Epic

Beautiful to watch but allegorically bewildering, this eco-friendly, computer-animated fable from the creators of Ice Age and Rio revolves around a recently widowed, absentminded scientist named Professor Bomba (voiced by Jason Sudeikis), and his estranged 17-year-old daughter, Mary Katherine—aka M.K. (Amanda Seyfried)—who live on the edge of a vast woodland. When their one-eyed, three-legged pug runs off one day, feisty M.K. follows, leading to a fateful encounter with dying Queen Tara (Beyoncé Knowles), a tiny, Persephone-like creature who embodies the life force of the forest. The Queen entrusts now-miniaturized M.K. with her chosen Royal water-lily pod which will guide her people to crown their new Queen—but only if it blooms at midnight in the moonlight during the summer solstice. Embarking on her perilous mission, M.K. is guided by a Leaf Man warrior (Colin Farrell) and befriended by a rebellious Leaf teen (Josh Hutcherson), while facing evil forces such as the ferocious Boggen (Christoph Waltz), who wants the endangered forest to rot and decay. Based on William Joyce's illustrated children's book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs, filmmaker Chris Wedge's Epic manages to come across as both contrived and unfocused, with the central story of coping with loss becoming muddled in magic and mysticism. On the plus side, however, the vividly, deeply textured animation is exquisite, particularly when Leaf Men ride hummingbirds, and the Munchkin-like flower-people blossom, and some nice comic relief comes from a slug (Aziz Ansari), a snail (Chris O'Dowd) and a guru/caterpillar Nim Galuu (Steven Tyler). A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “Birds, Bugs, and Slugs: Forest Explorer” on the creatures that inspired the film (6 min.), a “Bugs of Camouflage” segment (4 min.), a “Rot Rocks” segment on forest decay (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a set of “Mysteries of Moonhaven Revealed” behind-the-scenes featurettes (25 min. total), “The Epic Life at 2 Inches” (4 min.), and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven family film.] (S. Granger)