Interview: Travis Knight, Director of Kubo and the Two Strings

Music and Chilly Tee

JE: You get a sense of the sincerity and unbridled optimism in the film that is accentuated by every nuanced detail, especially the scoring.

TK: The scoring is exceptional. Our guy did a great job.

JE: It was fantastic. It added to the entire experience. You’re also no stranger to the world of music since you had a musical background with Chilly Tee.

TK: (big laughter)

JE: So do you still write music?

TK: No, not really. I play music. I’ve loved music my whole life and it’s been such a huge part of my life. I think that music, just like any other great art, can speak to something that’s inside of us that we don’t even fully understand. Often times, we have such keenly felt emotions that we can’t really articulate, and music is the thing that gives voice to those emotions. I’ve been a musician since I was a kid, and I still am to this day. I still play music, but now I run a business and I have a family, so there’s only so much time in your life.

JE: So is that a ‘no’ on a second Chilly Tee album anytime soon?

TK: Maybe I’ll do a comeback and take this show on the road after the movie.

JE: How about making a musical film?

TK: When we talk about the different types of movies that we’d want to make, I’d love one day for LAIKA to do a musical. Music is such a huge part of this movie [Kubo] and such a huge part of this character, and is more important in the film than anything we’ve ever done. Kubo is an artist, a storyteller and a musician, and basically an animator. It was fairly deep in the process when I realized this kid was me. He’s a proxy for me. I love music and it’s such an important part of my life and in our movies that I would love one day to do a complete musical.