Focus Features has unveiled a new (and final) Kubo and the Two Strings trailer, plus a quartet of posters, for LAIKA’s highly anticipated new stop-motion animated film, and boy does this thing continue to look spectacular. The Japanese-infused supernatural epic is the most ambitious film of LAIKA’s to date, whose previous ventures include the dark fairy tale Coraline, the Halloween throwback ParaNorman, and the socio-economic satire The Boxtrolls. Not only is Kubo and the Two Strings ambitious from a scale point of view, with a tale that traverses the varied landscape of Japan, but also in terms of story, as this adventure is an epic in every sense of the word.

The film follows a young storyteller named Kubo who accidentally summons a spirit from his past who arrives with a serious vendetta. Kubo must then team up with Monkey and Beetle to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father. LAIKA President and CEO Travis Knight makes his directorial debut with this project after having served as lead animator and producer on the studio’s previous films, and if these trailers thus far are any indication, we could be in for LAIKA’s best film yet. The studio has previously showed a penchant for melding funny and inventive stories with incredibly humanistic and mature themes, so I’m very curious to see what’s at the heart of Kubo and the Two Strings.


Check out the new trailer below, as well as four new posters that highlight the diverse locations of the film. The movie features the voices of Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro, and Matthew McConaughey. Kubo and the Two Strings opens in theaters on August 19th.

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Here’s the official synopsis for Kubo and the Two Strings:

An epic action-adventure set in a fantastical Japan from acclaimed animation studio LAIKA. Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson of “Game of Thrones”) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town including Hosato (George Takei), Akihiro (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), and Kameyo (Academy Award nominee Brenda Vaccaro). But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Academy Award winner Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey), and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen – a magical musical instrument – Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King (Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) and the evil twin Sisters (Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara), to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family, and fulfill his heroic destiny.