the Fireflies with Beauty and the Beast. They're both animation movies in the same medium telling completely different kinds of stories.

So, because I'm not here just to whine that I didn't like it, here are the reasons why;
Well, first of all, the animation. Like I said, I absolutely love stop-motion, but the whole point is that it's handmade and real objects being manipulated into moving. When I watch a stop-motion film, I want to be able to see all of the care put into it, the little touches and imperfections and warmth and creativity that make it come to life. Kubo may as well have been totally cg with all the cgi they used. They went too far and made it too cold and perfect looking.

If what you say is true, then you should be a bigger fan of A Nightmare Before Christmas as opposed to Coraline, which used CGI. In fact, because you value the non CGI so much, you really should be a big fan of Gumby and Davey and Goliath.

The story was very... uninteresting I suppose. It was very predictable, until the veeeery end which didn't sit right with me at all how they resolved that grandfather thing (but that's a whole other topic!)

Can't really argue with such a wishy washy position you take.

Not to mention, all of the things it "borrowed" from Coraline. There is a difference between leaving little easter eggs in your work/putting a spin on past themes, or just being lazy and rehashing old ideas. The whole finding-three-magical-items quest was exactly what Coraline had to do (down to the taking one out of a creepy hand on a stage), the creepy lady telling the main child "give me your eyes", and a magical parental figure telling the main child to give up their eyes so they can go and live with them in a much better world. They already did all of that in Coraline, and did it so much better!

I guess any adventure movie where the hero must find three items is now a reference to Coraline. I love Neil Gaiman, and he would also disagree with your narrow-minded sentiment.

Even the beetle was reminiscent of all the beetles in Coraline.

This is like saying, "I don't like anything Van Gogh painted after "A Starry Night". Everything he painted after that one looks like the same style." 

And lastly, I just did not care for any of the characters. The monkey was so annoying, and even though I love Charlize Theron, her voice is too distinct and doesn't fit at all. The main kid was bratty and annoying, and the character designs were just very unpleasant to look at, mainly the monkey and beetle.

To each their own. Granted you didn't like the voice acting, but again, that has nothing to do with story.

Plus, the fact that the majority of the main voice actors were white was 1. yeah kinda racist.. especially coming from a newer studio that seems to pat itself on the back for being so progressive and 2. just honestly didn't fit with the movie, and pulled me out of it.

How is casting white actors make Laika racists?

That's just my opinion though, thoughts?

I'm glad you clarified yourself. I thought you were stating facts! 

Anyone else just not feeling the love everyone has for this film (it's even rated higher than Coraline!)?

And finally we come to true reason for this ill-conceived rant. You're upset because this is rated higher than Coraline.

If you like Coraline more than this movie, that's fine. Who cares what other people rated this movie as. It doesn't change the fact of how much you liked Coraline.

"You don't like Beethoven."

[–] theothercoraline 7 years ago

First of all, stop-motion animation has nothing to do with story. Comparing the story of Coraline with this movie is complete apples an oranges. It's like comparing Grave of the Fireflies with Beauty and the Beast. They're both animation movies in the same medium telling completely different kinds of stories.

I don't really get your point here. I'm comparing the movies as a whole. I think Coraline has a better story and better animation.

If what you say is true, then you should be a bigger fan of A Nightmare Before Christmas as opposed to Coraline, which used CGI. In fact, because you value the non CGI so much, you really should be a big fan of Gumby and Davey and Goliath.

When did I say I didn't like them? Coraline is my favorite movie because of a large combination of things, not just the animation.

I guess any adventure movie where the hero must find three items is now a reference to Coraline. I love Neil Gaiman, and he would also disagree with your narrow-minded sentiment.

Obviously not, nice strawman there. It was all of the similar elements together that reminded me of Coraline, because there were a lot of them.

To each their own. Granted you didn't like the voice acting, but again, that has nothing to do with story.

This was a separate paragraph, about the characters. I was not talking about the story at all here?

How is casting white actors make Laika racists?

Casting white actors as Asian characters in an Asian setting about an Asian story, is racist. But I'm here to discuss movies not politics, so that's all I'll say on that.

And finally we come to true reason for this ill-conceived rant. You're upset because this is rated higher than Coraline.
If you like Coraline more than this movie, that's fine. Who cares what other people rated this movie as. It doesn't change the fact of how much you liked Coraline.

I really couldn't care less if Coraline had a 1. I only said that to back up my claim of how popular this movie is, and because I was just honestly surprised people liked it so much. I never said Coraline's rating should be higher, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I respect it if most people think Kubo is better.

Thanks for the reply though.

[–] Sandman-27 7 years ago

From theothercoraline:

I don't really get your point here. I'm comparing the movies as a whole. I think Coraline has a better story and better animation.

Go back and read what you wrote initially. You're moving the goalposts.

When did I say I didn't like them? Coraline is my favorite movie because of a large combination of things, not just the animation.

You complained that this movie looked too smooth because of the use of CGI. Coraline used CGI as well. Movies like Nightmare and Gumby didn't and was completely stop motion. Based on what you said in regards to stop motion, the older the better. Which means Gumby is what stop motion animation SHOULD look like.

Obviously not, nice strawman there. It was all of the similar elements together that reminded me of Coraline, because there were a lot of them.

Because the elements were similar to Coraline, those elements being finding three things, you compared it to Coraline. Why didn't you compare it Pokemon or something else that required 3 objects to be found? Do you understand now?

This was a separate paragraph, about the characters. I was not talking about the story at all here?

Okay. Tell me how the voice acting relates to the story then.

Casting white actors as Asian characters in an Asian setting about an Asian story, is racist. But I'm here to discuss movies not politics, so that's all I'll say on that.

So by this definition, when anime movies involving Europeans and other non-Asian characters cast Japanese voice actors for these roles, they are also racists. 👍

I really couldn't care less if Coraline had a 1. I only said that to back up my claim of how popular this movie is, and because I was just honestly surprised people liked it so much. I never said Coraline's rating should be higher, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I respect it if most people think Kubo is better.

You didn't believe this when you wrote your initial post or else you wouldn't have written it in the first place. However, let us all hope you believe this now.

"You don't like Beethoven."

[–] theothercoraline 7 years ago

Go back and read what you wrote initially. You're moving the goalposts.

I'm not "moving the goalposts", you misunderstood what I said. Sorry for not making it clearer, I guess.

You complained that this movie looked too smooth because of the use of CGI. Coraline used CGI as well. Movies like Nightmare and Gumby didn't and was completely stop motion. Based on what you said in regards to stop motion, the older the better. Which means Gumby is what stop motion animation SHOULD look like.

Coraline didn't use near as much. I was specifically comparing it to Coraline instead of the others because it was made by the same studio and closer in time.

Because the elements were similar to Coraline, those elements being finding three things, you compared it to Coraline. Why didn't you compare it Pokemon or something else that required 3 objects to be found? Do you understand now?

What's with your fixation on the 3 found objects? I listed many similarities, not just that one. I compared it to Coraline because it had the 3 object quest AND the giving up eyes theme AND the evil magical parental figure wanting the main child to live in their better world AND the beetles AND it was made by the same studio AND it was stop-motion AND they were less than 10 years apart. Do you understand now?

Okay. Tell me how the voice acting relates to the story then.

I just said it doesn't. It was just something about the movie I didn't like, that's all.

You didn't believe this when you wrote your initial post or else you wouldn't have written it in the first place. However, let us all hope you believe this now.

So now you're a mind reader? Please stop telling me what I meant because you obviously have no way of knowing what I was thinking. I wrote the original post just to talk about the things I didn't like about the movie. That's it.

Good grief, when I picked my username I didn't realize I would never be taken seriously when I talked about Coraline. I'm not just a super Coraline fan hating on Kubo because it was rated 0.3 points higher. There are a lot of similarities between the two, so I thought it was worth mentioning.

[–] Sandman-27 7 years ago

From theothercoraline:

I'm not "moving the goalposts", you misunderstood what I said. Sorry for not making it clearer, I guess.

Oh, your biased rant was blatantly clear.

Coraline didn't use near as much. I was specifically comparing it to Coraline instead of the others because it was made by the same studio and closer in time.

No. You compared it to Coraline, because that's the only movie you care about. You didn't like Boxtrolls or Paranorman so of course Laika is going downhill in your mind.

What's with your fixation on the 3 found objects? I listed many similarities, not just that one. I compared it to Coraline because it had the 3 object quest AND the giving up eyes theme AND the evil magical parental figure wanting the main child to live in their better world AND the beetles AND it was made by the same studio AND it was stop-motion AND they were less than 10 years apart. Do you understand now?

Do you remember my Van Gogh example?

I just said it doesn't. It was just something about the movie I didn't like, that's all.

Then what were you complaining about the broken paragraph then?

So now you're a mind reader? Please stop telling me what I meant because you obviously have no way of knowing what I was thinking. I wrote the original post just to talk about the things I didn't like about the movie. That's it.

One doesn't need to be a mind reader with your obviously biased rant.

Good grief, when I picked my username I didn't realize I would never be taken seriously when I talked about Coraline. I'm not just a super Coraline fan hating on Kubo because it was rated 0.3 points higher. There are a lot of similarities between the two, so I thought it was worth mentioning.

If what you say is true, you wouldn't have written what you wrote the way you wrote your original post. But we can only hope you've truly changed your viewpoint.

"You don't like Beethoven."

[–] theothercoraline 7 years ago

You didn't like Boxtrolls or Paranorman so of course Laika is going downhill in your mind.

I literally said "But Laika, FOR ME, has just gone steadily downhill since." I NEVER tried to state that as a fact, just personal opinion. And for the record, I do really like Paranorman (my exact words, before you try to tell me I actually don't, were that it's "pretty good")

Do you remember my Van Gogh example?

Time to take your own advice and stop comparing apples and oranges.

One doesn't need to be a mind reader with your obviously biased rant.

If what you say is true, you wouldn't have written what you wrote the way you wrote your original post. But we can only hope you've truly changed your viewpoint.

Okay, buddy, I can tell when I'm being trolled. Can't have a discussion with someone if they're just arguing with an imaginary version of myself they've created in their mind because apparently they know me better than I do. Best of luck in fighting people on online message boards, but I will not be further replying to you.

[–] q-66774 7 years ago

I too recognized a lot of similarities between this movie and coraline, but it's not a new or bad thing for movie/game studios to reuse tropes within its own productions.

Stop motion or CGI, the production value is obviously very high and the movie looked nice, suppose we should appreciate that.

The story of obviously very uninspired, the progression is forced(kubo staying out at nigh t despite his mother repeatedly telling him not to that very morning) and the twists are extremely apparent, in fact, when the beetle first came up, i was skeptical of him being kubo's father only because that would be too obvious of a twist, and guess how that turned out. The ending with his grandfather is also extremely forced, simply to give it a better ending i guess. But any "fault" of this lazy storytelling can be forgiven simply because this is a cartoon targeted at a young audience. For a children's movie, a good ending is far more important than a realistic ending.

My expectations were very high before watching this movie, I can't say it was as good as I expected, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. I can understand why some would be very disappointed though.

Ether ways this is a cartoon for children, it's not important to judge it with the standards of serious movie watchers that we are, much less getting riled up on different opinions.

Cheers.

[–] Iron_Giant 7 years ago

I stopped reading when you said there wasn't a single redeeming quality. The film obviously didn't connect with you and that's fine. Personally, I've never seen a film that didn't have a single redeeming quality. I'm just not that negative.

Please don't call someone a _____tard.

[–] Mikee333 7 years ago

I completely agree with everything you wrote.

[–] OhNooos 7 years ago

I was delighted throughout. I loved the visuals, the music, and the magic. I have no complaints.

[–] pajamadancer 7 years ago

Coraline blew it for me by adding the boy character which thus removed the ultimate girl power present in the book when kills the hand ALL BY HERSELF.

As to the three objects that is not borrowed from Coraline that is a standard trope in every heros journey since the first written stories.

In fact most of what it borrowed from Coraline Coraline borrowed from myths and fairytales.

[–] theothercoraline 7 years ago

Coraline blew it for me by adding the boy character which thus removed the ultimate girl power present in the book when kills the hand ALL BY HERSELF.

Well, I can't argue with that, Wybie is my least favourite part of Coraline and totally unnecessary. Coraline should have killed the hand by herself in the movie too.

[–] Dextrousleftie 7 years ago

I personally loved it. It reminded me of a stop motion anime. But to each their own. You like what you like, and I like what I like. I'm not going to indulge in long, dull paragraphs about why I like it, because frankly i don't want to bore anybody. You know, like you did.

Obey My Dog! -Mugatu

[–] hgmichna 7 years ago

I agree. The movie is very beautiful, but its story is completely hollow. Scene after scene, what happens makes no sense.

What a pity! Unfortunately this is not rare among movies. I often get the impression that many movie makers are unable to tell a good story from a poor one.

[–] Belle-Et-La-B 7 years ago

The whole finding-three-magical-items quest was exactly what Coraline had to do

Coraline didn't invent that story arc. The Hero's journey typically revolves around three challenges the hero has to complete before they find themselves.

"I wrote this all on my own"
- Melania Trump