The Magic of Laika

 Animation. It is commonly referred to as if it were a genre when really it is an art form. And one of the most artistic studios working today is LAIKA. LAIKA prides itself on its stop-motion and doing as many things as practically as possible. The result is some of the most stunning animation ever put to film. When we are children and we play with our toys, the worlds come to life for us. We are not confined to our room, but rather we imagine we really are in a magic setting. It is that feeling LAIKA replicates as it creates practical scenes ranging from Asian castles to snowy mountains. 



But what truly makes Laika special is that despite their films being ostensibly "kid's films" they have some of the most important themes any piece of media can deliver. One of the central ones is tolerance which is present in both Paranorman, Boxtrolls, and their most recent film, Missing Link. Each of those films teach us not to fear the "other" but rather to support them which will in help us support ourselves. Paranorman is perhaps the most skillful at articulating this theme as SPOILERS it gives us seemingly fearsome monsters in a terrifying witch and zombies. Yet the film peels back the layers of both sets of monsters and asks us to sympathize with them. The film dispenses with the generic actiony ending and instead ends on the quiet note of conversation. We live in an era defined by big budget action movies where almost always the bad guy is simply bad and there to be killed by the good guy, so it is tremendously refreshing to see a film that dispenses with that and asks us to consider the feelings of people that society has deemed "other." 

All of these films are excellent, but the one I found most resonant is Kubo and the Two Strings. Kubo is an incredibly daring film, especially one allegedly for kids, as it asks the viewer to accept that death is part of life. SPOILERS AHEAD. At the end of the second act, Kubo's parents are killed in brutal cold blood and the film never backtracks on that. Additionally, the villain is an immortal god who pleads with Kubo to join him in the heavens and be "infinite." But the film comes out swinging against this and argues to truly live forever is to have our stories told from one generation to another. The message here is a truly poignant combination of accepting cold hard reality but offering hope. 

The ethos of Kubo can be well summarized by one of the final lines "this was a happy story but it could still be a lot happier." In other words, what makes the film so brilliant it challenges the traditional idea of a fairy tale. There, the story is often "work hard for a bit, but then live happily ever after." In Kubo, the message is "life might be brutal, death is inevitable, but that doesn't mean we give up. We will find what joy we can through living our best selves." There is no happily ever after here, but nor is there an embrace of grimdark cynicism. And perhaps that is why I wrote this post as 2020 comes to a close. This year has been brutal for so many and it is understandable to long for a happily ever after or to give up, but neither of those is really the answer. 2021, 2022, etc, will undoubtedly bring new challenges and hardships, yet we must never give up. We must work to lead the best possible lives we can while we are on this earth and hope we leave a positive legacy that will be discussed by the generations to come. 


Comments

  1. HobbesDecember 19, 2020 at 10:29 PM

    Nice sentiment at the end. I was thinking that same thing after the election. This country may never right itself, but all we can do is keep working.
    Also, I see you also have an anime blog....?

    ReplyDelete

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