Speaking as a Japanese person, I can't help but feel a short burst of national pride when Hollywood gives my country any kind of attention, like with the animated film "Kubo and the Two Strings."

Directed by Travis Knight of Oregon-based Laika Entertainment ("Coraline," "The Boxtrolls"), "Kubo" is set in 16th-century Japan and draws from the feudal culture of that time. It's tinged with samurai violence and grapples with some heavy-duty family dysfunction, but more importantly it tones down the exoticism and concentrates on adventure.

The titular protagonist is a 10-year-old shamisen-playing boy with one eye who's been dealt a bum hand in life, but it doesn't leave him wallowing in hopelessness or prevent him from trying to fulfill his destiny.