Captain America: Civil War. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. X-Men: Apocalypse. By the end of December, we will get trailers for just about every major blockbuster movie (animated or otherwise) set to arrive in 2016. So it’s no surprise that LAIKA would join the party with a surprise of its own.
Courtesy of Fandango, the teaser trailer for Kubo and the Two Strings finally dropped and it looks even better than we hoped.
Watch it below:
Despite being a ‘teaser’ in the clearest sense of the word, this trailer manages to pack a lot of ‘wow’ moments into a minute and six seconds. Even better, the trailer lets us know up front that this is a straight-up fantasy film. And its one that appears to take advantage of its Japanese-inspired trappings to deliver eye-catching visuals and amazing action (however fleeting it all was).
It also shows promise in being a successful break from LAIKA’s gothic formula and signals promise for the studio’s CEO Travis Knight as a first-time director. Will the film succeed with the general audiences, who aren’t used to seeing this type of story told in the medium of stop-motion? Only time will tell, but hopefully it will make a compelling argument for genre storytelling in animation on a blockbuster level.
Kubo and the Two Strings will mark the directorial debut of LAIKA’s president and CEO Travis Knight. He will direct from a screenplay by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler, and will serve as executive producer with Arianne Sutner. The film features the voice talents of Matthew McConaughey (Beetle), Charlize Theron (Monkey), Rooney Mara (The Sisters), Ralph Fiennes (The Moon King), and Game of Thrones‘ Art Parkinson as Kubo. Also joining the cast (in unspecified roles) are Brenda Vaccaro, George Takei, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.
Here is the synopsis for Kubo and the Two Strings:
An epic action-adventure from acclaimed animation studio LAIKA. Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson of “Game of Thrones”) ekes out a humble living, telling fantastical stories to the people of his seaside town. But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a mythical spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Academy Award winner Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey), and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen – a magical musical instrument – Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King (Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) and the evil twin Sisters (Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara), to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family and his heroic destiny. The all-star cast also includes George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Brenda Vaccaro.
Kubo and the Two Strings will bow into theaters on August 19, 2016.
What do you think? Are you excited for Kubo and the Two Strings?
Edited by: Hannah Wilkes
