Description

Kubo and the Two Strings.In ancient Japan, Kubo (Art Parkinson) is a one-eyed young boy who lives with his ill mother, Sariatu (Charlize Theron), in a cave atop a mountain. Every day he tells stories to village's locals by magically manipulating origami that moves under music played from Kubo's shamisen. He tells the tale of a samurai warrior named Hanzo who is Kubo's missing father. When the town bell chimes signaling sunset, Kubo returns to his mother, as she explicitly warns him to not stay outside after dark or her Sisters (Rooney Mara) and his grandfather the Moon King (Ralph Fiennes) will come to take his remaining eye (after they took his other eye when he was a baby). One day, Kubo learns of an Obon festival which has a ceremony where family members communicate with deceased loved ones. He arrives at a cemetery and tries to speak to Hanzo, but leaves in anger when his father does not respond. As Kubo stays out after sundown, Sariatu's Sisters Karasu and Yukami find him and attack. His mother arrives to fend them off. She sends Kubo away using her magic, telling him to find his father's magic armor. He takes a lock of her hair before she charges at her Sisters. Kubo wakes up and meets Monkey (Charlize Theron), his little wooden snow monkey charm that was brought to life by his mother's magic. She informs him that his mother is dead, his village is destroyed, and they must move on to survive. The next morning Monkey wakes Kubo and points out "Little Hanzo"–one of Kubo's origami designed to look like his father–who folded himself and came to life at night. Little Hanzo shows Kubo and Monkey the way to pieces of a magic armor, where they are greeted by Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), an amnesiac samurai who was cursed to take the form of a beetle and claims to have been Hanzo's apprentice. He joins them on their quest when he finds out that Kubo is Hanzo's son. The Sisters discover Kubo is looking for his father's armor and split up to find him...