I love animation and to say otherwise would be a cardinal sin. Animation is my favorite art form in the world, and I hold it in high regard unlike most adults do and never would disregard it as "children's only" entertainment. But in recent years, much of the Animation world has slipped into a buck for buck sort, where all the competition relies in the money and much of the quality is just automatically put to the side.

This can be clearly seen in films by the top studios like Disney, who now are stuck on princess themed movies (excluding Wreck It Ralph) and even influencing sub-company Pixar to follow their lead (Brave) And with the success of movies like Despicable Me and The Smurfs, no wonder studios are desperate for quick cash in flicks rather than effort showcasing masterpieces.


Then we arrive to the worst of the worst when it comes to these cash grabbing projects: Blue Sky. Most known for creating the lackluster Ice Age movies, the charming but only decent Rio and the similarly decent Horton Hears A Who, Blue Sky has yet to create a masterpiece that would be remembered by generations like its peers DreamWorks and Disney/Pixar have achieved.

But the studio released a new film this past weekend, entitled Epic (loosely based on the Leaf Men and The Brave Good Bugs book by William Joyce.) With being given such a different marketing title than it's source, this movie must truly be at least interesting. Let's take a moment to examine.

FYI: While speaking about this film, I would like to take into a reference two other flicks: 90's nostalgia classic Ferngully, and another recent Joyce book to movie adaptation, Rise of the Guardians, to which is not a literal adaptation but will work for what is needed in speaking about this.

AND THERE WILL BE SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT.....