It is directed by Travis Knight (in his feature directorial debut) with a screenplay by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler from a story by Shannon Tindle and Marc Haimes, and it stars the voice roles of Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Ralph Fiennes, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro, Rooney Mara, and Matthew McConaughey.

Set in feudal Japan, the film revolves around Kubo, a young boy who wields a magical shamisen (a Japanese stringed instrument) and whose left eye was stolen during infancy.

Accompanied by an anthropomorphic snow monkey and a human - stag beetle hybrid, he must embark on a quest to defeat his mother's evil twin sisters, Washi and Karasu, and his power-hungry grandfather, the Moon King, who is responsible for stealing his left eye.

Laika's production designer Shannon Tindle pitched the fantasy story stop-motion animated film based on samurais to Knight.

He earns their living by magically manipulating origami with music from his shamisen for the village folk, telling the tale of his missing father Hanzo, a samurai warrior.

Beetle rescues the unconscious Kubo and obtains the Breastplate, but on returning to the boat, they find that Monkey has been badly wounded fighting and vanquishing Karasu whose hat is forced off in progress.

They go to shore to recover, where Monkey explains that she and her Sisters were ordered by the Moon King to kill Hanzo, but she instead fell in love with him, and Raiden branded her an enemy.

Kubo and the spirits' magic protect themselves and the villagers from the Moon King, stripping him of his powers and leaving him a mortal human without any memories.

Kubo is able to speak to his parents' ghosts during the subsequent Bon ceremony, as they watch the deceased villagers' lanterns transform into golden herons and fly to the spirit world.

In an interview, director Travis Knight described Saito's work as being the "touchstone[6]" and the "one key visual artist" that inspired the film.

[8] On December 22, 2014, Art Parkinson, Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, Rooney Mara, Ralph Fiennes and Brenda Vaccaro joined the voice cast.

It went on to gross $12.6 million in its opening weekend, finishing 4th at the box office behind War Dogs, Sausage Party and Suicide Squad.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Kubo and the Two Strings matches its incredible animation with an absorbing—and bravely melancholy—story that has something to offer audiences of all ages.

[14] Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com awarded the film three and a half out of four stars, saying that "one of the most impressive elements of Kubo and the Two Strings—besides its dazzling stop-motion animation, its powerful performances and its transporting score—is the amount of credit it gives its audience, particularly its younger viewers.

"[21] Peter Debruge of Variety wrote that ""Kubo" offers another ominous mission for a lucky young misfit, this one a dark, yet thrilling adventure quest that stands as the crowning achievement in Laika's already impressive oeuvre.

"[22] Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian was more critical of the film, giving it a two out of five stars and saying that "Older kids, except for a few teacher’s pets, will soon realise that this is hardly a fun action-adventure cartoon at all, but a plate of vegetables.

"[23] Jonathan Pile of Empire, wrote of the film: "Yet another success for stop-motion giants Laika … boasts big laughs and effective scares in a typically gorgeous animated tale.