Trivia / Epic (2013)

• All-Star Cast: Amanda Seyfried as MK, Josh Hutcherson as Nod, Colin Farrell as Ronin, Beyoncé as Queen Tara, Steven Tyler as Nim Galuu, Christoph Waltz as Mandrake, Pitbull as Bufo, and so on. Even minor character Finn is voiced by Back to the Future's Thomas F. Wilson!
• Billing Displacement: Amanda Seyfried is billed third despite voicing the main character.
• The Cast Showoff: Steven Tyler of Aerosmith gets to sing as Nim, but averted with Beyonce as Tara and Pitbull as Bufo. Beyoncé at least sings a song for the credits.
• Celebrity Voice Actor: Especially Beyonce, but the entire cast counts to varying degrees.
• Creator Backlash: Chris Wedge is not really fond of the movie, saying he tried to make an animated action adventure movie but it did not really work out.
• Follow the Leader: Much like what DreamWorks did with Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon, Epic took on a more serious fantasy tone in an attempt to break out of Blue Sky's more juvenile, pop-culture-centred comedy films ^note Which in turn were pulling this trope on the first Shrek film.
• Missing Trailer Scene:
  • Nod dangling from Mub's eyestalks after dangling from the branch. Also, Mandrake's line "I'm going to destroy the forest, but I'm only going to do it once, so try to pay attention."
  • Also this line by Ronin: "We are the Leafmen; protectors of the forest", in response to MK's "Who are you people?"
• Playing Against Type: Tom Wilson's characters are typically jerks... except for Finn.
• Stillborn Franchise: Epic was intended to be another franchise for Blue Sky Studios, but the film's mixed reviews and its competition against The Hangover Part III, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Fast & Furious 6 renders it the first and last time we'll ever see another adventure with the Leaf Men. The shut down of Blue Sky by their new owners Disney didn't help either.
• What Could Have Been: During the period of Development Hell on the project, Fox was close to cancelling the project and John Lasseter of Pixar offered Joyce the opportunity to make Leaf Men at Pixar. Fox ended up changing their minds and the project stayed at Blue Sky. Chris Wedge stated that while Joyce's book was great, it felt rather blasé for a good Hollywood blockbuster, and the Leaf Men were changed into samurai-like warriors. The script went through around five rewrites before they arrived at the script that was ready to be animated in 2009.
• Working Title: Leafmen, which is closer to the book the film is based on.

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