Epic (2013 film)
Epic is a 2013 American animated fantasy adventure film produced by Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox Animation. It’s loosely based on William Joyce’s book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs. The movie was directed by Chris Wedge, with a screenplay by Joyce, James V. Hart, Daniel Shere, and the writing team Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember.
The voice cast includes Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Chris O'Dowd, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Steven Tyler, and Beyoncé Knowles.
Plot in simple terms: A teenage girl, Mary Katherine “M.K.”, is shrunk down and transported to a tiny woodland world inhabited by Leafmen, talking creatures, and dangerous Boggans. She joins forces with Leafmen Nod and Ronin to protect their forest. They race against time to save Moonhaven and stop Mandrake from using a magical pod to take over the world. Along the way, M.K. learns to trust her father’s science and helps bring peace to the forest.
Production notes: The film had a budget of about $93 million and was released internationally on May 16, 2013, with a United States release on May 24, 2013. It runs 102 minutes. Epic earned about $268.4 million worldwide.
Reception: Critics gave the film mixed to positive reviews. It was praised for its lush animation and visuals, while some found the story and characters familiar. Audiences gave it strong marks, including an A grade from CinemaScore.
Music: The score was composed by Danny Elfman. Beyoncé contributed and co-wrote the song “Rise Up” for the soundtrack.
Home media and streaming: Epic was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D on August 20, 2013. It became available on Disney+ in January 2021 after Disney’s acquisition of Fox and Blue Sky, but was removed in May 2021 due to existing contracts and later appeared again on Hulu.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:56 (CET).