‘Ottawa’ Travis Knight Aims to Change the World of Animation with Kubo and the Two Strings
Whether it’s the pressure of following in his father’s famous footsteps or just sheer love of the art, Travis Knight is changing the world of animated movies with an outsider’s point of view.
After all, the founder of Laika studios isn’t just situated far from Hollywood in the suburban sprawl of Portland, Oregon, but with his new film Kubo and the Two Strings, the son of Nike boss Phil Knight is redefining the summer blockbuster by tapping an ancient art form most movie studios eschew — stop-motion animation.
“The thing that’s unique in stop-motion is that it’s handcrafted, that what you’re seeing on-screen is the sum total of the will (and) skill of hundreds of artists,” said Knight, who’s clearly confident his handcrafted creation will flourish against Hollywood’s biggest computer-effects features.
“In a world that’s glossy and perfect and digital, something that has this beautiful imperfection on-screen — there’s something that’s special about it.”
With Kubo mounting critical acclaim, Knight’s Japanese-inspired story of a young boy on a quest to defeat evil spirits with a magical suit of armor not only entertains, but it’s also deeper (and perhaps spookier) than most kid-friendly blockbusters.
“The goal is not to traumatize children although we’ve been accused of soaking a few bunk-bed mattresses in our day,” laughed Knight.
“Hopefully what we explore are some meaningful issues — things like loss and grief, and hopefully we take a little bit of the sting out of it because while the world we’re creating has a nodding acquaintance to reality, its not reality — it’s a stylized world.”
Kubo marks the first feature the veteran animator has directed in Laika’s oeuvre (which includes ParaNorman and Coraline).
While Knight insists he was always waiting to mature into the role of helmsman, Kubo’s story also spoke specifically to him — having been influenced early on by a childhood trip to Japan.
“From the moment I set foot in Japan it was like I’d been transported to another world,” admitted Knight who returned with a lifelong appreciation for Japanese art that he aimed to showcase in Kubo.
“It’s almost an impressionist painting of Japan but like an impressionistic painting, which is not meant to capture reality, its meant to capture feeling and experience — I hope that’s what we captured in this film.”