This is a big coup for the already-beloved Laika animation house. The studio announced today that Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, Rooney Mara, and Ralph Fiennes will voice their 2015 animated picture “Kubo and the Two Strings.” Travis Knight, an Annie Award-winning animator who worked on “Coraline” and “ParaNorman,” will make his directorial debut with ‘Kubo.’
From an original screenplay by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler (“ParaNorman”), ‘Kubo’ is a sweeping, swashbuckling adventure set in a mythical ancient Japan. It is being brought to life at Laika’s Oregon studios via the company’s innovative 3D stop-motion and CG hybrid technique. In addition to the all-star voice cast, Brenda Vaccaro and Art Parkinson (“Game of Thrones”) are also part of the lineup, with the latter voicing the title character Kubo.
In the epic fantasy, scruffy, kindhearted Kubo ekes out a humble living while devotedly caring for his mother in their sleepy shoreside village. It is a quiet existence—until a spirit from the past catches up with him to enforce an age-old vendetta. Suddenly on the run from gods and monsters, Kubo’s chance for survival rests on finding the magical suit of armor once worn by his fallen father, the greatest samurai the world has ever known. Summoning all his courage, Kubo embarks on a thrilling odyssey as he faces his family’s history, navigates the elements, and bravely fights for the earth and the stars.
"Kubo and the Two Strings" opens nationwide domestically on August 19th, 2016.