Epic

On Sunday, we had another family outing, this time to see Epic, which I later discovered is from a book by the same author (and in both cases also screenwriter) as The Rise of the Guardians, another children's animation that I really enjoyed.

So, that was a giveaway; I enjoyed this one as well. In some ways it's a standard plot - ordinary girl meets tiny boy, gets caught up in battle to save the world - but with enough twists to mark it out. Both the girl and the boy are at odds with their father-figures, and in both cases find reconciliation not in the father accepting that they are right, but in a compromise which is actually weighted in the adult's favour. Also,  the battle to save the forest is a battle for the proper balance of life and decay, not the usual nature vs pollution bit.

The film is about understanding between generations, about stewardship and about responsibility, of all things, and yet it went down a storm with the kids in the audience. Who knew that kids could be enthused about something that wasn't the anarchic and mindless rejection of authority?