LAIKA 10: Celebrating a Decade of Animated Filmmaking

LAIKA 10: The Portland based animation studio celebrates a decade of animation

Celebrating what LAIKA President and CEO Travis Knight jokingly referred to as a decade of the studio’s “failure to go out of business,” the London Hotel in West Hollywood, California was host last night to a LAIKA 10 year anniversary event. ComingSoon.net was there and, in the gallery viewer below, you can take a look at some of the incredible models on display from LAIKA’s first three films (Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls) and also get a tease of their latest, Kubo and the Two Strings.

Kubo and the Two Strings, which recently released its first teaser trailer, appears prepped to offer something truly special. Despite being the company’s founder and President, Knight has worked as an animator on all three previous LAKIA films, painstakingly building stop motion worlds a single frame at a time. On Kubo, however, Knight is sitting in the director’s chair for the very first time.

The film offers an epic fantasy tale, following scruffy, kindhearted Kubo. He ekes out a humble living while devotedly caring for his mother in their sleepy shoreside village. It is a quiet existence – until a spirit from the past catches up with him to enforce an age-old vendetta. Suddenly on the run from gods and monsters, Kubo’s chance for survival rests on finding the magical suit of armor once worn by his fallen father, the greatest samurai the world has ever known. Summoning courage, Kubo embarks on a thrilling odyssey as he faces his family’s history, navigates the elements, and bravely fights for the earth and the stars.

From an original screenplay by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler (ParaNorman), Kubo boasts an all-star voice cast that includes Academy Award winners Matthew McConaughey and Charlize Theron; Academy Award nominees Rooney Mara, Ralph Fiennes, and Brenda Vaccaro; and Art Parkinson, who plays Rickon Stark on “Game of Thrones”. In addition to directing, Knight is producing Kubo and the Two Strings with Arianne Sutner (ParaNorman).

The above Kubo artwork was featured on a special LAIKA 10 totebag, which also contained a small samurai figurine from the film. Check them both out in the LAIKA 10 gallery below and check back soon for more from Kubo and the Two Strings!