EpiC (2013 film)

Directed by	Chris Wedge
Produced by	Lori Forte
	Jerry Davis
Screenplay by	William Joyce
	James V. Hart
	Daniel Shere
	Tom J. Astle
	Matt Ember
Story by	William Joyce
	James V. Hart
	Chris Wedge
Based on	The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs
	by William Joyce
Starring	Colin Farrell
	Josh Hutcherson
	Amanda Seyfried
	Christoph Waltz
	Aziz Ansari
	Chris O'Dowd
	Pitbull
	Jason Sudeikis
	Steven Tyler
	Beyoncé Knowles
Music by	Danny Elfman
Cinematography	Renato Falcão
Editing by	Andy Keir
	Tim Nordquist
Studio	Blue Sky Studios
	20th Century Fox Animation
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	May 24, 2013
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$93 million
Box office	$252,379,341

PLOT

Seventeen-year-old Mary Katherine, or M.K., (Amanda Seyfried) moves in with her eccentric scientist father, Professor Bomba (Jason Sudeikis), who has been searching for tiny human soldiers called Leafmen. They protect the forest Bomba lives near from evil creatures called Boggans and their malevolent leader Mandrake (Christoph Waltz). An independent young soldier, Nod (Josh Hutcherson) decides to quit, much to the ire of the no-nonsense Leafmen leader Ronin (Colin Farrell).

The queen of the forest, Queen Tara (Beyoncé Knowles), decides to choose an heir to her throne and goes out to a field of leaf pods, guarded by a laid-back slug named Mub (Aziz Ansari) and an uptight snail named Grub (Chris O'Dowd). Tara chooses the smallest pod as the heir. Immediately after she does so, the Boggans attack. Tara flees the area with the pod, and though her bodyguards do their best to protect her, they are soon overwhelmed by the sheer number of Boggans. Tara uses her magic to slow down her pursuers, and is at one point rescued by a flower child who idolizes her. Eventually, Ronin arrives for her and the pair fly off on Ronin's hummingbird mount. They are then attacked by Mandrake and his son Dagda (Blake Anderson). Dagda is killed by Ronin, but Tara is fatally wounded when Dagda shoots an arrow.

Meanwhile, M.K., annoyed at her father, decides to leave and leaves a note on one of his security monitors. Before she can leave, the family's one-eyed, three-legged dog, Ozzy, runs into the woods. While looking for Ozzy, M.K. sees Tara falling. A dying Tara gives her the pod and uses her magic to shrink her. She tells M.K. to take the pod to a Glowworm named Nim Galuu (Steven Tyler) before she dies. After meeting Ronin and the Leafmen, along with Mub and Grub, a confused and scared M.K. joins them. Ronin discovers that Nod has entered a race against other creatures and bugs on birds. He goes back on a deal with a tough bullfrog named Bufo (Pitbull). Before Bufo and his two henchman can kill Nod, Ronin intervenes and orders them to leave. A reluctant Nod joins him, M.K., Mub, and Grub after hearing about Tara's death.

They eventually find Nim Galuu, who, after learning about Tara's death, leads the group down to the scroll library, where M.K. discovers Tara's brief message before shrinking her, and a message that will get her back to normal size. When Ronin leaves, Nod takes M.K. on a deer ride, and they begin to fall in love. Mandrake (to whom Bufo fearfully reveals the location of the pod, which he overheard from Ronin and Nod) arrives and kidnaps Mub and Grub and imprisons them, along with the pod, which he hopes to bloom in darkness to destroy the forest and revive his son. To get into Boggan territory undiscovered, M.K., Nod, and Ronin set out to Bomba's house to get some disguises, where M.K. learns that her father is what the Leafmen call a "stomper" and that the Leafmen have been leading Bomba off their trail. After getting the disguises, Ozzie sees M.K. and chases her, catching Bomba's attention. He sees the group and catches M.K., but faints after seeing her. Before leaving, she marks where the Leafmen territory is on one of Bomba's maps with a red push-pin.

When they reach the Boggan land Ronin distracts the Boggans while M.K. and Nod rescue Mub, Grub, and the pod. They are eventually found out by Mandrake, who summons the Boggans to stop them. M.K., Nod, Mub, and Grub escape alive, but Ronin sacrifices himself to ensure their escape. Before the full moon can sprout the pod at Moonhaven, Mandrake's bats block the light, causing the pod to begin sprouting in darkness. As the Leafmen set out to fight the Boggans, M.K. sets out to get her father for assistance, but an exasperated Bomba shuts off all his cameras, believing that he didn't really see M.K. and that he's been insane all these years, but changes his mind when he sees the push-pin in his map.

Bomba is overjoyed to see that he has been right and when he follows M.K. to Moonhaven, he uses his iPod to make bat sounds, causing the bats to follow Bomba. Meanwhile, Mub and Nim Galuu try to stop Mandrake from reaching the pod, but are unsuccessful. Just then, Ronin appears, bearing scars and bruises from Boggans. Mandrake manages to outdo him, but Ronin is defended by Nod, who finally realized the importance of teamwork. Before Mandrake can obtain his victory, the moonlight takes over the pod before it blooms in darkness, causing it to bloom in light and defeat the Boggans.

The chosen heir is the marigold child who idolized and saved Tara earlier in the film. Grub becomes a Leafman, Nod and Ronin reconcile, and Nod and M.K. kiss before M.K. is returned to her original size. After reuniting with Bomba and becoming his assistant, the human family still keep regular contact with their new small friends as they continue the research of their world.

SCREENSHOTS