Dec 11, 2015

Teaser: Leica's Kubo and 2 Strings is a stop-motion action adventure film

Laika's fourth film, Kubo and the Two Strings, looks to be the studio's most different yet, an honest-to-goodness action-adventure film set in a mythic Japan. It's a bold vision in the U.S. feature animation landscape which rarely ventures into serious adventure territory.

The studio released a teaser trailer this morning, which gives a taste of the film's ornate visual style and epic setting:

Kubo will mark the directorial debut of animator Travis Knight, who is also the CEO of Laika, and is written by Marc Haimes, a studio executive-turned-screenwriter, and Chris Butler (writer and co-director, ParaNorman). The idea is based on a concept originally brought to the studio by animation artist Shannon Tindle.

The official synopsis reveals quite a bit of the film's plot:

Focus Features, which has released all of Laika's previous features (Coraline, Paranorman, The Boxtrolls), will launch Kubo in the U.S. on August 19, 2016. Universal Pictures International will distribute the film abroad.