Analysis on Laika’s Puppets in Kubo and the Two Strings: A Stop-motion Animated Feature

Abstract

Stop-motion is one of the highly regarded animation/film techniques in the industry. Although infamous for its long production time, stop-motion can take advantage of literally every other artform and technology. But, one medium that stop-motion never strays far from is puppetry. This is because puppets can easily be made to resemble living beings. Also, they are reusable. In this digital age, efficiency and effectiveness became the top priorities in any form of production. In this context, puppet animation (puppetry in stop-motion) is considered too pricey and not ideal for the rapid competition happening throughout the industry. This is why the genre started to fade in the ‘90s. Fortunately, a western animation studio bearing the name Laika brought puppet animation back to life, making the genre popular again. Their works reached the hearts of their audience through smooth animation, breathtaking visuals, and cool-looking puppets. This may seem like a mere pipe dream for their predecessors, but Laika has done it with the help of cutting-edge technology — making the production process way cleaner than ever. As time keeps on flowing, innovations and new ideas are needed to sustain creativity and value in the industry. Therefore, this journal is a study to prove how relevant Laika’s innovative puppets are in the stop-motion world. All data used in this journal is acquired through literary studies across the online web.