TL;DR: Kubo and the Two Strings is a breathtaking stop-motion masterpiece from LAIKA Studios that manages to be both a high-stakes adventure and a profound meditation on grief. It’s light-years ahead of the "brain rot" content usually found on streaming homepages. Best for ages 9+ due to some genuinely creepy villains and heavy themes about family loss.
Check out our guide on the best stop-motion movies for kids Compare Kubo to other LAIKA films like Coraline
If you aren't familiar with LAIKA, they’re the studio behind Coraline and ParaNorman. They don’t do the shiny, perfectly symmetrical CGI you see from the big-box studios. They do stop-motion—physical puppets moved frame-by-frame—which gives their movies a tactile, "real" soul that kids can actually feel.
Kubo and the Two Strings follows a young boy named Kubo in feudal Japan. He spends his days telling stories to villagers using a magical shamisen (a Japanese guitar) that makes his origami come to life. He lives in a cave with his mother, who is struggling with a sort of magical early-onset dementia/trauma. The plot kicks off when Kubo accidentally stays out after dark, allowing his "Aunts" and his grandfather, the Moon King, to find him.
To survive, Kubo has to find his father’s legendary armor with the help of a cynical Monkey and a dim-witted but brave Beetle. It’s an epic quest, but at its heart, it’s a story about how we remember the people we’ve lost.
We talk a lot at Screenwise about the quality of digital media. There is a massive difference between a kid zoning out to a 10-hour loop of Skibidi Toilet and a kid sitting down to watch Kubo and the Two Strings.
Kubo requires active viewing. The story is complex, the visuals are intricate, and the emotional stakes are high. It’s the kind of movie that rewards a kid for paying attention. In a world of 15-second TikToks and dopamine-loop mobile games, Kubo is a slow-burn masterpiece that proves "kids' movies" can be high art.
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Despite the heavy themes, this isn't a "boring" movie. My community data shows that kids in the 4th through 7th-grade range are particularly captivated by it for a few reasons:
- The Origami Magic: The way Kubo uses music to manipulate paper is objectively cool. It’s the kind of "power" that makes kids want to go buy a pack of origami paper immediately after the credits roll.
- The Action: The fight scenes are choreographed beautifully. The battle with a giant skeleton (which was actually a 16-foot tall puppet in real life) is a standout moment.
- Monkey and Beetle: The banter between the two companions provides much-needed comic relief. Beetle, in particular, is the kind of lovable goofball that keeps the movie from feeling too dark.
I’m not going to pull punches here: the villains in this movie are terrifying.
Kubo’s Aunts are masked, floating, twin sisters who speak in eerie, synchronized voices. They are arguably some of the creepiest villains in modern animation. If your kid had nightmares after watching Coraline, you might want to wait on this one.
- Ages 5-7: Probably too much. The themes of dementia and the literal "stealing of eyes" (the Moon King wants Kubo’s eye) can be very upsetting for younger children.
- Ages 8-10: The "sweet spot" for many, but know your kid. If they handle Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone well, they can likely handle this.
- Ages 11+: Perfectly fine. At this age, they’ll start to appreciate the technical craft of the stop-motion animation as much as the story.
Read our guide on how to tell if a movie is too scary for your child
Here is the truth: Kubo and the Two Strings is a movie about grief.
It does not have a "Disney ending" where everyone who died magically comes back to life. It deals with the reality that parents die, that grandparents can be toxic or hurtful, and that memories are sometimes all we have left.
If your family has recently dealt with a loss, this movie could be a beautiful tool for healing, or it could be a massive trigger. The mother’s mental state is particularly heartbreaking—she has moments of clarity followed by periods where she is "gone." For a kid, seeing a parent struggle like that on screen is heavy stuff.
However, the "light stance" here is that this is exactly what great art is supposed to do. It gives us a safe space to talk about the hard things. Kubo isn't just "content"; it's a conversation starter.
If you watch this with your kids, don't just close the laptop or turn off the TV when it’s over. Use these prompts to dig in:
- On Storytelling: Kubo says, "If you must blink, do it now." Why are stories so important to his family? What are the stories we tell about our own family?
- On Forgiveness: The ending of the movie involves the village coming together to tell a "new story" to someone who has lost their memory. Do you think that was a fair ending?
- On "The Two Strings": Without giving too much away, the title has a double meaning. Ask your kids what they think the strings represent by the end of the film.
Check out our guide on talking to kids about grief through movies
Kubo and the Two Strings is a 10/10. It’s rare to find a movie that treats children with this much intellectual and emotional respect. It doesn't pander, it doesn't rely on cheap fart jokes, and it doesn't shy away from the complexity of human relationships.
If you’re tired of the "empty calorie" media your kids are consuming, swap a Saturday morning of YouTube for a family viewing of Kubo. Just keep a box of tissues nearby—for you, mostly.
- Watch the "Making Of" clips: After the movie, look up the behind-the-scenes footage of how they built the puppets. It’s a great way to pivot from "consuming media" to "learning about craft."
- Explore Japanese Folklore: If your kid loves the world of Kubo, check out Spirited Away or books like Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.
- Get Creative: Grab some origami paper and see if you can make your own "Little Hanzo."
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