Universal Studios Hollywood Celebrates Kubo and The Magic of Laika!

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Laika has become one of the most impressive names in storytelling. Unlike the larger studios, they are able to bring wonderfully compelling stories to the big screen, with some of the best stop motion animation that we've ever seen. CORALINE, PARANORMAN and THE BOX TROLLS were all beautifully told tales. Thankfully the same can be said about the magical KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS. This gorgeous feature, with Laika's own CEO Travis Knight behind the camera, is one of the most exciting animated features of the year.

After a screening of the film, I had the chance to catch up with Travis Knight – who I had originally met at the set visit for the film. After finally getting to see the finshed project, I asked him what completing this meant for the future of Laika. There is something exciting about Mr. Knight's passion and talent which is evident from his feature film directorial debut.

I think probably the best thing that came out for us as a studio, the best thing that came out of this whole process – aside from the fact that we have a beautiful movie – is that at the beginning of this process, we had absolutely no idea how we were going to make this film. It was as scary as anything that we’ve ever done. We’d never taken on a film of this scope, of this scale, of this ambition. We didn’t know how we were going to do half of the things that were in the movie. And yet we fully embraced the challenge. We were excited by the challenge to tell this story, in this medium, in this way. Our team is so extraordinary. We have so many different people from all over the world with big throbbing brains that are incredibly good at at their hands, and inventing technology that can do things the way people were making movies one hundred years ago. It’s such a great convergence of all these different talents. One of the great things about this movie is that though the process, I know that our guys can do anything. And that means that all bets are off now. We can tell any kind of story and that’s exciting for a company like ours that wants to tell new and original stories.

If you are as big of fan as I am, there is no better place to go right now than Universal Studios Hollywood. If you'd like to get an up close and personal look at the world of Laika, you can witness "From Coraline to Kubo: A Magical Laika Experience." Featuring puppets and sets from each of the four films, you will find everything from the handmade characters to the magificent sets. The display will be available to the public until August 14th, so if you find yoursefl in the Los Angeles area, you will definitely want to check it out. For those who can't make the trip, we'd like to share some of the amazing art we witnessed.

I'd like to thank Travis Knight and the fine folks at Focus Features and Laika for letting us share in the festivities. And also, I have to give thanks to Greg O'Neil for sharing some photographs. Be sure to check out KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS on August 18th, it's an unforgettable movie going experience.