Kubo and the Two Strings announced they've been nominated for two amazing awards in the 89th year of the Academy Awards. Whiile they won't be taking home the best picture, the've still been nominated for best animated feature film and for visual effects. This is the first time an animated film has been nominated for achievements in visual effects since Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas in 1994.
Director Travis Knight pretty much gave an acceptance speach just for being nominated. You can tell that the film meant a lot to him and just being nominated is enough for him.
"I’m over the moon! An Academy Award nomination is an extraordinary and cherished gift. Two nominations is more than anyone could hope for. Every filmmaker dreams of a moment like this. But the truth is, I already lived my dream by making this film. Movies have always given me great joy. They enriched my life. They inspired me to dream. That’s the kind of film our team at LAIKA sought to make with KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS. A film is a slice of a hundred souls. In this case many more. An incredible, immense community of artists gave ceaselessly and selflessly to breathe life into this story. I’m so thankful for their talents and efforts and so proud of what we've done together. I’m profoundly grateful to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who somehow saw fit to include us among the finest storytellers in film. It is a tremendous honor to stand alongside them."
Here are the other nominee's in their categories.
Best Animated Feature Film:
“Kubo and the Two Strings”
“Moana”
“My Life as a Zucchini”
“The Red Turtle”
“Zootopia”
Visual effects:
“Deepwater Horizon”
“Doctor Strange”
“The Jungle Book”
“Kubo and the Two Strings”
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”