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In ancient Japan, Kubo and his magic shamisen flee vengeful spirits, meet magical creatures, and learn his family's connection to the heaven and stars.

/ ABOUT THE FILM

Academy AwardsÂŪ

Nominated for Best Animated Feature

Best Visual Effects

Annie Awards

3 wins, 7 nominations

BAFTA

1 win

Golden Globes

1 nomination

Visual Effects Society

1 win, 5 nominations

MEET THE HERO

Kubo

With the aid of a magical instrument called a shamisen, Kubo enchants the locals with his showman’s talent for storytelling and his extraordinary ability to bring origami characters to life.

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Meet Kubo

Our clever, kind-hearted Kubo’s puppet design blended traditional Japanese aesthetics with groundbreaking stop-motion techniques, including hand-crafted costumes and 3D-printed faces. Learn more about how animators brought the shamisen-playing, origami-folding hero to life in this behind-the-scenes featurette.

Cast & Crew

Kubo and the Two Strings required painstaking craftsmanship and ingenious innovation. Meet the cast and crew behind the epic film.

Cast & Crew

directed by Travis Knight
screenplay by Marc Haimes
Chris Butler
story by Shannon Tindle
Marc Haimes
produced by Arianne Sutner, p.g.a.
Travis Knight, p.g.a.
lead animators Jason Stalman
Malcolm Lamont
director of photography Frank Passingham
production designer Nelson Lowry
edited by Christopher Murrie, A.C.E.
music by Dario Marianelli

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" Written by George Harrison
Performed by Regina Spektor

visual effects supervisor Steve Emerson
costume designer Deborah Cook
rigging supervisor Oliver Jones
director of rapid prototyping Brian McLean
puppet fabrication supervisor Georgina Hayns
character designer Shannon Tindle
character sculptor Kent Melton
animation supervisor Brad Schiff
head of story Chris Butler
concept artists Trevor Dalmer
August Hall
Ean McNamara

Animation

animators Daniel Alderson
Andy Bailey
Ludovic Berardo
Thiago Calçado
Phil Dale
Antony Elworthy
Charles Greenfield
Brian Hansen
Michael Hollenbeck
Travis Knight
Danail Kraev
Rachelle Lambden
Matias Liebrecht
Jan Maas
Kevin Parry
Florian Perinelle
Justin Rasch
Jeff Riley
Gabe Sprenger
Anthony Straus
Philippe Tardif
Ian Whitlock
Dobrin Yanev
additional animators Daniel Gill
Dan MacKenzie
Suzy Parr
Trey Thomas
Marcos Valin
Steve Warne
assistant animators Adam Fisher
Sean Gregory
Jeremy Murphy
animation trainee Ning Xu
animation interns Yizhou Li
Caitlin Low
James Mendola
animation coordinator Claudia Amatulli
facial animation designer David Vandervoort
facial animation supervisor Kyle T. Bell
lead facial animator Kim Slate
cg facial animators Adam Lawthers
Sean Burns
Jeffrey Croke
Matt Ellsworth
Joel Hasse
Tingting Liu
Zachary Rahman
Michelle Ross
Carolyn Vale
cg facial animation interns Ben Girmann
Katie Knudson
track reader Ryan T. Aguilar

Story

story artists John Aoshima
Vera Brosgol
Emanuela Cozzi
Mark Garcia
JuliÃĄn NariÃąo
Ovi Nedelcu
David Ochs
Brian Ormiston
Shawn Palmer

consultant/interpreter Tarȏ Gotȏ

Casting

casting by Allison Jones
casting associates Ben Harris
Peter Kousakis

Production

production manager Dan Pascall
1st assistant director Samuel Wilson
production scheduler Jared Bumgarner
associate producer Jocelyn Pascall
2nd assistant directors Jodi Clark
Alicia Cortes
Holly Werner
assistant production coordinator David J. Epstein
3rd assistant directors Finley Mulligan
Brett Alexander Nichols
production accountant Jason Bryant
assistant to the producer/director Christina Mackin
assistant to the producer Emily Shinyi Hsu
executive assistant to Travis Knight Kathy Radcliffe
script/recording coordinator KJ Pilar
assistant production scheduler Nathanael Horton
production runners Brad Burns
Marina Capizzi
Evan Hailstone
Andrew Hollandsworth
Kara Sinclair
Matthew J. D. Thill
post-production supervisor David E. Hall

Character Fabrication

character supervisor Peter McCown
sculptors Benjamin William Adams
Christy Becker
Toby Froud
head of mold making Matt Isakson
lead mold maker Mark Brokaw
mold makers Mattzilla Duron
Susanna Jerger
Gabriel Temme
Chris Waddell
head of armature Jeremy Spake
lead armaturists Nick Smalley-Ramsdale
Patrick Zung
armaturists Mark Gaiero
Jeanne R. McIvor
Thomas Bradley Meyers
Miel-Margarita Paredes
Graham Read
Sid Tucker
assistant armaturist Angela Muldoon
lead hand fabricator Rachel Cherry
hand fabricators Matt Cole
Emily D. Myers
Alex J. Andrade
head of casting Faon Lewis
lead caster Shea Bordo
casters Dexter Philip Caseres
Aaron Matthews
Aurore Nightingayle
Janet Pearce
Chris Walker
head of costume Thalia Lane
lead costume fabricator Elsa Dye
costume fabricators Julie Grasher
Molly Grundy
Jessica Junkins
Clair Monaghan
Colette Nickola
Anja Poland
Becky Redhead
Annika Schindler
Heidi M. Sowa
Áine Woods
assistant costume fabricator Jiyoon Hong
head of hair and fur fabrication Jessica Lynn
hair and fur fabricators Heidi Armour
TaMara Carlson Woodard
Brooke Duckart
Emelia Hiltner
assistant hair and fur fabricator Austen Weitzel
head of puppet painting Amy Wulfing
lead puppet painter Josh Storey
puppet painters Christopher Rabilwongse
Sara Spink
Anna Featherly Sutton
Jason Thibodeaux
assistant puppet painter Brett Carville
puppet intern Christina Jean Benenati
character fabricator Ann Smith Larson
villager fabricators Anthony DeFilipps
Susanna Jerger
Shannon O'Neill
Scott Tom
puppet wrangler Becky Steele
assistant puppet wrangler Alyssa Brooksong Essman
puppet fabrication production assistant María JosÃĐ Andreotti

Replacement Animation & Engineering

fabrication design lead Kingman Cruxent Gallagher
fabrication performance lead Morgan Hay
technical director Rob Ducey
technical director of facial rigging Michael Laubach
cg facial riggers Jarred Love
Hannah Quick Antico
Michael Cole
Darja Jerjomina
cg modelers Ty Johnson
Kyle Williams
Michael Berger
Zack Anderson
Helen Duckworth
Brian Tindall
lead texture artist Tory Bryant
assistant texture artist Evan Larson
RP coordinator Matthew J. Schiavone
RP production assistant Maya Holmes
lead replacement animation specialist Tim Yates
replacement animation specialists Tucker Piontek
Martha Grant
replacement animation testers Andrew Zubko
Hannah L. Baker
Jessica JP Polaniecki
3D printer technicians Angela Novak
Jenny Jewell Kramer
Michael Capparelli
RP fabricators Dominic Cardoso
Danie West
junior RP fabricator Albert Adee
quality assurance lead Jessica Lowe
sr. quality assurance Mary McOmber
quality assurance Micah Baker
Rebecca Black-Gliko
Daniel Cespedes
Clint K. Deadmond
Anna Glanton
Shauna Hagerman
Tina T. Hsu
Ann Moore
Joseph Reaves
Hals Reynolds
Jisoo Rim
Veronica Rosser
Alyssa Choate Rusche
Brett Scanlon
Jeremiah Servais
Brice Shultz
Kristen Shultz
Neil Taylor
Ann Whim Tseng
facial animation trainee Onyee Lo

Animation Rigging

animation riggers Brian Elliot
Chris Gough
Shami Lang-Rinderspacher
Lars C. Larsen
Arthur D. Lindfield
David Pugh
Jerry Svoboda
Patrick “Pat” Weinberg
animation rigging intern Dhivyasimhon Sridharan

Art Department

art director Alice Bird
assistant art directors Phil Brotherton
Robert DeSue
additional character design Jesse Aclin
paper artist Megan Tindle
look development Mari Tobita
Mary C. Brehmer
Abi Spring
prop designers David Lee
Joe Kortum
graphic designer Josh Holtsclaw
set designers Emily Greene
Carl B. Hamilton
pre-vis artists Ira Owens
Billy Cabey
Dan Casey
printer operators Nancy Guidry
Kristin Musser
art department coordinator Casey Zander Anderson
art department production assistants Daniela Scovel
Desiree Ong
Bradly Werley
Kyle G. Rossi

Set Fabrication

art department fabrication supervisor Jon M. Warren
head of set shop Darcy Nelson
lead carpenter Phil LaFond
carpenters Robert Cremins
Aaron Ferguson
Larry King
Brandon Lastomirsky
Douglas Miller
Raymond Moore
Zach Sheehan
A. Scott Tribble
metal fabricator Jayson Cooper
welder Rick Baker
art department fabrication coordinator Paula Diane Lopez
head of mechanical fabrication Brian Kelly Hahn
assistant machinists Tommy Schatz-Thompson
Austin Richards
laser cutter technician Kacey VanNuland

Model Shop

head of model shop Keith McQueen
lead model builder Raul Martinez
model builders Tim Arp
Ercilia Campos
John G. Hoffman
Coby Lorang
Paul Mack
Daniel McKinlay Miller
Michael Possert, Jr.
George Willis
cg modeler Tony P. Chen
soft goods Molly Storey Light
Mattie Bowden
miniature lighting engineer Matthew DeLeu
lead mold maker Russell Seifert
mold makers Enrico Altmann
Aileen Portia Tolentino
junior mold maker Max Barsana
model shop coordinator Whitney Schmerber

scenic art

lead scenic artist Tony Travis
scenic artists R. Brian Capati
Michelle DeMello
Katy Hughes
Leigh-Alexandra Jacob
Christina Owen
Cristina Acuna Solla
junior scenic artist Meg Holland
scenic coordinator Jodi Nichols

Landscapes

head of landscapes Duncan Gillis
lead landscape artist Douglas Mitchell
landscape artists Matthew Brooks
Matt Burlingame
Lisa Chung
Ans Ellis
KC Englander
Joseph Kincher
Celeste Leipham
Samantha Levy
Tony Preciado
Rachel Olson
junior landscape artist Heather Castro

Set Dressing

head of set dressing Kieron Thomas
lead set dresser Jesse Gregg
set dressers Andy Berry
Nick Mariana
Laurie Olson
Caitlin Pashalek
junior set dresser KC Englander

Lighting/Camera

lighting/camera leads Chris Peterson
John Ashlee Prat
Dean Holmes
Mark Stewart
assistant camera Jake Carlson
Christopher Covel
Drew Fortier
Gary D. Gatewood
Adam Jones
Jesse Levitt
assistant camera trainees Gavin Brown
John Simon Leonhardt
supervising gaffer Bryan Garver
gaffers Tyson Carpenter
Michael Gall
Ted Jackson
James “Junior” WilderHancock
stage production assistant Trahern Wells

Motion Control

lead camera and motion control engineer Steve Switaj
motion control operators Matthew Emmons
David Trappe
motion control technician Gunnar Heidar
practical lighting engineer Richard Malinowski

Editorial

first assistant editor Anthony Pitone
assistant editors Mandy Hutchings
Liz Larson
editorial department manager Trevor Cable

Media Services

manager of media services Martin Pelham
head of media services Jacqueline White
stage technicians Gregory T. Holmes
Jason Ptaszek
data wranglers Jason Potter
Kalie Stanton
stage & camera technical director Kenneth Lowe
junior unit photographer Steven Wong Jr.
graphic designer Tim Garbutt

Visual Effects

cg supervisor Rick Sevy
compositing supervisor Peter Vickery
cg look development lead Eric Wachtman
cg asset creation lead Grant Laker
visual effects production manager Joelle Spencer-Gilchrist
visual effects scheduler Adrienne Anderson
lead cg lighter Terrance Tornberg
lighting technical directors Benjamin Lishka
Joe Strasser
lead cg animator Nick Craven
cg animators Joe Gorski
John Berry
Andrew Schneider
animation technical director Alastair Macleod
lead effects artist David Horsley
effects technical director Takashi Kubota
senior technical director Peter Stuart
cg effects animator Karl Kohlman

Compositing

lead compositor Tilman Paulin
senior compositors Michael CÃģrdova
Timur Khodzhaev
Ralph Procida
compositors Matthew Beightol
Nick Childs
Sara Ireland
Daniel Leatherdale
James Pina
Daniel Short
Mike Terpstra
Curtis Zinn
cg senior modeler/texture artist Steve Arguello
cg modeler Chris “Khanh” Tran
junior cg modeler Dhanad Islam
cg riggers Justin Fischer
Terence Jacobson
shading systems architect Mitch Prater
texture artist/matte painter Joe Beckley
texture artist/modeler Holly Webster
vfx editor Todd Gilchrist
matchmove technical director Jeff W. Smith
survey/matchmover Christopher Weinberg
set surveyor Nicholas Jauregui
lead roto/paint artist Justin Graham
senior roto/paint artists Kane Brassington
Jorge Heredia
Veronica Hernandez
Trish Van’t Hul
roto/paint artists Aaron Charny
Gentry Davidson
Dustin Dybevik
Maria Fery
Ben Posey
Tina-Lorraine Rangel
Tarek Saleh
Kaci Smith
Yuriko Zubia
vfx production coordinators Vic Simiele
Lily Zaldivar
data/render wrangler Amelia “Mia” Sires
pipeline technical directors Jon Dobson
Micah Henrie
vfx production assistant Derek Wiley
vfx interns Tarun Lak
Eric Schultz

human resources manager Leeann Lewis

Cast

Monkey Charlize Theron
Kubo Art Parkinson
Moon King Ralph Fiennes
Hosato George Takei
Hashi Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Kameyo Brenda Vaccaro
The Sisters Rooney Mara
Beetle Matthew McConaughey
Mari Meyrick Murphy
Minae Minae Noji
Aiko Alpha Takahashi
Miho Laura Miro
Ken Ken Takemoto
Villagers Aaron Aoki
Luke Donaldson
Michael Sun Lee
Cary Yoshio Mizobe
Rachel Morihiro
Thomas Isao Morinaka
Saemi Nakamura
Zach Rice
Mariel Sheets

loop group casting ADR Voice Casting – Ranjani Brow, Ashley Lambert & Wendy Hoffman

Obon Choreography

obon festival choreographer Sahomi Tachibana
dancers Angela Kanegae
Akemi Saula

Fight Choreography

fight choreographer Aaron Toney
stunt team Mickey Facchinello
Brendan Huor
Jeremy Marinas

Music

music Dario Marianelli
score supervisor Maggie Rodford
orchestrators Dario Marianelli
Geoff Alexander
conductor Dario Marianelli
score recorded and mixed at Air Lyndhurst Hall
score recorded and mixed by Nick Wollage
assistant engineers Adam Miller
Fiona Cruickshank
Chris Barrett
music copyist Colin Rae
orchestra contractor Hilary Skewes
orchestra leader Rolf Wilson
shamisen Kevin Masaya Kmetz
Hibiki Ichikawa
shakuhachi Clive Bell
koto Melissa Holding
solo vocal Melanie Pappenheim
adult choir Doublefvoices
treble choir Libera Boys Choir conducted by Robert Prizeman
music editors James Bellamy
Dominick Certo
assistant music editor Timeri Duplat
music programmer Jody Jenkins
assistant score supervisor Emily Appleton-Holley
music supervisor Sara Matarazzo

“While My Guitar Gently Weeps”

published by Harrisongs, LTD. (ASCAP)
arranged by Dario Marianelli
shamisen solo Kevin Masaya Kmetz

post-production sound services by Warner Bros. Post Production Sound
supervising sound editor/sound designer Tim Chau
re-recording mixers Tim Chau
Tim LeBlanc
sound editor Clayton Weber M.P.S.E.
sound effects editor Thomas O’Neil Younkman
foley editor Travis Crotts
foley artists Catherine Harper
Gregg Barbanell
foley mixer Darrin Mann
mix technician Brian Tarlecki
re-recording engineer Bryon Everett Williams
additional sound Darlene Gorzela

Voice Recording Services Provided By

LA Studios - Los Angeles

engineer Carlos Sotolongo

Digital One - Portland

engineer Eric Stolberg

Digital Intermediate By

Technicolor Creative Services

digital intermediate colorist Mike Sowa
digital intermediate color assist/conform Valance Eisleben
digital intermediate producer Nancy Fuller
project manager Ladd Landford

Marketing, Publicity & Legal

publicity Maggie Begley Communications
rights and clearances by Entertainment Clearances Inc., Cassandra Barbour, Laura Sevier
music legal services Christine Bergren

End Credits Sequence

animation supervisor David Vandervoort
associate producer Jocelyn Pascall
art director Trevor Dalmer
animators David Vandervoort
Baptiste Rogron
Philippe Tardif
key assistant animators Debra Armstrong
Margie Wright Daniels
Emily Jiuliano
Ginny Parmele
assistant clean-up artist Benjamin William Adams
illustrator/end crawl August Hall
ink and paint Jon David Buffam
Jesse Jones
Jenny Kincaid
Ben Luce
Morgan Sheffield
compositing Brice Shultz
Yuriko Zubia
Mark Shirra
title artist Monica Fedrick
credit font design S-Core Co., Ltd.
Hyun-Seung Lee
Dae-Hoon Hahm
Dong-Kwan Kim
production assistant Conor B. Stott
production babies August D.
August L.
Bella
Blake
Blue
Bradley
Daylee
Elliott
Eloise
Emerson
Ever
Felicity
Fern
Gwen
Hallelea
Henry
Ian
Jack
Jackson
Johan
Jonas
Juniper
Kaia
Kate
Lee
Liliana
Logan
Lucas
Noah
Noelle
Phoebe
Sebastian
Silas B.
Silas C.
Thea
Vero
Vivienne O.
Vivienne
V. Willow

LAIKA

studio leadership Travis Knight
Bradley Wald
Arianne Sutner
business and legal affairs Rosemary Colliver
Jenniphur Ryan
accounting and finance Erin Baldwin
Bradley Day
Danika Burtt
Grace Chung
Kathy Germer
Jessica Goss
Lydia Shields
human resources Suzanne Johnson
Mitzi Ang
Laura Aranda
Beth Carter
Wendy Frankenhauser
Angela Geier
Beverley Menillo
Anna Kvorning
Kristine Zentmeyer
administrative services Toby Ethridge
Amy Bailey
Kate Evans
Rick Guinan
Tori Herbst
Christopher Herman
David Hogan
Ashley D. Hunker
Leif Jenssen
Gretchen Klein
Beth Lipson
Devon Maerz
Caitlin McDowell
Paul Messina
Kendra Nordt
Brendan O’Hara
Julia Oliver
Nathaniel Russell
Ian Smart
Nathaniel Tolle
brand and marketing management Mark Shapiro
catering services provided by Chef Naoko Catering
production technology Jeff Stringer
Tony Aiello
Stephanie Keske
Kyle Melton
Owen Nelson
Anh Khoa Ngo
Pranay Patel
Robert Powell
Jeanne Rich
James Salter
information technology Jonathan Rozes
William Fife
John Henry Frankenhauser
Michael Hix
Jennifer Kozik
David J. Rowe
Franklin Scheu
Mahlon E. Smith
Martha Steele
Jeff Vandehey
David Varieur
Nickolas Zolotko
catering services provided by Chef Naoko Catering

With Thanks To: Misako Ito
Oregon Film
Portland Japanese Garden
The Japanese Foundation, Los Angeles
Japanese American National Museum of Los Angeles
Portland Art Museum - Samurai! Exhibit
Kyle Abbott
Bamboo Garden Nursery - North Plains, Oregon
Dawn Levy Vance – Executive Travel Edge
Dawn Yamada
Sean Guttman
Stratasys
Jon Hiller
Nick Meisel
Jay Kogen
Megan Ganz
and
Olivia Harrison
Director’s Note This film is dedicated to my two strings:
Mom and Dad
And to Donna, Ridley, Willow, and Merrick.
You are my quest.
You always have been. TK

  • Dressed for Adventure

    Kubo and the Two Strings production consultant Taro Goto visits LAIKA’s studios to explore our intricate research into Japanese history.

    See all (opens in new tab)

  • Creatures of Darkness

    Discover how Kubo's massive monsters were crafted on a scale that’s utterly unprecedented in stop-motion animation.

    See all (opens in new tab)

  • Hand-Crafted VFX

    Look behind the scenes of Kubo to discover how the team of technical wizards and artistic craftspeople built the Garden of Eyes from a bowling ball, Kubo’s origami boat from thousands of leaves, and more.

    See all (opens in new tab)

  • A Perfect Storm

    For Kubo, LAIKA built an entire ocean, crafted a boat from handmade leaves, and achieved many more technical feats that made a small-scale movie feel like a large-scale epic.

    See all (opens in new tab)

"A powerhouse adventure and a visual wonderland of beauty and genuine big screen magic. Yet another LAIKA masterpiece."

Forbes (opens in new tab)

"Truly original. Kubo is a marvel."

Entertainment Weekly (opens in new tab)

"A stop-motion masterpiece. A truly unforgettable journey."

Indiewire (opens in new tab)

"4 stars. A beautifully animated tale with undeniable emotion. Stop-motion animation has never been rendered more beautifully. Gorgeous."

Empire Magazine (opens in new tab)

"A new classic. Enchanting, haunting, engaging and visually stunning."

Chicago Sun-Times (opens in new tab)

"4 stars. Breathtakingly beautiful. Both extraordinarily original and extraordinarily complex."

Washington Post (opens in new tab)

"Nothing short of magical. A classic hero's journey full of action and adventure."

RoberEbert.com (opens in new tab)

"One of the most creative and visionary films of its kind. A unique movie-going experience."

NY Observer (opens in new tab)

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