Kubo and the Two Strings Page #13

SISTER (CONT’D)

She was an ungrateful coward! *

Monkey moves to strike a death blow, but the Sister suddenly *

vanishes into the darkness of the torrential rain. *

Monkey turns on the spot, surrounded by echoing GIGGLES, as *

lightning flashes reveal strobing glimpses of the Sister *

through the whipping sails. *

MONKEY *

Who’s the coward now? *

The Sister’s familiar porcelain mask slowly rises into frame *

directly behind Monkey... *

The Sister lunges at her with a ROAR. Monkey pivots and *

raises her sword but as she parries one piece of the broken *

chain, the other coils around her body and drives her into *

the deck. *

Beetle emerges from the water, triumphantly holding an arrow *

above his head. It’s the one with the fish impaled upon it. *

BEETLE *

I got it! I got it. *

Monkey and the Sister look up as Beetle clambers onto the *

deck, proudly wielding his skewered fish. *

MONKEY *

Beetle! What happened? Where’s *

Kubo? *

BEETLE *

Ummm.... *

The Sister takes advantage of Monkey’s distraction and *

attacks. The sword is flung from Monkey’s hand and lodges in *

the side of the boat near Beetle with a TWANG. *

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Beetle frowns, clearly confused. The Sister has turned her *

attention to him, gliding across the deck. He casts aside the *

arrow and pulls free the Sword Unbreakable, squaring his *

shoulders and ready to fight. *

The Sister attacks Beetle and disarms him before she is

lassoed by her own chain with Monkey wielding the other end. *

Monkey furiously whips the Sister through the air, hitting *

her against the mast. *

MONKEY *

Get back down there! He’s in *

trouble! *

BEETLE *

I got it. *

Beetle takes one last, deep breath, and dives off the boat *

back into the water. *

UNDERWATER *

The Ningen drags Kubo down deeper and deeper into the water, *

its eerie light illuminating Kubo’s face while indecipherable *

WHISPERS chatter through the gloom. As they descend, the *

light reveals a massive form beneath them; a giant mouth, *

rimmed with thousands of razor sharp teeth, surrounded by *

dozens more of those staring eyes. *

WHISH! An arrow punctures the glowing eye, and the lake is *

filled with SCREAMS as Beetle appears through the water. He *

follows up with a volley of arrows, spearing one eyeball *

after another. *

Kubo is suddenly released from the Sea Creature’s grasp, and *

blinks himself awake, but he’s out of air and fading fast. *

With a last exhalation of bubbles, his eye rolls back in his *

head. *

Beetle sees this and swims towards Kubo. *

EXT. KUBO’S SAIL BOAT - THE LONG LAKE - RAGING STORM *

The boat is in shambles now, torn into little more than *

stepping stones for Monkey and the Sister as they fight. *

SISTER:

It never fails to amaze me, how the *

creatures down here fight so hard, *

just to die another day. *

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MONKEY *

Down here, there are days worth *

fighting for. *

SISTER:

There is nothing down here worth *

anything! *

Monkey sees the Sword Unbreakable at the other end of the *

boat and runs for it. Just as she reaches it, the Sister’s *

chain ensnares her. She continues to crawl towards the sword *

and a thin trickle of blood begins to stain the white of her *

fur. *

SISTER (CONT’D)

It’s pathetic what happened to my *

sister. I looked up to her. She was *

so strong. Love made her weak. *

MONKEY *

No. It made me stronger. *

Monkey takes advantage, and with a savage burst of strength *

she springs into the air, and raises the Sword Unbreakable *

for its killing blow... *

UNDERWATER *

Beetle is just a few feet from the surface, dragging the *

unconscious Kubo when he sees the Sister’s cracked mask sink *

down past him, disappearing into the darkness of the water. *

WATER’S SURFACE *

Beetle’s head breaks the surface, and he looks around to see *

the scattered and fragmented remains of Kubo’s boat. *

MONKEY (O.S.) *

OVER HERE! *

Monkey is crouched on a floating chunk of boat, no more than *

a few feet wide, waving her arms to get Beetle’s attention. *

Beetle drags Kubo through the water over to Monkey and hauls *

his limp body up onto the wreckage of the boat. *

Monkey shakes him by the shoulders but he doesn’t stir. *

BEETLE:

The eyes. It was the eyes! They had

him in a trance.

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MONKEY *

No, no, No! Come on, come on, Kubo! *

Wake up! Please wake up! Please, *

please, wake up. It’s gonna be *

alright. It’s gonna be alright. I’m *

here. I’m right here.

Then, slowly but steadily, Beetle and Monkey notice the *

pieces of the boat are beginning to reassemble around them. *

Realizing what this means, they both look down at Kubo again. *

He COUGHS weakly, his eye closed, and mutters as if caught in *

a dream. *

KUBO *

I saw... *

BEETLE *

What? What did you see? *

Kubo opens his eye and looks directly up at Monkey. *

KUBO *

I saw...Mother. *

MONKEY:

My son.

Monkey just reaches down and pulls Kubo up into an enormous, *

tearful hug. *

Beetle watches this embrace with an almost comical level of *

astonishment as the boat continues to fold back together, and *

as that magnificent sail unfurls, once again... *

DISSOLVE TO:
*

(2500 SYS) MOTHER & HANZO’S STORY

EXT. THE LONG LAKE SHORE - NIGHT

The storm has finally come to an end as Kubo’s boat calmly

reaches the shore of the Long Lake.

BEETLE (O.S.) *

So you must look more like your dad *

then? *

DRAFT:
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KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS

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INT. CAVE THAT REMINDS US OF HOME - NIGHT

Kubo, and Beetle sit around a campfire, their attention is

fixed on Monkey as she fusses around the cave, trying to

avoid eye contact.

After a while the weight of their collective gaze provokes a *

response.

MONKEY:

You’re staring. Let me guess. You *

have questions. *

Monkey SIGHS and stops what she’s doing. Kubo and Beetle nod *

their heads in unison.

KUBO:

Why-*

BEETLE:

I’ll start. First question, if I’m *

Beetle, and you’re Monkey, why

isn’t he called “Boy”?

MONKEY:

Oh boy. Questions can wait. We need

sleep.

Monkey spots Kubo’s eye on her and for a moment she holds his

gaze. She smiles, but it is tinged with sadness, as though

she would like to explain further but can’t find the words.

KUBO:

Tell us your story. Then we can

sleep. Please?

Hearing this last word, Monkey hesitates. She smiles and *

relents, shaking her head in defeat as she knuckles closer.

MONKEY:

Okay. Perhaps you can help me...

She takes Kubo’s shamisen from beside his bag and slides it

across the ground toward him. He picks it up, and plucks a

couple of notes.

MONKEY (CONT’D) *

The night I met your father...

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