A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and evil is taking place. She bands together with a ragtag group of characters to save... Read allA teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and evil is taking place. She bands together with a ragtag group of characters to save their world--and ours.A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and evil is taking place. She bands together with a ragtag group of characters to save their world--and ours.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 21 nominations
Josh Hutcherson
- Nod
- (voice)
Beyoncé
- Queen Tara
- (voice)
- (as Beyoncé Knowles)
Colin Farrell
- Ronin
- (voice)
Blake Anderson
- Dagda
- (voice)
Aziz Ansari
- Mub
- (voice)
Allison Bills
- Dandelion Jinn
- (voice)
Jim Conroy
- Race Announcer
- (voice)
- …
Todd Cummings
- Fruit Fly (Old)
- (voice)
John DiMaggio
- Pinecone Jinn
- (voice)
Troy Evans
- Thistle Jinn
- (voice)
Jason Fricchione
- Bufo's Goon
- (voice)
Judah Friedlander
- Taxi Driver
- (voice)
Helen Hong
- Thistle Lady
- (voice)
Kelly Keaton
- Berry Lady
- (voice)
Emma Kenney
- Marigold Girl
- (voice)
Kyle Kinane
- Biker Dude
- (voice)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaLoosely based on William Joyce's children's book "The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs". Like Rise of the Guardians (2012), it was based on a story told to the author's daughter. This film's protagonist, MK (Mary Katherine), is named for Joyce's daughter, who died of a brain tumor on 11 May 2010 when she was 18 years old.
- GoofsThe queen can only choose an heir, and pass on the life of the forest, on one day in 100 years.
The queen's chosen pod must open in the light of the full moon, on the solstice (which one is not specified).
A solstice happens twice a year, and the moon is full one day out of every 28, so the odds would be that those two events would coincide every 14 years, not 100.
- Crazy creditsThe title doesn't appear on screen until the end.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Projector: Epic (2013)
- SoundtracksSame Changes
Written by Deborah Talan and Steve Tannen
Performed by The Weepies with Brad Gordon
Courtesy of Nettwerk Productions, Ltd
Featured review
This is without a doubt the most fantastic visual animation I've ever seen. It brought to mind i) nature scenes on Pandora in "Avatar", ii) lush vegetation jungle scenes from "Up!", iii) the whole valley turning green at the end of "Princess Mononoke", and iv) the infinitely graded colors in "Oz the Great and Powerful". (I watched it in 2D, and don't know what 3D is like.)
But visually it outstrips all of those. The plants are real ones we're familiar with (not imagined ones); scenes are incredibly detailed (not one fern but tens of them, not one blossom but hundreds); biological growth and decay is of individual plants seen up close (not a very long shot across a whole valley); and all the vibrant yet subtle colors appear in nature (not a fantasy world). Vegetation unfurls and extends as we watch, and it all seems perfectly realistic and believable. We see the whole process of burls developing on live trees in just a few seconds over and over. We see growth meristems probing for the best direction and expanding little by little. And we see the slight shifts in color that signal the beginning of more decay or more growth.
All the animation effects technology has already conquered --fur, musculature, waves, droplets, rain, crowds, flying, moving cameras, etc. etc.-- are also deployed virtuosic-ally in the places the storyline calls for them. From my aged (about 60) perspective, it seems suitable and enjoyable for all ages (although it's rated PG) ...and not because adults will see a different film as they understand the more salacious meaning of double entendres - there aren't any. There isn't any notable music nor abstract visual patterns nor references to fairy tales either, other things frequently associated with animations.
The story is decent too. It's a seamless melding of realities (such as a brusque taxi driver) with fantasy (tiny beings riding hummingbirds?). It proceeds organically, eventually incorporating pretty much everything that happened earlier (even things that appeared to be already completed or even unrelated). The typical joke is mostly visual, developing slowly over many seconds - no one-liners here. There are not a lot of the ironic jokes that have been prominent in many recent animations. (In fact this movie is often relegated to "kids film" or "family film", which makes me feel a little silly for enjoying it.) The ending is positive but not saccharine -- there's resolution ...but not of everything.
Comic relief is provided by a tag team of a snail and a slug. A typical gag is something about "eyes inside your head" or "everybody hide in your shell" (slugs of course don't have shells). I found it adequately funny (but not laugh out loud funny). Humor is a very personal thing though, and I suspect some of the more "with it" young adults will find it painfully unfunny.
The flights, the fights, the falls are gripping. This is edge of your seat stuff. And the tiny perspective casts familiar things in a new light: a mouse becomes a threatening giant, and a looming doggie kiss would mean serious injury or even death. Pick a theater with a really big screen and a newish projector, and sit toward the front. And if you're an animation aficionado plan to attend more than once. Also, sit through the end credits, as the level of detail and imagination in the background visuals --often throwaways or repeats, but not here-- is astounding.
But visually it outstrips all of those. The plants are real ones we're familiar with (not imagined ones); scenes are incredibly detailed (not one fern but tens of them, not one blossom but hundreds); biological growth and decay is of individual plants seen up close (not a very long shot across a whole valley); and all the vibrant yet subtle colors appear in nature (not a fantasy world). Vegetation unfurls and extends as we watch, and it all seems perfectly realistic and believable. We see the whole process of burls developing on live trees in just a few seconds over and over. We see growth meristems probing for the best direction and expanding little by little. And we see the slight shifts in color that signal the beginning of more decay or more growth.
All the animation effects technology has already conquered --fur, musculature, waves, droplets, rain, crowds, flying, moving cameras, etc. etc.-- are also deployed virtuosic-ally in the places the storyline calls for them. From my aged (about 60) perspective, it seems suitable and enjoyable for all ages (although it's rated PG) ...and not because adults will see a different film as they understand the more salacious meaning of double entendres - there aren't any. There isn't any notable music nor abstract visual patterns nor references to fairy tales either, other things frequently associated with animations.
The story is decent too. It's a seamless melding of realities (such as a brusque taxi driver) with fantasy (tiny beings riding hummingbirds?). It proceeds organically, eventually incorporating pretty much everything that happened earlier (even things that appeared to be already completed or even unrelated). The typical joke is mostly visual, developing slowly over many seconds - no one-liners here. There are not a lot of the ironic jokes that have been prominent in many recent animations. (In fact this movie is often relegated to "kids film" or "family film", which makes me feel a little silly for enjoying it.) The ending is positive but not saccharine -- there's resolution ...but not of everything.
Comic relief is provided by a tag team of a snail and a slug. A typical gag is something about "eyes inside your head" or "everybody hide in your shell" (slugs of course don't have shells). I found it adequately funny (but not laugh out loud funny). Humor is a very personal thing though, and I suspect some of the more "with it" young adults will find it painfully unfunny.
The flights, the fights, the falls are gripping. This is edge of your seat stuff. And the tiny perspective casts familiar things in a new light: a mouse becomes a threatening giant, and a looming doggie kiss would mean serious injury or even death. Pick a theater with a really big screen and a newish projector, and sit toward the front. And if you're an animation aficionado plan to attend more than once. Also, sit through the end credits, as the level of detail and imagination in the background visuals --often throwaways or repeats, but not here-- is astounding.
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- How long is Epic?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Leafmen
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $100,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $107,518,682
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $33,531,068
- May 26, 2013
- Gross worldwide
- $268,426,634
- Runtime1 hour 42 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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