Epic Tails (U)

The unveiling of a magnificent new statue dedicated to Zeus enrages his brother Poseidon. The jealous god of the sea orders the people of the port city of Yolcos to build a statue in his honour within seven days or he will unleash a towering tidal wave. Plucky mouse Pattie, her cat companion Sam and sea-faring gull Chickos join an ageing Jason aboard the Argo on a perilous expedition to the island of Trinaktos, where legend tells of a huge three-pronged sapphire.

LondonNet Film Review

Epic Tails (U) Film Review from LondonNet

The smallest creatures including rodents and scorpions make the biggest impact in a family-friendly computer-animated yarn directed by David Alaux with the participation of co-writers Eric Tosti and Jean-Francois Tosti, which playfully plunders Greek mythology under the gaze of petty gods of Olympus. Dubbed for audiences on this side of the English Channel, Epic Tails is a sweet and sincere rites-of-passage comedy that hits easy targets for giggles, whether that be ninja rats head-bopping in unison as they loot fish from a bustling marketplace or a hapless cat face-planting a mound of freshly sprayed monster mucus…

The script owes minor debts of creative gratitude to Finding Nemo and Coco for the anthropomorphic heroes and reanimated skeletons of the legendary Argonauts, who lose their heads and appendages to escape a prison cell then calmly reassemble to carry the flimsy plot on their scapulas. Violence is intentionally cartoonish (characters easily survive being squashed under the feet of a rampaging giant robot) so there is zero chance that any fictional critters might be harmed during the ramshackle quest. An arbitrary seven-day time limit, represented on screen by a giant hourglass, is introduced to spark dramatic tension but that’s largely forgotten until a hare-brained final act that rushes to a predictable, life-affirming resolution.

Decades after Jason (voiced by Terrence Scammell) and the valiant Argonauts returned to Yolcos with the golden fleece, the ancient Greek city has become a prosperous port where humans live in blissful harmony with animals. Plucky mouse Pattie (Sonja Ball) devours stories about Jason’s heroism and dreams of embarking on her own epic quest but her worrywart cat guardian Sam (Mark Camacho) urges her to dream smaller. “A hero is a big strong human, not a little mouse like you,” he purrs.

She reluctantly agrees until the unveiling of a magnificent new statue dedicated to Zeus (Josh Widdicombe) enrages his brother Poseidon (Rob Beckett). The jealous god of the sea orders the people of Yolcos to build a statue in his honour within seven days or he will unleash a towering tidal wave over the city. To accomplish this Herculean feat, Pattie, Sam and sea-faring gull Chickos (Wyatt Bowen) join an ageing Jason aboard the Argo on a perilous expedition to the island of Trinaktos, where legend tells of a huge three-pronged sapphire that would be the perfect, glittering centrepiece of a giant trident fit for a god.

Epic Tails is smaller in ambition than the title suggests (Tail Close To The Wind would be more apt), empowering little Pattie to think big after close encounters with a baby kraken and a family of hungry cyclops. The script winds up for an emotional punch that never materialises but heartstrings are gently plucked and animation throughout is solid, including convincing water effects. Alaux’s picture makes a gentle splash.

– Sarah Lee