Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, Rooney Mara and Ralph Fiennes are all headed to the Land of the Rising Sun in today’s new trailer for Laika (Coraline, ParaNorman) and Focus Features’ much-anticipated animation, Kubo and the Two Strings.
Orchestrating the sprawling adventure from behind the lens is Travis Knight, the head honcho of Laika who is poised to make his directorial debut. Lifted from a pitch by ParaNorman scribes Marc Haimes and Chris Butler, Kubo and the Two Strings is billed as a swashbuckling adventure situated in ancient Japan.
Game of Thrones alum Art Parkinson (Rickon Stark) leads the charge as the titular Kubo, a brash and wide-eyed adventurer who provokes the curse of a malevolent spirit. Keen to banish any evil from his hometown of Hosato and its surrounding lands, Parkinson’s hero sets out to topple gods and monsters alike, including Ralph Fiennes’ formidable Moon King.
Rounding out the star-studded voice cast are Art Parkinson, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Brenda Vaccaro, with Kubo and the Two Strings on course for a release on August 19.
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.