"Queen Be" Beyonce plays a tiny forest Queen in Epic 3D, an animated fantasy based on the book by William Joyce about a teenage girl (Amanda Seyfried) who gets lost in a forest and joins a battle between the forces of life and decay…
"Queen Be" Beyonce plays a tiny forest Queen in Epic 3D, an animated fantasy based on the book by William Joyce about a teenage girl (Amanda Seyfried) who gets lost in a forest and joins a battle…
Epic 3D is a family-friendly film based on "The Leaf Men and The Brave Good Bugs" by William Joyce; the story of MK who gets lost in a forest where she meets a tiny Queen Tara (Beyonce) and is shrunk in size. She soon realises she is part of a tiny race in a battle between the forces of life and decay, one that she must help win to save their world as well as ours.
MK shares her mission to protect a precious lily pod that will continue the royal line and regeneration of the forest with Ronin (Colin Farrell), commander of the Leafmen, an elite band of warriors, Nod (Josh Hutcherson) an ex-Leafman, and a comical pair, a slimey slug and a snail.
So, what worked well? I really liked the stark visual contrast between the magnificent imagery, colours and beauty of the forest on the ‘good’ side, and the almost monotone and twisted mess on the ‘bad’ side, which made it very obvious for kids to tell the difference.
On a fashion note, one highlight was Queen Tara’s petal dress which was beautifully animated and ethereal; it draped perfectly as she walked across lily petals that moved to create a pathway for her on a pond.
Two highlights for the adults were a small cameo by a fruit fly, who changes before our eyes (after being asked what it’s like having such a short lifespan) as well as the ‘stompers’ (large people) who move in slow motion as the tiny heroes scatter about. The kids I took (8 and 6 years old) found there were just enough funny and scary bits to keep them entertained and I know they’ll enjoy playing the games on www.epicthemovie.com/epic-movie-games.
It appeared Director Chris Wedge borrowed the ‘tree of knowledge’ theme from Avatar, the tree that guides the tiny race into the future with the knowledge from the past, and slick Matrix-style action moves, even with a nod to the overwhelming bug scenes, are not so good for the bug phobic among us.
By Rebecca Zwitser.
11 July 2013
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