Epic (2013)

Director: Chris Wedge
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hitcherson, Beyoncé

Synopsis:
A girl moves in with her eccentric father after her mother's death, only to be transported into the world of faeries, where she is entrusted with the pod bearing the new Queen and must protect it from the ravaging Boggans.

Impressions:
I tend to be rather picky when it comes to Western animation. Most of Disney and Pixar's fare clicks with me, but other studios have less success. For instance, for all DreamWorks' output, the only animated films of theirs I like without reservation is Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. Blue Sky has an even harder time of it. I don't like the Ice Age series and only have lukewarm feelings toward the Rio films. This being said, the character designs for this film looked appealing enough, so I decided to give this one a shot. While not amazing, it's pretty good. A more satisfying FernGully clone than Avatar, I'll tell you that. I liked it well enough. Story, characters and animation are all fine. I feel the character of Mandrake doesn't sufficiently utilize Christoph Waltz's talents, but the character is still a decent villain. (No Hexxas, mind you, but the thought of a limiters-off character for Christoph Waltz plus Tim Curry would be a villainous dream team.) If other Blue Sky films haven't quite done it for you, give this one a shot. It may change your opinion a bit.

Rating:
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