History WesternAnimation / KuboAndTheTwoStrings

** Kubo tells the villagers the story of Hanzo, leading up to his battle with the Moon King. [[spoiler: It mirrors his entire quest, right down to the detail of the final act, where he's "filled with rage, his soul tormented with the grief of a family stolen from him".]] What's more, Kubo's story of Hanzo abruptly ends right before Hanzo engages the Moon King in battle, as though framing how [[spoiler: Kubo doesn't what ''[[ForcedTransformation really]]'' [[ForcedTransformation happened]] to his father.]]

** Kubo tells the villagers the story of Hanzo, leading up to his battle with the Moon King. [[spoiler: It mirrors his entire quest, right down to the detail of the final act, where he's "filled with rage, his soul tormented with the grief of a family stolen from him".]]

* SignatureInstrument: Kubo and his shamisen, which also [[InstrumentOfMurder overlaps]] as his WeaponOfChoice. The film's title [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin says it all]].

* WeaponOfChoice: Kubo and his InstrumentOfMurder, the shamisen.

* BalefulPolymorph:
** What actually ended up happening to [[spoiler: Hanzo]], as a result of his relationship with [[spoiler: Kubo's mother making her turn against her family.]] As we can see from the paper recreation, it looked ''very'' painful.
** In a way, [[spoiler:the Moon King is also subjected to this, having been turned into a normal human by Kubo,]] something that he clearly would not have ever desired.

* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler: So, the Moon King stole Kubo's eye as a baby, had him and his mother separated from his father, stole Hanzo's memories and [[BalefulPolymorph cursed]] him, sent his remaining daughters to assassinate Sariatu, destroyed Kubo's village along the way, and nearly killed his own grandson. So how do Kubo and the villagers react when the Moon King has been stripped of his powers and reduced to a helpless amnesiac old man at their mercy? ...They tell him he's a kind, upstanding person and welcome him as one of their own. Kubo goes as far as to accept his grandfather as family. [[TropesAreNotBad This is not a bad thing]] however, as this moment demonstrates Kubo's newfound maturity and his willingness to put a stop to the violence his family has become embroiled in.]]

* CluckingFunny: The old woman asks Kubo to add a fire-breathing chicken to his story as comic relief. Later on, he does just that.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Kubo's mother desperately warns him that if he stays out after dark, [[spoiler: the Moon King and the Sisters]] will take Kubo away from her. Not only does this resemble a parent exaggerating stranger danger, but also [[spoiler: a single parent trying so hard not to lose custody of their child to their [[AbusiveParents abusive relatives]].]]

* LighterAndSofter: Than Laika's previous three animated features, ''{{WesternAnimation/Coraline}},'' ''WesternAnimation/ParaNorman,'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheBoxtrolls.'' Compared to them, ''Kubo'' has less frightening imagery and eases up on the violence, though the themes and plot are still fairly dark (involving death, immortality and EyeScream).
* LightningReveal: During the battle between one of the Sisters and Monkey on the boat, the former has suddenly disappeared but a lightning reveals her shadow behind the sail.

'''Monkey:''' ''This “filthy creature” WILL TEAR YOU APART!!!''\\

*** Momotaro/Peach Boy: Our hero has superpowers (Momotaro had super-strength) and goes on a quest with three (mostly) non-human companions: an intelligent monkey, a flying scout (a pheasant/the paper doll), and one who's strong and loyal (a dog/Beetle); he's also aided by items provided by his parents. In the end both heroes [[spoiler: spare the enemy leader after depowering him]].
*** Bamboo Princess: Kubo's mother's background [[spoiler: being a cold-hearted princess from the moon who falls in love with a man from the earth. In the folklore the Princess deliberately asks her suitors to find her impossible things so they'll give up on her, seeing as she'll soon return to the moon and her heavenly family/species and forget her time as a human]].

** Kubo gets angry that his father didn't answer his prayer and crumples up the lantern in rage before he cools down a bit and apologizes to his father. [[spoiler: This not only establishes that Kubo has a bit of a dark side to him, but also sets up how he'll [[PrepareToDie lash out]] at his grandfather before he ultimately chooses [[ThePowerOfLove the path of kindness and forgiveness]].]]

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Monkey was created by Kubo's mother and acts as a guide and mentor to him throughout his journey.

* TheHypnotoad: The monster in Long Lake has the ability to show its victims things about their past and/or future if they look into one of its many eyes. However, it also leaves them in a trance and open to being its lunch.

** During their first meeting, Beetle assures Kubo that he [[DeclarationOfProtection will defend the boy]] [[spoiler: by giving his own life if necessary. Sadly, he does indeed die at the hands of Washi trying to defend Kubo and Monkey from her.]]

''Kubo and the Two Strings'' is a StopMotion animated movie produced by {{Creator/Laika}} and directed by Travis Knight.

* RealityEnsues: Three cases of this:
** Kubo's mother suffers a blow to the head at the start of the movie, hard enough to draw blood and leave a scar. Flash forward to the present, and this has caused serious medical problems, as she now spends most of every day catatonic, and even when she's conscious, she suffers from constant holes in her memory and tremors. Though the catatonia is probably more related to the fact that [[spoiler:she is a daughter of the Moon King, and seeing as her sisters and father are only ever seen at night it can be presumed they must sleep during the day / are catatonic during the day should they be awake. She herself is only ever seen lucid at night as well.]] Her memory loss is probably related to the head wound, though.
** As mentioned by Travis Knight in the commentary, Kubo's accidentally burning himself while trying to cook rice is meant to invoke this trope. Not only does it indicate that Kubo isn't entirely capable of taking care of himself and his mother, but it establishes that this is a reality where people can ''actually get hurt'' (just like Sariatu's head injury).
** [[spoiler: Beetle/Hanzo getting stabbed by the second Sister is a result of him speaking with Kubo and Monkey on the presumption that they have borrowed time, rather than keeping his guard up.]]
** The armor and sword Kubo spends the film seeking out turn out to be [[spoiler:not that useful to him. While an unbreakable sword and indestructible armor would be of tremendous use to a great warrior like his father, Kubo has little to no training in using them so he cannot defeat the Moon King with them. On the other hand, it helps Kubo survive attacks from the Moon King until he gets to his shamisen and weaponizes ThePowerOfLove]].

* BigScrewedUpFamily: Kubo has a very dysfunctional family, to say the least. [[spoiler: His grandfather is the wicked [[BigBad Moon King]] who desires to steal Kubo’s eyes so he can destroy his humanity. Kubo’s two aunts serve their father and are murderous sadists who won’t hesitate to attack their nephew or sister. Kubo’s mother used to be like them, but was saved by Hanzo’s love. Kubo’s mom later becomes mentally disabled from her injuries, then she becomes reborn as a monkey who reverts to her colder personality, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold though thankfully still loves Kubo.]] Hanzo is in the end the only truly sane person in the family, but that gets sabotaged by him being turned into an [[LaserGuidedAmnesia amnesiac beetle.]]]]

* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: Kubo was about to resume what was becoming a losing battle against the Moon King when he noticed his bracelets. Those bracelets were [[TragicKeepsake mementos]] that held the memories of his parents, inspiring him to try ThePowerOfLove instead of fighting his enemy head-on. If it weren't for those bracelets, there's no telling how the battle would've ended.]]

%%* BigScrewedUpFamily
* BittersweetEnding: Both of Kubo's parents [[spoiler:end up dying by the end of the film, but he manages to defeat the Moon King. His parents' spirits in their true forms briefly return to him so he may send their boats down the river for the festival, ending the story. Also, Kameyo the widow poses as the amnesiac Moon King's second wife and tells him about Kubo being his grandson, meaning that Kubo still has family to take care of him.]] Lampshaded by Kubo at the end.

** The movie ends with a shot of the full moon. [[spoiler: One of the last shots is of the crescent moon, showing how the Moon King's powers have been diminished and he can't hurt Kubo anymore.]]

*** In the Junior novel, Kubo can't help but notice how [[spoiler: Monkey and Beetle are prone to bicker, "just like the village fishmonger and his wife".]]

* RaiseHimRightThisTime: A variation. [[spoiler: After the climatic battle, the Moon King is not reduced to a baby, per say. But all the same, he is stripped of his memory as a Moon God, which leaves it up to Kubo and the villagers to shape his personality. They all start with claiming he's a good man who has touched their lives one way or another.]]

* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler: So, the Moon King stole Kubo's eye as a baby, had him and his mother separated from his father, stole Hanzo's memories and [[BalefulPolymorph cursed]] him, sent his remaining daughters to assassinate Sariatu, destroyed Kubo's village along the way, and nearly killed his own grandson. So how do Kubo and the villagers react when the Moon King has been stripped of his powers and reduced to a helpless amnesiac old man at their mercy? ...They tell him he's a kind, upstanding person and welcome him as one of their own. Kubo goes as far as to accept his grandfather as family. [[[TropesAreNotBad This is not a bad thing]] however, as this moment demonstrates Kubo's newfound maturity and his willingness to put a stop to the violence his family has become embroiled in.]]