WATCH THE FOREST COME ALIVE IN 'EPIC'

Never ashamed to say it, I AM A CARTOON BUFF! I love to believe in the possibilites which cartoons bring to lighten our lives with its moving images of art and colour. 

Epic is a 3D animation coupled with a compelling story and fantastic writing that could make one believe on the possibility of extraordinary human activity in the forest the same way we believe in the existence of life  asides our planets. Although it may not be true, its fun and interesting to have your mind buggling with the thought of it being possible. 

Following the death of her mother, Mary Katherine (a.k.a. M.K.) (Amanda Seyfried), a 17 year old teenager, moves in with her estranged and eccentric scientist father, Professor Bomba (Jason Sudeikis), who has been searching for tiny human soldiers, a belief which M.K. is skeptical. She wants her father to stop his work. Unknown to the both of them, Bomba is right that there are tiny soldiers called Leafmen. They protect the forest from evil creatures called Boggans (who shoot arrows that can kill any living thing) and their malevolent leader Mandrake (Christoph Waltz) who plans to destroy the forest. 

The queen of the forest, Queen Tara (Beyoncé Knowles), decides to choose an heir to her throne and goes out to a field of leaf pods, guarded by a laid-back slug named Mub (Aziz Ansari) and an uptight  snail named Grub (Chris O'Dowd). Tara chooses the smallest pod as the heir. Immediately after she does so, the Boggans attack. Tara flees the area with the pod, and though her bodyguards do their best to protect her, they are soon overwhelmed by the sheer number of Boggans. Eventually, no-nonsense Leafmen leader Ronin (Colin Farrell), who apparently has a crush on the queen, arrives to save her but were attacked by Mandrake and his son Dagda (Blake Anderson) who is then killed by Ronin. but Tara is unfortunate, she is shot by Dagda with an arrow and falls off Ronin's bird into the forest.

Meanwhile, M.K., fed up with her father's passion to prove the existence of the Leafmen decides to leave. While trying to leave, the family's one-eyed, three-legged dog, Ozzie, runs into the woods. While looking for Ozzie, M.K. witness Tara falling. A dying Tara gives her the pod and uses her magic to shrink her. She tells M.K. to take the pod to a Glowworm named Nim Galuu (Steven Tyler) before she dies. 

Together with the veteran Leafman warrior Ronin, goofy mollusks Mub and Grub and a young maverick Nod (Josh Hutcherson) who decided  to quit earlier because he could no longer stand the pressure by over protective Ronin  who wants Nod to learn about teamwork, M.K. agrees to help. As the villainous Boggan leader, Mandrake closes in, M.K. and her new friends must draw on the best of themselves together and discover what they have to save their world. 

Epic is an original - animated movie experience for everyone which boasts plenty of thrills, good humour and adventure. An absolute delight from start to finish, Epic features an award-worthy sequence where giant figures are viewed through the eyes of the Leafmen  to be in slow motion and stupid compared to their natural swift movement. Now I am beginning to wonder if flies see us in slow motion...could be possible don't you think? 

Epic (stylized as epic) is a 2013 American 3D computer animated fantasy, adventure comedy, drama film loosely based on William Joyce's children's book 'The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs'. It was produced by Blue Sky Studios, and directed by Chris Wedge, the director of Ice Age (2002) and Robots (2005). It stars the voices of Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Colin Farrell, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Chris O'Dowd, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, with Steven Tyler and Beyoncé Knowles. The film was released on May 24, 2013. 

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 64% based on 112 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Though its narrative themes are all too familiar, Epic is beautifully animated and crafted with just enough flair to make for solid family entertainment." American Audiences polled by the market research firm CinemaScore gave Epic an "A" grade on average and an "A+" among kids.