Technical Assessment : 3.5
Moral Assessment: 4
MTRCB Rating: GP
Epic is based on William Joyce’s children’s book
entitled The Leaf Men and the Brace Good
Bugs. It centers on the relationship between teenaged Mary Katherine (Amanda
Seyfried), or MK as she wanted to be called, and her father, Professor Bomba (Jason
Sudeikis). Apparently, Professor Bomba believes that the world is governed and
protected by little people who move too fast for an ordinary human. He spends
his life searching, studying and proving his theory at the expense of his
reputation and his marriage. MK moves to live with him after her mother dies
and is equally dismayed to witness how obsessed he still is. Meanwhile, forest
queen Tara (Beyonce Knowles) must choose her heir and allow her to bloom under
the moonlight so the forest may continue to be protected against the Mandrake (Christoph
Waltz) and his Boggans who desire to turn nature into a wasteland. MK, while
looking for her dog in the forest is magically shrunk and witnesses the death
of queen Tara who turns over to her care the pod which will turn into the next
forest queen. MK realizes that her father’s work is true and is pulled in,
reluctantly at first, to aid the Leafman headed by Ronin (Collin Farrell) and
his rebellious protégé Nod (Josh Hutcherson). The trio while guarding the pod
and misleading the Boggans, learn the value of trust, teamwork and commitment.
Visually, Epic is a magical treat both for the
young and the old. The forest is an inspiration to watch as petals unfold,
flowers bloom, leaves sway, water flows and every living creature comes to
life. Of course, the amazing animation
and special effects had much to do to make the narrative even more entertaining
and understandable. The voice actors perform well and aptly push the
story forward with the right amount of humor and earnestness. The plot is
reasonable and easy to follow although it feels a little run of the mill as a
pro-environment movie. Overall, Epic
is a good choice for a family weekend movie.
Epic is about choosing a side and
sticking to the choice regardless of what it takes—of course, it is presumed
that the choice will be the good side. More than taking a side is the commitment
to make a difference for the betterment of mankind. Nowadays, we see people falter in their commitment
especially when the going gets rough. It seems that personal well-being is
given more weight than common good. Epic
is also a movie for the environment, again another very timely issue. We
experience the repercussions of bad choices we have made: wastage, over-consumption
leading to high utilization of fossil fuels, indiscriminate self-serving
activities like illegal logging, mining, etc.—all leading to the destruction of
nature. The Boggans are like men
who care not if nature dies and the earth becomes a barren wasteland. The Leafmen are those fighting to
protect nature at all cost. As children are transformed in a world where the
good guys fight to protect their kingdom, perhaps, the adults watching the
movie with them can realize that they are called to deliver the same commitment
as the Leafmen to make sure that the next generation still has a home to live
in.
