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Review of Epic (Danny Elfman)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if Danny Elfman's music for the just previous Oz the Great and Powerful wasn't enough for you, this feel-good environmental entry overflowing with even more affable Elfman mannerisms.

Avoid it... if you have no tolerance for hearing Irish elements at the forefront of this score's main theme and rather seek original avenues of stylistic exploration from a composer staying very true to form in this effort.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Epic: (Danny Elfman) Shameless environmental propaganda masquerading as an animated children's film? From Hollywood? Yes! The idea is not original, of course, with FernGully: The Last Rainforest the most famous (and ridiculed) of such leftist endeavors to ensure a younger generation friendly to conservation interests. The similarly themed movie Epic, once on the verge of being a Pixar entry, was released by Fox to capture the children's market during the early summer, 2013 season, enjoying a decent return while boring parents and indoctrinating children into an environmentally conscious state. The filmmakers of Epic started with the premise of William Joyce's "The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs" but, claiming not enough action to sustain young minds, added a war to the plot that pits good, tiny humanoid creatures against nasty ones that are, unknown to most of us, battling it out in the forest. The protagonists, the "Leafmen," fend off "Boggans," the latter using their weapons to kill off all living things. A real human girl living nearby the forest is shrunk in size to join the battle and find a boyfriend in the unlikeliest of places, and her eccentric scientist father inevitably gets involved as well. All you need to know about this movie is that there are cute, talking snails and glowworms in it. Appealing to Danny Elfman's sensibilities, Epic features another score from the veteran composer that ventures towards the fantasy realm that dominated his early career. After Alice in Wonderland, Oz the Great and Powerful, and Frankenweenie, the sound of Epic will no longer come as a surprise to listeners who only became familiar with Elfman's music after he had departed his famed fantasy period of the early 1990's. Strangely, this energetic fantasy material, especially that which is brightly optimistic for the charming portion of children's realm, has suddenly become abundant from him, presenting a wealth of satisfying music but also opening doors for claims of redundancy and anonymity. The Elfman style for Epic is largely retained from the previous projects (there is never a doubt as to the composer of this music), but the ensemble's emphasis on an Irish tilt at least keeps the music refreshing when compared to previous, similar efforts by the composer. A light choir and acoustic guitar join the standard tones of Elfman's orchestral ensemble, with a significant and logical emphasis on woodwinds for this tale. Expect cooing choral sequences and upbeat Irish rhythms to hit all the right chords for this innocuous, feel good atmosphere.

Absolutely nothing in the score for Epic will surprise a film music collector. A fair amount of stock Elfman action material occupies the work, and when there isn't wildly fluttering activity like the woodwind and percussion-led "Pursuit," the composer stops for a moment of choral reflection as in "Rings of Knowledge." The standard base woodwinds for mystery exist in "Tara's Chamber" and the acoustic guitar that pops up occasionally reconnects the music back to real world goodness in typical Elfman fashion. Skittish strings represent the father in the story ("Meet Dad") and a general sense of rural mysticism in "Moonhaven Parade" hails back to Black Beauty. The "scary" portions manage to maintain a lighter touch with continuous major-key reminders. Genuine Elfman "magic" for overwhelmingly beautiful, harmonic grandeur comes into play a few times, "The Selection" a particularly satisfying moment of such bliss. The narrative flow of the score is decent but not apparent enough to match Elfman's best works. Part of this issue with memorability outside of the general affable style of the music has to do with the score's generic thematic stew. The main theme is referenced in its fully enthusiastic Irish embodiment in "Leafmen" and "Epic Finale," and this rousing melody is split off into several of the action cues in the middle of the score. The fantasy interlude to this theme (featuring the choir) is too brief to be really effective, its longer renditions in "Ambush" and "Kidnapped" representing lament with Elfman's usual zeal. A secondary representation of magic that grows out of this interlude material is evident in "Tara's Gift" and the resolution cues near the end of the score. The pair of "Epic Final Confrontation" and "Return" features saccharine pleasures that begin to stray towards Joel McNeely's Tinkerbell environment, though the acoustic guitar manages to keep this one rooted in Elfman territory. So much of Epic will sound familiar to Elfman collectors that it risks becoming sonic wallpaper for those hoping to hear him take this genre in interesting new directions. The Irish elements are an attempt at that movement, but other animated scores have taken that path in the past. Don't be surprised if this score is met with much of the same reaction that greeted Oz the Great and Powerful. Both remain solid, workmanlike scores that lack the distinctive punch of the composer's classics, but you can't really knock any part of these works outside of some possible handling issues with the themes. The brain insists that a score like this one, on the heels of Oz the Great and Powerful, is worthy of a high three-star rating, but a cue with the majesty of "Return" demands that the influences of nostalgia and comfort add a fourth star. Elfman's loyalists are once again served with a reliably entertaining listening experience.  ****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 52:25

• 1. Leafmen (1:17) • 2. Pursuit (2:40) • 3. Tara's Chamber (3:03) • 4. Meet Dad (0:34) • 5. Moonhaven Parade (1:27) • 6. Alarms (0:41) • 7. The Selection (2:13) • 8. Ambush (4:17) • 9. Tara's Gift (2:05) • 10. Small (2:29) • 11. Girl Meets Boy (3:24)

• 12. Rings of Knowledge (2:35) • 13. Antlers (2:10) • 14. Kidnapped (0:54) • 15. In the House (3:39) • 16. Many Leaves (1:54) • 17. Escape (4:45) • 18. False Start (3:07) • 19. Epic Final Confrontation (3:19) • 20. Return (4:18) • 21. Epic Finale (1:34)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes a list of performers but no extra information about the score or film.

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