Not that the animation geniuses at Laika have ever had trouble securing celebrities for their films, but it's a credit to the quality of their work that Kubo and the Two Strings is their starriest cast yet. Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, Rooney Mara, George Takei, Art Parkinson, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro and Ralph Fiennes lend their voices to the anime-influenced stop-motion film, which has debuted yet another stunningly gorgeous trailer. Here's the official synopsis:
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.
Despite all of the awards and critical praise heaped on Coraline, The Boxtrolls, and ParaNorman, Laika has yet to have a film cross $125M worldwide, an astonishingly low number given the amount of work it takes to shoot a single frame. Hopefully the A-list voice cast for Kubo and the Two Strings will change things, because Laika needs to keep making movies. The film is expected to arrive on August 19th.
