With the release of Kubo and the Two Strings last year, let's share some thoughts on one of the last remaining bastions of stop motion animation.
I've seen every Laika film in theaters, and I always get excited when I hear they have a new one coming out. Since I started exploring animated films more, I realized their value and the importance of supporting hand crafted art in this age of CGI. They have a distinct style not only in visuals but in their storytelling as well, which is refreshing when Disney and Pixar films start feeling samey. They have no qualms about getting dark, scary and even violent, which is something I feel is a bit lacking in today's animated films aimed at general audiences. Another recurring element in their films I appreciate is the lack of romantic subplots (there might have been one in Boxtrolls though).
Coraline (2009)
is still their best film in my opinion, and one of my favorite films of all time. Maybe it's because I have a soft spot for family friendly films that are also creepy, but Coraline is just terrifying at times. Not just in terms of the "yikes" factor, but there's a constant underlying feeling of things being ever so slightly off but you can't put your finger on it. It's almost Lovecraftian in its descent into twistedness.
Also helping is that Coraline is an engaging character herself. I always roll my eyes a bit in kids' films when the protagonist is presented as perfectly innocent and oh so sweet and blabedy blah. For example, I never found the kid in Inside Out that interesting for this reason. Coraline is different: she's bratty, sarcastic, even rude and complains a lot. But she's also smart, resourceful, quick on her feet and returns kindness. And she still behaves like a child and doesn't jump into unbelievability.
The visuals are what really sell the creepiness. The button eyes, the color pallet, the quirky character designs, the crooked buildings and shadows all create the sense of warpedness I always associate with the film. It's fantastic in every regard.
Paranorman (2012)
is also pretty great. It's probably the closest to something I'd call a child friendly Evil Dead: a horror comedy that's both scary and funny in appropriate amounts. Though its scares rely more on what's on screen than subtext, it tackles some really, really heavy subject matter that's rare even in adult oriented films. It's got fun characters, funny physical comedy, and the ending is really sweet. Though Norman might initially seem like a bullied nerd's self insert character (ooh, I'm bullied but I'm so special and no one can understand woe is me), he quickly leaves those trappings behind by showing initiative, sympathy and willingness to cooperate.
The Boxtrolls (2014)
I struggle to remember anything from this film beyond Ben Kingsley hamming it up big time as the villain and being tons of fun. The story wasn't memorable, nor the characters, or even the visuals that much. The message was rather simplistic compared to the previous two as well: "Be yourself." Uhh, thanks I guess, but every other kids' film ever has already told me that already. Maybe this is due to only seeing it once, but even after seeing it I thought it was the least of Laika's films. Perhaps I need to watch it again.
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
This I was really excited for, and perhaps too much. It's the best looking Laika film no doubt: the colors, the animation, cinematography and effects are all pretty much perfect. Plus it had moments of genuine scariness, like when the sisters first show up and the sequence at the bottom of the lake. It sets up a really interesting world and mythology.
But what ultimately brought this film down to merely good was the story, which initially felt really original and interesting, but went total Hollywood by the end.
My word that's a wall of text.
TL;DR: I like Laika films. Do you? Have you seen them? Whaddya think o' dem?
I've seen every Laika film in theaters, and I always get excited when I hear they have a new one coming out. Since I started exploring animated films more, I realized their value and the importance of supporting hand crafted art in this age of CGI. They have a distinct style not only in visuals but in their storytelling as well, which is refreshing when Disney and Pixar films start feeling samey. They have no qualms about getting dark, scary and even violent, which is something I feel is a bit lacking in today's animated films aimed at general audiences. Another recurring element in their films I appreciate is the lack of romantic subplots (there might have been one in Boxtrolls though).
Coraline (2009)
is still their best film in my opinion, and one of my favorite films of all time. Maybe it's because I have a soft spot for family friendly films that are also creepy, but Coraline is just terrifying at times. Not just in terms of the "yikes" factor, but there's a constant underlying feeling of things being ever so slightly off but you can't put your finger on it. It's almost Lovecraftian in its descent into twistedness.
Also helping is that Coraline is an engaging character herself. I always roll my eyes a bit in kids' films when the protagonist is presented as perfectly innocent and oh so sweet and blabedy blah. For example, I never found the kid in Inside Out that interesting for this reason. Coraline is different: she's bratty, sarcastic, even rude and complains a lot. But she's also smart, resourceful, quick on her feet and returns kindness. And she still behaves like a child and doesn't jump into unbelievability.
The visuals are what really sell the creepiness. The button eyes, the color pallet, the quirky character designs, the crooked buildings and shadows all create the sense of warpedness I always associate with the film. It's fantastic in every regard.
Paranorman (2012)
is also pretty great. It's probably the closest to something I'd call a child friendly Evil Dead: a horror comedy that's both scary and funny in appropriate amounts. Though its scares rely more on what's on screen than subtext, it tackles some really, really heavy subject matter that's rare even in adult oriented films. It's got fun characters, funny physical comedy, and the ending is really sweet. Though Norman might initially seem like a bullied nerd's self insert character (ooh, I'm bullied but I'm so special and no one can understand woe is me), he quickly leaves those trappings behind by showing initiative, sympathy and willingness to cooperate.
The Boxtrolls (2014)
I struggle to remember anything from this film beyond Ben Kingsley hamming it up big time as the villain and being tons of fun. The story wasn't memorable, nor the characters, or even the visuals that much. The message was rather simplistic compared to the previous two as well: "Be yourself." Uhh, thanks I guess, but every other kids' film ever has already told me that already. Maybe this is due to only seeing it once, but even after seeing it I thought it was the least of Laika's films. Perhaps I need to watch it again.
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
This I was really excited for, and perhaps too much. It's the best looking Laika film no doubt: the colors, the animation, cinematography and effects are all pretty much perfect. Plus it had moments of genuine scariness, like when the sisters first show up and the sequence at the bottom of the lake. It sets up a really interesting world and mythology.
But what ultimately brought this film down to merely good was the story, which initially felt really original and interesting, but went total Hollywood by the end.
I felt the story set itself up really well, and felt really unique for about half the film. But then it was revealed that Monkey was actually Kubo's mother in disguise, the story started to go downhill. Not only was this the most obvious and easy route they could have taken, but it took away all the impact of Kubo and her mother's relationship in the beginning, not to even mention her "death". Plus, I never made sense of how the monkey charm was supposed to work. Did it turn her mother into Monkey? Was it some kind of failsafe, which returned her mother to her senses? Was her mother's spirit transferred into Monkey who was a separate being altogether?
And to add to it, the fact that Beetle was actually Hanzo reduced the tragedy of Kubo's fate even more. I would have way preferred if Hanzo was left this quasi-mythical figure who we only hear about, and Beetle would have been his closest friend or something. It would have made the world of the story feel bigger, but also added a theme of finding a new family in dire times. If Monkey and Beetle had indeed been a guardian spirit and his father's friend, it would
have made their deaths even more tragic, as Kubo would have lost those close to him to his evil relatives.
Not only those, but the fact that the ending is basically the "power of love" thing again really reduced this film in my view. Still, I'll probably watch it again just for the visuals.
And to add to it, the fact that Beetle was actually Hanzo reduced the tragedy of Kubo's fate even more. I would have way preferred if Hanzo was left this quasi-mythical figure who we only hear about, and Beetle would have been his closest friend or something. It would have made the world of the story feel bigger, but also added a theme of finding a new family in dire times. If Monkey and Beetle had indeed been a guardian spirit and his father's friend, it would
have made their deaths even more tragic, as Kubo would have lost those close to him to his evil relatives.
Not only those, but the fact that the ending is basically the "power of love" thing again really reduced this film in my view. Still, I'll probably watch it again just for the visuals.
My word that's a wall of text.
TL;DR: I like Laika films. Do you? Have you seen them? Whaddya think o' dem?
