Review of Epic (2013) by Maksim B — 31 Aug 2013

Epic may not have a distinctive, memorable and truly epic story, but with its vivid colors, fresh jokes, beautiful animated action sequences and excellent voice-work of the cast, it delivers a true family entertainment. Simple and very green, this Blue Sky Studios production is another refreshing and potent animation, in line with their previous Ice Age franchise and the colorful Rio surprise.

The story is very simple, with mild, almost invisible romance, and without touching any serious topics. This would certainly please the youngest audience, but adults might be slightly unrewarded for watching it. What Epic misses in terms of story-telling, is compensated by the beautiful use of colors and the terrific animated action sequences. The very action-oriented beginning is truly impressive and the large-scale battle scenes would are at a better level than some big-budget CGI based blockbusters.

In terms of cast, director Chris Wedge has done even better job than the first Ice Age. Beyonce's presence is hypnotizing, Colin Farrell perfectly suits his character and Christopher Waltz is scary enough as Drake. Yet, the biggest ovations go to Steven Tylor and especially to Aziz Ansari whose voicing of the slug Mub delivers the funniest performance in the whole movie and his line "...actually, I am a sluuuuug..." has already achieve a cult status .

If compared to the similar 1992 classic FernGully: The Last Rainforest, similarities are undeniable. Unfortunately, Epic lacks the big heart and the music score quality of the 1992 animation. This is in fact the only issue of director Chris Wedges' delivery. It fails to convey an environmental message or any family values and that deprives it from becoming an animated classic.

In conclusion, Epic is a real visual delight which entertains both young and adults. It does not have the depth in its story which would have made it a classic, but in the end, it delivers what is promises: summer family fun.