SPOILERS
If you pay attention, you’ll remember, nothing is hopeless or beyond redemption.
Visually, the film is a dream. As stunning as The Little Prince (2015) (different studio, though equally ambitious). But I’m genuinely confused. This is a tale that takes place in Japan, the characters are Japanese, and it’s inspired by Japanese myth. So why are none of the voice actors POC? Kubo is performed by Art Parkinson, Mother/Mr. Monkey is performed by Charlize Theron, and the film itself is directed by Travis Knight. It seems not only absurd, but outrageous to tell a story sourced from Japanese culture and not include Japanese artists in production. Evidently, the studio hired production consultant Tara Goto, an authority on Japanese culture, to pay proper homage to their muse and protect the integrity of the artistic components. Then explain the casting choices. Laika happily capitalized on stories that aren’t theirs to tell, cast voices that were ill-equipped and uninformed, but hired people to make sure it looked about right; that’s appropriation. I think it’s an exasperating shame too because had the voices been true to the Asian characters, I would’ve revered the film so much more.
After watching the film, I did some research into the Japanese tales that inspired Kubo and the Two Strings that I thought you might enjoy.
The first is the tale of “The Moon Rabbit”, which evokes many of the dark elements in the film. As the legend goes, a moon god came to earth disguised as a beggar, where he met a monkey, a fox, and a rabbit. The god kindly asked his new friends for provisions, and the monkey presented him with fruit, the fox fetched him fish from a stream, but the rabbit offered itself as a meal, leaping into a pit of fire. To reward his generous sacrifice, the moon god took the rabbit back to his home in the sky. In Kubo and the Two Strings, the moon king seeks not only to abduct the titular character but to eliminate his insight. This power to see what others cannot is what his mother sacrificed her soul to protect. She spared him from the corruptive cruelty that alters our vision and conceals the world’s redeemable beauty. In the end, it was her love, her resilient conscience, that reminded Kubo even the blind can be made to see.
Another source of inspiration for Kubo and the Two Strings was “The Legend of Momotaro”, which tells the story of a boy born from a peach, who embarks on a journey to defeat a group of ogres terrorizing nearby villages. On the way, he befriends a monkey, a dog, and a bird who help him defeat the band of miscreants. But even before this quest, Momotaro displayed qualities of a noble leader—brave and tenacious, which foreshadowed his hero status. In one of the most poignant scenes in the film, the three main characters sit down for a family dinner, and Beetle says to Kubo, “Before you went on this great adventure, you were still very much a hero.” The titular character is a precocious boy who had to grow up quickly to take care of his grieving mother, whose soul is trapped in the deepest dejection. Every day, he would nourish her spirit with stories of nature and triumph to reel her out of that spiritual abyss. Then at night, when the moon would rise, and Kubo was most vulnerable, Mother remembered her son, the force that ushers her to the surface. Kubo never abandoned the love he sensed beyond her vacant eyes, and when she fought her way out (just for him), he offered her another chance…to be the parent for a change. Perhaps that’s what makes Kubo a true hero, his ability to encounter a soul seemingly too forgone, find some redeeming pulse, and exchange absolution.
One of the most famous pieces of folklore in Japan is “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter”—a story about an enchanting princess sent by the moon gods to live on earth for a short period of time. During her stay, she is adopted by a loving family and forms a platonic relationship with the Emperor. In the end, the princess returns to her home on the moon, leaving behind her humanity and with it, the memories of her earthly attachments. In Kubo and the Two Strings, Mother was ordered by the moon king to dispatch Kubo’s father without mercy and return home. But, upon their meeting, she couldn’t bring herself to abide by apathy because Hanzo’s heart changed the way she viewed the human world. Through their love, alchemical as it was, she beheld magic missing from her immortal realm, magic she subsequently bequeathed to her son in the shape of an eye, an eye tempered by his parents’ most invaluable memories. Hanzo gave Mother her sight, awakened her heart, and Kubo did the same for his grandfather in a show of mercy. Ultimately, both stories explore life’s fleeting nature and how essential it is to our existence to combat cynicism, to reach for love, and remember that to be human is a powerful gift.
Review 6 out of 10 The movie could’ve been something truly special with the right cast.
Works Cited
Young, Nana. “The Moon Rabbit Legend: Exploring Japan’s Enchanting Lunar Story.” Bokksu, 14 Aug. 2024, bokksu.com/blogs/news/the-moon-rabbit-legend-exploring-japans-enchanting-lunar-story.
Young, Nana. “Momotaro: The Peach Boy Hero of Japanese Folklore.” Bokksu, 1 July 2024, bokksu.com/blogs/news/momotaro-the-peach-boy-hero-of-japanese-folklore?srsltid=AfmBOoo7QmbVyxQSoxAyPyF9w–HJhZ7dn6OYYcZdBJ8-7flln1uCfQ6#ruffruff-table-of-contents-item-4.
Young, Nana. “The Enchantment of Taketori Monogatari: Exploring the Tale of Princess Kaguya.” Bokksu, 2 Aug. 2024, bokksu.com/blogs/news/the-enchantment-of-taketori-monogatari-exploring-the-tale-of-princess-kaguya?_pos=1&_sid=269922027&_ss=r.
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