'Kubo and the Two Strings': Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey help a boy on a gorgeous quest

In a moment of Zen at the end of Kubo and the Two Strings, I realized what makes a quest movie truly exceptional.

The lesser iterations of the genre make the journey and its challenges as arduous, jazzy, and complex as possible. The prize at the end will be epic, bigger-than-big.

But great pictures like Kubo, a 3D animated film about a one-eyed little boy who goes on a long quest to avenge his father's death, teach you that the quest doesn't matter at all. What's important are the relationships formed through the journey, including the one with yourself.

Animator Travis Knight's directorial debut is a unique hybrid of CGI and traditional stop-motion photography. And it's a mix of two cultures, an American film set in ancient Japan that blends contemporary themes with mythical elements.

A young widow named Kameyo (voiced by veteran character actor Brenda Vaccaro) struggles to raise her son Kubo (Art Parkinson, Game of Thrones' Rickon Stark) in a small coastal village. Once a renowned magician, she all but lost her mind when her husband, a famed samurai master, was murdered by her twin sisters (both voiced by Rooney Mara) and their father (Ralph Fiennes), a sort of demigod who lives in heaven.

Kubo helps make ends meet as a street musician and storyteller whose enchanted shamisen (a three-stringed instrument) creates living origami figurines that act out the boy's adventure stories.

Origami pervades the film, its landscape and people are modeled on the art, which adds to its handmade, fantastical feel.

When Kameyo disappears after a battle with her sisters, Kubo is left on his own. His quest: to gather the pieces of a magical suit of armor that'll help him defeat his grandfather.

But the boy isn't on his own for long: He's helped by a talking monkey (Charlize Theron) named Monkey, who is a bossy, opinionated creature, always telling off Kubo for being naughty. She gets on the boy's nerves, but their bickering is cute and loving.

Monkey and Kuba meet a huge talking beetle (Matthew McConaughey). Once a samurai warrior, he was turned into a bug by a witch who also took away his memories. He may not know who he is, but Beetle is a sweet, honorable man who pledges to help Kubo complete his quest.

Kubo is a lovely, unforgettable film about creativity and storytelling - about creating one's own fate by taking charge of one's story. And about learning to love others by sharing in their stories.

The film doesn't gloss over the painful aspects of life: Kubo's grief at losing his parents is palpable. (The story's sometimes harsh emotional landscape may be too heavy for young children.)

If you want to expose your children to a work of art with real soul, you could do a lot worse than Kubo and the Two Strings.

tirdad@phillynews.com

215-854-2736

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Kubo and the Two Strings

3 1/2 stars (Out of four stars)

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