When I
wrote my preview of the 2013 Summer Movie Season, I commented on just how many
animated offerings would be hitting theaters in the next few months. While Epic
may not have had the reputation or the backing of other offerings like
DreamWorks’ Turbo or Disney-Pixar’s Monster’s University, this
family-friendly feature was still going to benefit from first-mover
advantage. As a subsidiary of Fox, Blue
Sky Studios has hit pay dirt in the past with both the Ice Age and Rio
franchises, but since this newest feature evoked associations with early-90’s
projects like FernGully, there was no
guarantee that Epic would resonate
with current audiences. To their credit,
Fox wasted no effort in leveraging their star-studded voice cast (a tactic that
I have been championing for years), so with A-listers like Colin Farrell and
Beyoncé Knowles, potential moviegoers were going to have to take notice. With trailers showcasing some impressive 3D
sequences and genuinely funny jokes, Epic
wasn’t necessarily going to be a groundbreaking, but it still looked like an
enjoyable and worthwhile project.
Imaginative,
beautifully rendered, and benefitting greatly from strong voice performances, Epic is a capable and entertaining
animated fantasy that harkens back to the classic Don Bluth movies of the late
80’s and early 90’s. Some story elements
may have felt a little formulaic, but with a film score by Danny Elfman and
wonderfully inventive characters, the energetic eco-battle of Epic offers just enough charm and
emotion to keep viewers immersed. In
terms of the voice cast, nearly every member matched their roles completely,
and while I was a little surprised that Beyoncé didn’t gift a musical number,
the inclusion of Chris O’Dowd and Aziz Ansari was more than enough to justify the
price of admission. I was expecting some
of the heartwarming components of the narrative, and Christoph Waltz was a
wonderfully menacing villain, but I was pleasantly surprised by the high levels
of clever humor that were presented throughout.
It may not pack the emotional sucker punch or the offbeat innovations of
some of its competitors, but Epic
remains an intriguing adventure that younger viewers will downright adore.
Overall
Recommendation: High
