Best Breaks: Kubo and the Two Strings

Five Kubo staff favorites for the week of November 28th.

The Ambition of Travis Knight

"The challenge I set for the team was to do a stop-motion David Lean film, a Kurosawian myth in miniature," Travis Knight.

The Wrap breaks it all down - a truly comprehensive study with the amazing team at Laika. 

Read the full piece at The Wrap.

Personal Tragedy and Inspiration

"I started to see the parallels between the story and my own life and that's what unlocked everything for me."

Travis Knight discusses how an older brother, lost in a diving accident helped him see the power, and potential of Kubo. "[A] blend of lightness and dark, humour and heart. The classic stories I loved growing up all had those ingredients and that’s what I wanted to convey”.

Read the full feature at ScreenDaily.com.  

Kubo and The Wall Street Journal

Travis Knight sits with the WSJ's "Lunch Break" host Tanya Rivero to discuss the making of as well as commercial and critical success of Laika's latest Kubo and the Two Strings.

Recently awarded Best Animated Picture by the National Board of Review, Knight delves into what he and his team at Laika look for when selecting material, "I come from a philosophy that stories should be thought-provoking and emotionally resonant and have dynamism in the storytelling. So we're always trying to tell a different kind of a story, we're trying to use this medium of animation to tell powerful stories that resonate with families."

Watch the full interview at The Wall Street Journal.

Employee Diversity Throughout Laika Titles

"People from all walks of life, all countries come here to work on these movies," Georgina Hayns, creative supervisor of puppet fabrication.

Variety offers an inclusive look at a few of the key players at Laika and their thoughts on how the company's openness to all walks of live contributes to its success.

"The more diverse we can become, the richer the kinds of stories we can tell," head of production Arianne Sutner.

Read the full piece at Variety.com.

Mondo Unleashes Kubo

Coinciding with the home entertainment release of Kubo and the Two Strings, Mondo revealed both an exclusive Kubo print and two Coraline variants.

The Kubo piece was created by César Moreno and was limited to a run of 225 prints.

Head over to Mondo for a more detailed look at the art and particulars.