By Nancy Johnson Horn, Editor
The new 3D CG animated feature Epic just opened and I had a first hand look at the film before it opened, plus I got to walk the red carpet (very exciting), and I got to sit down with the director, Chris Wedge (ICE AGE), and cast members, Colin Farrell, Amanda Seyfried, Chris O’ Dowd and Aziz Ansari, and a group of fellow bloggers. First, we got to walk the red carpet at the premiere — my daughter had so much fun!
(Read More after the jump).
This post will be about the film. The next post will be about the Q & A session. Thank you to Kimberly Coleman of Mom and the City for letting me attend the premiere and Q & A Session in her place.
Check out the Trailer:
Epic stars Beyoncé Knowles as Queen Tara (she is fantastic), Colin Farrell as Ronin, Josh Hutcherson (Hunger Games) as Nod, Amanda Seyfried as M.K, Aziz Ansari as Mub, Chris O’Dowd as Grub, Pitbull as Bufo, Christoph Waltz as Mandrake, Jason Sudeikis as Professor Bomba (M.K.’s Dad), Steven Tyler as Nim Galuu.
About the Movie:
Plot: A young girl (Amanda Seyfried) goes to live with her father and discovers a fantastical world right beneath her feet. The Leafman, headed up by Colin Farrell’s Ronin, protect Queen Tara (Beyoncé Knowles) and the life in the forest. Their world is threatened by Boggans, who wish to destroy it, headed by the evil Mandrake (Christoph Waltz). The Leafmen, the heros in the story are inspired by William Joyce’s book “The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs”. William Joyce also wrote EPIC’s story and screenplay and served as an executive producer and production designer.
What I liked: There was action enough for both boys and girls (and parents) to like the film. While there were a few scary parts, we think children over age 6 or 7 will be fine seeing it. I took my 5 1/2 year old daughter and during the scarier parts, I kept checking in with her to make sure she knew it was make believe. Beyonce’, as Queen Tara, was so riveting (and a wonderful role model). Queen Tara’s her friendship/sort of romance with Colin Farrell (Ronin) was touching and completely PG. Aziz Anizari and Chris O’ Dowd, a slug and a snail respectively, served as the comic relief (I’d love to see these guys together more – some short features with them would be hysterical). The 3D CG animation was breathtaking. Make sure your child is comfortable and able to wear 3D glasses, or they’ll miss the beauty of the movie. There were child sized 3D glasses and adult sized; the child sized fit perfectly over my daughter’s glasses (which I was happy about).
Themes in the movie: Good versus Evil, and “Many leaves, one tree” – meaning while we’re all individuals, we are also part of a community. This saying, “Many leaves, one tree” is repeated throughout the movie and is very important, as unlikely allies pull together to help save their world.
Verdict: See Epic! Parents, as well as children will enjoy it and take away some very positive messages.
Get Social with Epic:
Like Epic on Facebook
Follow @EpicTheMovie on Twitter #EpicTheMovie
Watch Epic videos on YouTube
Follow Epic on Instagram
A version of this post appeared on MomintheCity‘s website first. Thank you to 20th Century Fox for inviting us to the screening and the Q & A Session.
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