Review: 'Kubo' is a gorgeous coming-of-age story with Asian roots

The kid heroes of Laika animation studio's movies always stand strong against whatever weirdness they encounter: for example, a feral boy vs. a cheese-loving wacko in The Boxtrolls or a little girl dealing with a horrifying parallel landscape in Coraline.

Wielding a magical musical instrument, the one-eyed title character of the superb Kubo and the Two Strings (***½ out of four; rated PG; in theaters Friday) has arguably the biggest adventure of them all. The new stop-motion animated film is an artsy introduction for kids to the kung fu movie: In a gorgeously realized, Asian-inspired world, Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson) battles flying fish beasts, a ginormous skeleton (naturally housed in the Hall of Bones) and an underwater garden of eyeballs on stalks.

Even with all that strangeness, Kubo checks in as the most conventional project in Laika’s filmography, a slate of family fare that is consistently top-notch and winningly oddball. It's also the most universally relatable of the bunch: The movie’s main youngster is forced to deal with large creatures, sure, but also a dysfunctional family history that turns his normal everyday life into complete, mythologically charged chaos.

'Kubo' studio strives to change animation space with originality

When the Japanese boy is not entertaining neighbors with his gift for great tunes and otherworldly origami skills, Kubo takes care of his mother in a mountaintop abode nearby as she sits there, mostly in an unmoving and seemingly vegetative state. He never knew his samurai dad, who sacrificed himself to save Kubo from his grandfather, the evil Raiden the Moon King (Ralph Fiennes).

Kubo yearns to find his father’s mythical suit of armor, a quest that becomes even more pressing when the village is supernaturally attacked by his two ghostly aunts (both voiced by Rooney Mara). He wakes up in the aftermath with two new partners on his journey: a wise and cantankerous Monkey (Charlize Theron) and slightly dimwitted macho warrior Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), who teach him new abilities and ways to master his existing powers to prep for Raiden’s return.

Debuting director Travis Knight, the lead animator on Laika’s prior films, puts together the most original, well-crafted animated film so far in 2016. It’s a personal and somewhat tragic fable, and the script by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler truly invests the audience in Kubo’s well-being.

But Kubo also manages to have a great sense of humor, especially with the bickering relationship among the core trio as they travel over land and sea. Facing down the scary skeleton monster, Beetle tosses out the superhero-ready one-liner “I’ve got a bone to pick with you,” leading Monkey to chime in, “You’re an embarrassment.”

Hollywood families get silly at 'Kubo and the Two Strings' premiere

Considering the setting, there is a surprising and rather disheartening lack of Asian voice actors in the main cast — George Takei and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa star as two villagers but neither are substantial roles. That said, one can’t complain about Theron’s winning combo of deadpan style and maternal nature for Monkey or McConaughey pretty much being McConaughey in his first animated role as Beetle. (You don't have to wait long for the second: He's a panda in December's Sing.)

It is definitely the summer for talking animals taking over the cinema, but Kubo manages to rise above the rest of its peers with a wondrous coming-of-age tale full of ancient soul.