Hi folks! Welcome to My Own Personal Nerdy Disney Scrutinizing Analyses blog, a blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films or Disney in general! These entries are meant to be my analyses only. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries is meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies.
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And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. If so, I apologize.
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| We couldn`t come up with a better title :) |
When most people think of Blue Sky Studios, they`ll think of the Ice Age-franchise. After all, it`s a fair staple, due to how Blue Sky Studios became synonymous with it. As Ice Age became a part of the rising CGI boom that was taking over animation. However, Blue Sky Studios did manage to become a studio with their own library afterwards and created their own franchises. But most of their movies also became quite homogenous at the time. As they followed the same formula that animated movies followed with Shrek: Pop Culture references, snappy pacing, ect. To call their 2013 entry Epic a complete departure would`ve been somewhat of a stretch. But at least it proved to be something a little more distinctive from the usual Blue Sky Studios fare. As it was essentially a more grounded, down-to-Earth picture and not as frantic as their previous fare. 
Released in May 2013 by 20th Century Fox, Epic was partially based on William Joyce's 1996 children's book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs. It was directed by Chris Wedge, director of the first Ice Age and Robots. It had a big celebrity voice cast of
Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried (M.K.), Christoph
Waltz, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Steven Tyler, and Beyoncé Knowles (her
first animated role). Wedge wanted tried and true actors and wanted Beyonce for being iconic. The score was composed by Danny Elfman (and despite how it`s not a musical, it still has one song in it. Along with the end credit song, who Beyoncé co-wrote with Sia, Rise Up).Behind the Scenes Information
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| I know many people would skip this page, since I`m a bug :) |
The idea for Epic started actually with Wedge himself, who actually is a friend with author Joyce. As they visited the Frick Museum in New
York, enchanted by an exhibit on Victorian fairy paintings.
They went into a forest and imagined an adventure about heroic
Leafmen. Which sparked the idea for The Leaf Men and
the Brave Good Bugs. In 2006, it was reported that Chris Wedge would direct a film based on William Joyce's book for Fox Animation (Meet the Robinsons was also based on Joyce`s book). Joyce, who had already designed and produced 2005 Robots, was the producer. Wedge originally turned to Pixar, who was a close friend with John Lasseter from working on Tron. When Pixar tried to close the rights for Epic, Fox changed their mind and it returned to them. Epic was officially greenlit in 2009 and called Leaf Men.  |
| We had to shrink to fit the billboard :) |
While the final title was decided by the marketing department, Wedge wasn`t satisfied with the renaming (as well with the subtitles given in non-English countries, as the French subtitle, The Battle of the Secret Kingdom). However, Epic is loosely based on Joyce's book, since it`s plot has been changed. As Wedge wanted a bigger action-adventure movie." M.K. was named after Joyce's late daughter, who died of a brain tumor in May 2010 when she was 18 years old. |
| We wanted to make it too hard for you to choose :) We`re cruel, right? :) |
The look on Epic was inspired by N.C. Wyeth. But when the story matured, so did the art design. As it was also inspired from Art Noveau, Art Deco and Asian influences. The main theme is of connection. The scale had to be done twice: What it looked like from the big scale and then what it looks like the small. The inspiration for the physics of the Leafmean came to Wedge when he saw a sparrow. The forest was an outgrowth of the fur simulation made for Rio, with better algorithms. The Leaf Men were modeled after Samurai. Johnny Knoxville was going to play Mandrake. Seyfried recorded with Wedge at times. The research was based on the woods in Maine. The production took four years. |
| And that`s because he likes you :) |
The storycrew worked with the story for many years before settling on one. Originally Bomba wasn`t going to be M.K.`s father and living in the forest alone. The designs on the characters were done before the casting. M.K. was actually a late addition to the story. And her clothes were taken from Wedge`s own daughter. The Reception and Legacy of Epic
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| Since I`m a girl, I wanted to stand out of being in the middle :) |
The movie business usually works in the sense about how some movies manages to get an impact, while others doesn`t. It`s just the way the business work. But to summarize the reception of Epic, it was well received critcially and commercially (making $268,426,634 Worldwide). And everything looked that Epic was going to be a huge hit, as it was a high-profile animated feature with much fanfare promotion. However, the overall consensus of it was that it`s was a hit and miss: It just came and went.
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| I know that I don`t look like something from Picasso, right? :) |
It was never regarded as a milestone in animation. Nor did it leave much of an impact to be remembered. Whether it`s truly a pity or not it`s up to you to decide, but it`s general consensus is how Epic has been that it`s been semi-forgotten. However, while every movie has it`s haters or lovers, Epic doesn`t either seem to be regarded as the epitome of an underrated animated movie. Despite how it has a fanbase, it`s defenders doesn`t seem to defend the heck out of it. How Epic came year in 2013, a year which was considered by many to be a bad year in animation, really didn`t truly helped it to stand out. While it was overshadowed by other animated films as Monsters University and Despicable Me 2, it still finished in third out of six family films that summer.
Comparisons to Other Animated Movies With Similar Premises
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| Soon everyone would want me instead of Tinker Bell :) |
Otherwise, to call Epic a low-rent Ferngully wouldn`t be much of a stretch (which was Seyfried`s favorite animated movie). Due to how it practically has the same premise (and yes, Wedge had to face a lot of similar theories, despite how Wegde`s son thought it looked like Avatar). And yes, there have been many who`ve made that comparions. It would`ve be tempting to draw even other comparisons, as the Disney Fairies franchise (especially Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue, with a girl having an eccentric scientist father). A more shallow comparison would`ve even been A Bug`s Life and Antz, for entering a miniature world (and sure, it makes Epic`s title nothing but a sheer irony). 
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| Yes, they instructed me to be everything a Millenial does to appeal to them :) |
Epilogue
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| The soldiers from Toy Story made my helmet :) |
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| Well, since this is essentially a preview for a new ride :) |
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References:
The Art of Epic (Tara Bennett)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV2Tnplnr0k (Interview Director Chris Wedge EPIC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvf2rpaYGIc (Beyonce talks about her role as Queen Tara in Epic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlV8vLqJwKo (Amanda Seyfried - Epic (Animation) Exclusive Interview)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EJ1jdtOvSE (Director Chris Wegde - Epic (Animation) Exclusive Interview)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfSuBegOrM4 (DP/30: Epic director Chris Wedge)
