In this case, there’s an unseen tragedy that’s the catalyst for bringing Mary Katherine – MK – back into the world of her father, Professor Bomba. The death of MK’s mother leads her to the home of her dad- a place that looks like “termites holding hands” – where she discovers that he’s just as engrossed in his work as he always was. It’s not that the central relationship doesn’t feel like it matters, though: it’s decently laid out, and convincing enough. But it does feel as though Epic doesn’t try to deepen or vary this element of the film enough. Instead, the effort has gone into other areas. The best characters, for instance, are found around the side of the story rather than in the middle of it (only the character of MK, of the leads, feels in any way substantive). An ageing dog with a number of ailments proves to be surprisingly sweet, whilst the transformation of a seemingly cute little mouse into something more sinister is expertly done, but then soon gone. Then, there’s the scene-stealing duo of slug and snail, Mub and Grub. Responsible for a generous number of good, healthy laughs, they have the same impact on Epic as Scrat the Squirrel does in previous Blue Sky Studios Ice Age movies. That the film significantly lifts whenever they turn up becomes more evident as Epic continues. Credit must go to the visual design here though. Epic often feels a delight to simply look at, such is the realisation of the forest world we spend most of the film in. It’s dripping with details, effort and artistic talent, and the thought of a second movie in this world, perhaps making more of it, is no bad thought. It’s frustrating, though. At times, Epic comes up with really interesting ideas – such as the notion that the forest world and the ‘big’ world move at slightly different speeds (although even that, I’ve since learned, is an idea that Hayao Miyazaki has talked about in the past) – and when it employs and plays with them, it carves out a semblance of an identity for itself beyond the sheer look of the film. But it’s the storytelling that flattens it. Granted, timing hasn’t been in Epic‘s favour, but while parts of the film feel injected by a drive to push things that bit harder, the narrative drives over too familiar terrain, by a too familiar route, exiting your brain within an hour at most. Epic is out in UK cinemas on the 22nd May. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.