Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

Nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Visual Effects    Ugh, this was such a good movie!  Laika is one of those film companies that has not put a single step wrong, as far as I'm concerned.  Their stop-motion is some of the most beautiful and seamless I have ever seen, a fact that has been recognized by their nomination for Best Visual Effects, putting it in the same rarefied air as The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Kubo (Art Parkinson) is a young boy in hiding from his grandfather, the Moon-King (Ralph Fiennes), who must locate three pieces of magical armor in order to be safe.  To help him on his journey, he has Monkey (Charlize Theron), a charm brought to life by his mother's magic, and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), a samurai whose memories were wiped after the Moon-King and his twin daughters (Rooney Mara) destroyed the Beetle Clan stronghold.  He also has his magical ability to animate paper by playing on his shinsen, a three-string guitar-like instrument.

I bought this back in November on the strength of Laika's previous work.  I had wanted to see it in theaters but I just didn't make it.  Since then, it's languished on the shelf in my apartment, just waiting for me to get to it.  Now I'm kicking myself for not watching it immediately.  I can't even begin to tell you how good it is.  Miles better than Zootopia.  If it doesn't win Best Animated Feature, I'm going to be so disappointed.  Visual Effects is a much harder race.  I think that will come down to technical expertise and what the Academy is impressed by seeing.  I certainly don't feel qualified to judge which is better, seamless stop-motion or CGI that looks real as life.  Both are essentially sorcery, as far as I'm concerned.