Epic Tails Review: A Bizarre Greek Mythology Adventure of Animals and Gods

 

 

Copyright © Viva Pictures, Viva Kids, TAT Productions

Title: Epic Tails

Alternative Titles: Argonuts (US alternative), Pattie et la colère de Poséidon (original French)
Director: David Alaux

Release Date: April 5, 2024

    Greek mythology? Check. Animals? Check. Wait, this mix sounds odd. Looks like there is an obscure animated film from a foreign country, after one year. The movie for today's review, also being the last movie for August this year, is Epic Tails, one of the new films to come out of Viva Pictures! Originally, this was released in France in October of 2022. In the following year, the movie got dubbed in English and was released in multiple other countries, particularly in the United Kingdom which was where its first dub was created. This year, the movie finally got released in the United States theatrically for only a limited time. Throughout its release years, it grossed $15.1 million worldwide. Its US and Canada opening weekends made the movie gross $355 thousand domestically. Thanks to the fact that this came from a foreign country, the movie got mixed reviews from critics and audiences combined. Both of them praised its detailed animation and on-shot Greek references but criticized the messy story and bland humor. Even though it needs to fix up its story and execution, Epic Tails is a bizarre movie that can technically get a pass for showing a kid-friendly bliss of Greek culture.

Summary

   Pattie (Kaycie Chase/Sonja Ball/Ellie Zeiler), a small mouse, dreams of becoming a brave and heroic adventurer. When Iolcos gets conquered by the angered Poseidon, she and Sam (Christophe Lemoine/Mark Camacho), a worried cat, have to save it. All it takes is an animal crew, an old hero named Jason (Michel Tureau/Terrence Scammell), and the Argonauts to go on this journey to save their city.

Reasons

    From what this review can find, the biggest treasures of Epic Tails is the detailed animation, smart Greek references, and unique ideas. What is surprising about this is that this is coming from a foreign animation company to not be from Japan, so this gives them an advantage for its movies to be viewed theatrically. Just like with Deep Sea, another one of their films, the movie has its detail and smooth movement. Its character designs look cute enough to appeal to its younger demographic. Moving on, the references to the Greek mythology are decently on track. Even though they may not be accurate, this is enough to get kids to enjoy the lore. What makes this movie easy to watch is that it does not shove the references in anyone's faces like there is no tomorrow. In other words, it does not put any out of nowhere just for the sake of its historical theme. Before getting to the mixed, it surprisingly comes up with unique ideas for its lore. Unlike most foreign animated movies that use the cliched elements or writing any that point out at one of their previous movies, the movie takes its creativity seriously, with most of it turning out to be fine. From the trailer, there is a baby kraken which was a clever concept, albeit it needed to be a bit more intimidating.
    There are some things from Epic Tails, which are the story, characters, and script, which are not as special as to what was from the first paragraph. Again, the execution means it gears toward a younger demographic because of the simple story structure, but it get clunky sometimes. There is no problem with assigning a certain age demographic for a kids animated film. However, if this is meant for the family, then there would have been some story points and ideas that would get adults to enjoy it as well. Another thing from the movie that did not flesh out much were the characters plus the development. The main lead, Pattie, is cute and all. She just needed more writing and development for her to be more than the fearless heroine out for an adventure. Same goes for Sam who needed more screen time and development. If he helped Pattie more, then that would give him more opportunity to be believed as her sidekick. Putting them aside, half of the other characters also turn out fine. On the other hand, the other half, like Creeper, were mostly one-dimensional who serve only to be "funny" and nothing else. Last of the bunch, the script was nothing special either. It might do some good for the kids but some of the things said are overused one-liners. Most of the one-liners are just to try to amp up Pattie's bravery and that the animals are like a family of...you guessed it...unlikely heroes. When you think about it, the characters tend to be annoying in the scenes they say these things in.
    As for the opposite feeling, Epic Tails has the bad items being the lack of humor, forced message, and questionable points. Well, the movie does have humor but it is mostly for the kids only, not for the adults. Sadly, there were only a few jokes that  give out a chuckle or even a laugh. Like with most foreign animated films, the movie shoves the message down the throat sometimes. The message is the old tale of friendship which needs to be told in a different way. Thankfully, it focuses more on the journey. Finishing the flaws off, the movie makes some points that will get the watcher confused. Almost all are minor and hard to tell. The only one that was major was something that contradicts the main setting of the movie. Is there a point to put in something that does not fit well into the concept at all? Sure, the movie can come up with as much ideas as it wants, but it should also consider how that is going to be fit in the setting.

Conclusion

    Although this might have needed more proper connections, Epic Tails is the most bizarre movie of the year, yet also being a decent adventure filled with mythology and funky talking animals. Its animation and lore is actually great as it is. What the movie needs to amp up the execution and add some adult-friendly jokes, so that the movie would be for the family like it was meant to be. There is no problem with checking this one out since this is not anything horrendous nor mediocre. If this did not interest you at any level, there are some better animated adventures to pick from.

    Score: 6/10 (a Greek treat...that is good enough)