Epic (stylized as epic) is a 2013 American 3D computer animated fantasy action-adventure film[6] loosely based on William Joyce's children's book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs.[7] It was produced by Blue Sky Studios, and directed by Chris Wedge, the director of Ice Age (2002) and Robots (2005). The film stars the voices of Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Colin Farrell,Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Chris O'Dowd, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Steven Tyler, and Beyoncé Knowles. The film was released on May 24, 2013 to mixed critical reception, and earned $268 million on a $93 million budget.
17-year-old Mary Katherine, or M.K. (Amanda Seyfried), moves in with her eccentric scientist father
Professor Bomba (Jason Sudeikis) who has been searching for tiny humanoid soldiers called Leafmen. They protect the forest Bomba lives near from evil creatures called Boggans and their malevolent leader Mandrake (Christoph Waltz). An independent young soldier named Nod (Josh Hutcherson) d
ecides to quit much to the ire of the no-nonsense Leafmen leader Ronin (Colin Farrell).
The queen of the forest, Queen Tara (Beyoncé Knowles), must choose an heir to her throne and goes out to a field of leaf pods, guarded by a laid-back slug named Mub (Aziz Ansari) and a wannabe
Leafman snail named Grub (Chris O'Dowd). Immediately after she chooses a pod, the Boggans attack. Tara flees the area with the pod, and though her bodyguards do their best to protect her, they are soon overwhelmed by the sheer number of Boggans. Eventually, Ronin arrives for her and the pair fly off on hishummingbird mount. They are then attacked by Mandrake and his son Dagda (Blake Anderson). Dagda is killed by Ronin, but Tara is shot with an arrow by Mandrake.
Meanwhile, M.K. decides to leave after having an argument with Bomba about his research. Before she can leave, Bomba's dog Ozzy runs into the woods. While looking for Ozzy, M.K. sees Tara falling. Dyi
ng, Tara gives her the pod and uses her magic to shrink her. She tells M.K. to take the pod to a Glowworm named Nim Galuu before she dies, and M.K. joins Ronin and the Leafmen, along with Mub and Grub. Ronin discovers that Nod has entered a Roller Derby race against other creatures and bug
s on birds. He goes back
on a deal with a tough bullfrog named Bufo (Pitbull) to lose the race. Before Bufo and his two hen
chmen can feed Nod to a snake for not throwing the race, Ronin intervenes and orders them to leave. A reluctant Nod joins him, M.K., Mub, and Grub after hearing about Queen Tara's death which Bufo overhears.
They eventually find Nim Galuu (Steven Tyler) who leads them down to the scroll library, where M.K. discovers Tara's brief message before shrinking her, and a message that will get her back to normal size. Mandrake gets the location of the pod out of Bufo upon having the Boggans bring Bufo to him. When Ronin leaves, Nod takes M.K. on a deer ride, and they begin to fall in love. Mandrake arrives and kidnaps Mub and Grub and imprisons them, along with the pod, which he hopes to bloom in darkness then to u
se to destroy the forest. Ronin scolds Nod for not being there to protect the pod. To get into Boggan territory undiscovered, M.K., Nod, and
Ronin set out to Bomba's house to get some disguises, where M.K. learns that the Leafmen have deliberately been leading Bomba off their trail.
When they reach the Boggan land Ronin distracts the Boggans while M.K. and Nod rescue Mub, G
rub, and the pod. They are eventually found out by Mandrake, who summons the Boggans to stop t
hem. M.K., Nod, Mub, and Grub escape alive, but Ronin sacrifices himself to ensure their escape. Before the full moon can sprout the pod at Moonhaven, Mandrake's bats block the light, causing the pod to begin sprouting in darkness. As the Leafmen set out to fight the Boggans, M.K. sets out to get her father for assistance. However, upon regaining consciousness, Bomba believes that he didn't really see M.K. and that he has been insane all these years, and shuts down all his cameras, but changes his mind when he sees a red push-pin that M.K. had put on his map while they were getting disguises.
Bomba is overjoyed to see that he has been right and when he follows M.K. to Moonhaven, he uses his iPod to make bat sounds, luring Mandrake's bats away. Meanwhile, Mub and Nim Galuu try to stop Mandrake from reaching the pod, but are unsuccessful. Just then, Ronin appears, bearing scars and bruises from the Boggans. Mandrake manages to outdo him, but Ronin is defended by Nod, who
fi
nally realizes the importance of teamwork. Before Mandrake can obtain his victory, the moonlight tak
es over the pod before it blooms in darkness, causing it to bloom in light, defeating the Boggans, a
nd Mandrake is sucked and sealed into a nearby tree.
The chosen heir is the flower child (Allison Weber) who helped save Tara earlier in the film. Grub becomes a Leafman, Nod and Ronin reconcile, and Nod and M.K. kiss before M.K. is returned to her original size. After reuniting with Bomba and becoming his assistant, the human family still keeps regular contact with their small friends as they continue the research of their world.
Cast[edit][]
Amanda Seyfried as Mary Katherine (a.k.a. M.K.), Professor Bomba's 17-year old daughter.[8][9] She is ''''''''''named after William Joyce's deceased daughter.[10]
Josh Hutcherson as Nod, a rookie Leafman warrior.[8]
Colin Farrell as Ronin, a seasoned Leafman warrior, leader of the Leafmen, Nod's guardian and teacher, and a friend of Nod's late father.[8]
Christoph Waltz as Mandrake, the leader of the Boggans.[11] Waltz also voiced Mandrake in the German dub of the film since he can also speak German.[12]
Aziz Ansari as Mub, a slug, Grub's best friend and caretaker of the pods.[8][11]
Chris O'Dowd as Grub, a snail, Mub's best friend and fellow caretaker.[11]
Pitbull as Bufo, a bullfrog who works as a race fixer and a businessman.[8]
Jason Sudeikis as Professor Radcliffe[13] Bomba, Mary Katherine's father and a scientist[8][11]
Steven Tyler as Nim Galuu, a Glowworm, a showman and keeper of magic scrolls that tell what h
as occurred during the times, in a tree[8]
Beyoncé Knowles as Queen Tara, the Mother Nature-like queen of the forest and Ronin's childhood love.[8]
Blake Anderson as Dagda, Mandrake's son and the Boggan general.[9][14]
Allison Bills as Dandelion Jinn
Jim Conroy as Roller Derby Race Announcer
John DiMaggio as Pinecone Jinn
Troy Evans as Thistle Jinn
James Fricchioni as Bufo's Goon, a henchman of Bufo who beats up Nod.
Judah Friedlander as Larry, a taxicab driver.[14]
Helen Hong as Thistle Lady.
Kelly Keaton as Berry Lady, a racer at the Roller Derby.
Emma Kenney as Dandelion Girl, a humanoid dandelion.
Kyle Kinane as Biker Dude, an insect racer at the Roller Derby.
Anthony Lumia as Young Fruit Fly
Todd Cummings as Old Fruit Fly
Malikha Mallette as Jinn Mom, the mother of the Flower Kid.
Joe Massingill as Stickman Jockey, a racer in the Roller Derby.
Edie Mirman as Flower Jinn
Rosa Salazar as Roller Derby Girl, a worker at the Roller Derby.
Allison Webber as Flower Kid, a humanoid flower who becomes Queen Tara's successor.
Thomas F. Wilson as Finn, a Leafman who is a fellow soldier of Ronin.
Production[edit][]
In 2006, it was reported that Chris Wedge would be directing an animated feature film based on William
modifyremove
Joyce's book, The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs for Fox Animation. Joyce, who had already collaborated with Wedge as a designer and producer on the 2005 film Robots, was set to produce
the film.[15] At one point, Wedge got permission to find a new home for the film and turned to Pixar, led by John Lasseter, a close friend that Wedge knew from working on Tron. When Pixar tried to close the rights for the film and start development, Fox changed their mind, and the film returned to Fox. The
film was officially greenlit in 2009, under the title Leaf Men.[7] In May 2012, Fox announced the final title for the film (Epic), its first cast details, and a plot.[8] According to Wedge, he was not satisfied with the renaming, which was decided by the marketing department. He also expressed dissatisfaction with subtitles given to the film in some non-English countries, including the French subtitle, The Battle of the Secret Kingdom.[16]
Although the film is based on and borrows many characters from Joyce's book, its plot has been significantly changed. Wedge explained: "But while Bill wrote a wonderful book, it is a quaint story. We wanted to make a gigantic action-adventure movie." To address online speculations about whether the film is similar to other films, like FernGully: The Last Rainforest or Avatar, Wedge said: "I hate to associate it with other movies. It is adventure on the scale of Star Wars. And it does immerse the audience completely in a world likeAvatar. But it has its own personality."[11]
Release[edit][]
The film was released publicly on May 16, 2013, in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Germany, Peru, Puert
o Rico
and Switzerland.[17] The film was released in the United States on May 24, 2013.[11]
Box office[edit][]
Produced on a budget of $93 million,[3][4]Epic grossed $107,518,682 in North America, and $160,
907,952 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $268,426,634.[5] In
North America, the film earned $9.3 million on its opening day,[4] and opened to number four in its first weekend, with $33,531,
068, behind Fast & Furious 6, The Hangover Part III andStar Trek Into Darkness.[18] In its second weekend, the film dropped to number five, grossing an additional $16,616,310.[19] In its third weekend, the film stayed at number five, grossing $11,876,003.[20] In its fourth weekend, the film dropped to number seven, grossing $6,284,905.[21] While the film was overshadowed by other animated films that summer including Monsters University and Despicable Me 2, the film finished in third out of six family films that summer, however it became a box office s
uccess.[22]
Critical reception[edit][]
Epic received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 64% based on 117 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Though its
narrative themes are all too familiar, Epic is beautifully animated and crafted with just enough flair to make for solid family entertainment."[23] Another review aggregation website Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 52 out of 100 based on 29 reviews.[24]Audiences polled by the market research firm CinemaScore gave Epic an "A" grade on average and an "A+" among kids.[25]
Stephan Lee of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+, saying "The story lacks the s
pecialn
ess of a Pixar movie — it retreads the same eco-battle archetypes as FernGully andAvatar — but it's a perfectly appealing explosion of color for a lazy summer day."[26] Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a mixed review, saying "Where the animated film comes up short i
s on the inspiration front -- despite the intriguing terrain, its stock inhabitants lack the sort of unique personality trait
s that would prevent them from feeling overly familiar."[27] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tri
bune gave the film two stars, saying "It's difficult to keep its story and characters, or even its visual design, in your mind's eye, in part because the five credited screenwriters overload the narrative with incident and threatening complication."[28] Kyle Smith of the New York Post gave the film one star and a half out of four, modifyremove
saying "It’s not that the plot of Epic is complex; it’s just untidy. There’s a lot going on that goes nowhere."[29] Moira Macdonald of The Seattle Times gav
e the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "The story's simple enough to appeal to young kids (the 8-year-old with me pronounced the movie "awesome"), but adults will enjoy the beautiful ani
mation, whether 3D or 2D."[30]
Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "Epic's visuals are enthralling enough for little and big folks to offset a predictable, albeit sweet, story."[31] Joe Neumaier
of the New York Daily News gave the film one star out of five, saying "Even young would-be botanists will find this charmless animated adventure as exciting as watching grass grow."[32] Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic gave the film three out of five stars, saying "The film looks terrific, with a fantastical forest coming to 3-D life. Swooping birds, flying arrows and more make good use of the technology. B
ut the best
films use technology as a storytelling device, not as a substitute for story itself."[33] Sam Adams of Tim
e Out gave the film a C–, saying "Though technology has made massive leaps in the 15 years since A Bug’s Life, this tiny-creature toon can’t muster anything like the Pixar classic’s sense of wonder at see
ing the minute made massive. Wonder requires a point of view—and Epic has none."[34] Zachary Wigon of The Village Voice gave the film a positive review, saying "With its array of goofy sidekicks (Aziz Ansari as a slug almost runs away with the whole picture) and carefully crafted relationships, Epic certainly manages to tell a compelling tale."[35] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film two out of four stars, saying "Although the basic story is too juvenile and simplistic to entertain anyone with an age in the double-digit range, the themes and underlying ideas are too complicated to capture the attention of someone younger."[36]
Stephen Holden of the New York Times gave the film two and a half stars out of five, saying "modifyremove
As beauti
ful as it is, Epic is fatally lacking in visceral momentum and dramatic edge."[37] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times gave the film two stars and a half out of five, saying "The emotional connection that sho
uld have the crowd cheering wildly for the heroes and booing the villains never clicks in."[38] Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the two and a half stars out of four, saying "It's one of those - generic entertainment with a brave heroine, cutesy-poo supporting characters, parental figures who are either absent or absent-minded, etcetera, etcetera."[39] Stephen Whitty of theNewark Star-Ledger gave the film two stars out of four, saying "Anyone over the age of 7 or so - not to mention their accompanying adults - isn't going to find too much here to truly engage them, let alone linger past the final fade out."[40] Andrew Barker of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying "If this is all familiar territory even to
film-literate young children, it's nonetheless executed with professionalism and a few dashes of panache."[41] Glenn Kenny of MSN Movies gave the film two out of five stars, saying "A 3D eco-fantasy whose mantra-like insistence that we're all connected by nature is one of the main things that underscores the abject insincerity of the sentiment as the movie articulates it, Epic is very nearly epic in its stifling mediocrity."[42]
Colin Covert of the Star Tribune gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "Epic"
may be the thinking family's best Saturday matinee of the summer. And the date movie of the season."[43] Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club gave the film a C, saying "Epic is heavy on celebrity voices and light on imagination."[44] Jenny McCartney of The Daily Telegraph gave the film three out of five stars, s
aying "The diminution works its appeal once again in Epic – the latest film from the creators of Ice Age and Rio – which is just as well, because the rest of the narrative follows a rather predictable route.[45] Alonso Duralde of The Wrap gave the film a positive review, saying "When the filmmakers take little detours from the reluctant-warrior-accepts-his/her-destiny plot, it brings some desperately needed livening up to what otherwise feels like a crushingly by-the-numbers kid saga."[46] Steve Rose of The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars, saying "What stands out is the animation. The microcosmic woodland world is luminous and detailed, and there's a nice disconnect of scale whereby humans appear as lumbering, slow-motion giants."
[47] Tom Russo of The Boston Globe gave the film two stars out of four, saying "Their fantastical great-outdoors adventure is certainly very pretty to look at, and has a general agreeability about it. Bu
t the movie would need to engage us far more powerfully for that hyperbolic title to fit."[48]
Home media[edit][]
Epic was released on DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D on August 20, 2013.[49]
Accolades[edit][]
Awards
Award
Date of ceremony
Category
Recipients and nominees
Result
Annie Awards[50]
February 1, 2014
Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Alen Lai, David Quirus, Diego Garzon Sanchez, and Ilan Gabai
Nominated
Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production
Thom Roberts
Nominated
Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Chris Wedge
Nominated
Music in an Animated Feature Production
Danny Elfman
Nominated
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Michael Knapp, Greg Couch, and William Joyce
Nominated
Casting Society of America Awards[51]
November 18, 2013
Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Animation Feature
Christian Kaplan
Nominated
Motion Picture Sound Editors[52][53][54]
February 16, 2014
Best Sound Editing in an Animated Feature Film
Randy Thom, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
Won
Producers Guild of America Award[55]
January 19, 2014
Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Picture
Jerry Davis, Lori Forte
Nominated
Satellite Awards[56]
February 23, 2014
Best Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media
Nominated
Visual Effects Society Awards[57]
February 12, 2014
Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Bomba (Thom Roberts, Haven Gordon Cousins, Tim Bower, Daniel Lima)
Nominated
Mary Katherine (Jeff Gabor, Dylan C. Maxwell, Sang Jun Lee, Chris Pagoria)
Nominated
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Pod Patch (Aaron Ross, Travis Price, Jake Panian, Antelmo Villarreal)
Nominated
Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Boggan Crowds (Thierry Dervieux-Lecocq, David Gatenby, Mark Adams, Matthew D. Simmons)
Nominated
World Soundtrack Academy[58]
October 25, 2013
Film Composer of the Year
Danny Elfman also for Frankenweenie, Hitc'hcock, Oz'the Great and Powerful,Promised Land, and Silver Linings Playbook
Nominated
Soundtrack[edit][]
Epic: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Film score by Danny Elfman
Released
May 28, 2013
Recorded
2013
Genre
Score
Length
52:25
Label
Sony Classics
Danny Elfman film scores chronology
Oz the Great and Powerful
(2013)
Epic
(2013)
American Hustle
(2013)
Danny Elfman composed the original music for the film, which was released on May 28, 2013 by Sony Classics.[59][60] Beyoncéperformed and co-wrote with Sia an original song, titled "Rise Up."[61] The song was released as a digital single[62] and as part of the digital version of the soundtrack.[63][64] This is the first time that a film produced by Blue Sky Studios has not been scored by John Powell since the first Ice Age installment, which was composed by David Newman.
Track listingAll music composed by Danny Elfman, except where noted.
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