[Locke]

Art is all in the perspective. If you approach Epic as just another piece of family animation then yeah, it really is nothing special. And as it came out the same year the genre defying masterpiece Frozen did, it doesn't have a chance. However, if you approach it as another movie trying to be the next Twilight, you get something much more interesting... What?! Trashy young adult supernatural romance novels are my vice, okay?

Epic is full of beautiful animation taking the more cartoony looks of other similar animated features, then wrapping it in a coat of realism and featuring one of the most stunning representations of two races, one of life and one of death. And this animation is truly at its finest during the slick action scenes which are full of exciting imagination.

It has fantasy elements, but just the right amount. I personally find the Swords and Sorcery genre one of the most uninteresting, so I was happy that the fantasy here was ground in a modern reality and punctuated with human drama. There is of course swords, magic and stupid names but that isn't all there is. Thank Christ for that.

But now, as said, where Epic really shines is in the romance. It is a pretty traditional set up, we have a teenage girl, her mother is dead and her father is chasing something only he believes in which causes a chasm between him and his daughter. By pure chance, seemingly, the girl finds herself in a fantasy world of monsters and magic and most importantly - in the arms of a handsome boy.

The set up, like many aspects of Epic, is nothing special but it's the way this set up is treated that makes it stand out. A lot of the time these romances are so by the numbers because they've become so cliché it's like writers assume you HAVE to include them and go through the motions with these plot arcs just so they are there.

But here MK doesn't just fall for Nod simply because he's the only boy her age around, or whatever the reasoning is behind the likes of Clary and Jace or Bella and Edward. It springs off of an initial attraction, sure, and Nod is a sort of blend between Jacob and Jace and we can't help but be charmed by his cocky asshole attitude. But his actual relationship with MK takes time over the course of the film, forming perhaps not quite naturally, but is probably one of the most convincing romances of the year. Hutcherson and Seyfried have a lot of chemistry as well, given its only their voices, and the animation has to do the rest.

And thankfully, minus a comic relief slug who I wanted to dunk a load of salt on, these central lovers are supported by a great supporting cast. Usually when a voice cast is made up of famous names, it usually sucks, as just because you're a famous actor doesn't mean you can voice act but here it works wonderfully, thanks largely to some wonderful dialogue that the numerous writers give them to chew on.