Epic

Fast-paced, fun and fashionably "green", this piece of computer cartoonery is from the same stable as the Ice Age series and Rio, and has a voice cast to kill for. Amanda Seyfried plays teenager MK, who gets shrunk to insect size, and finds herself caught in a woodland war between the forces of life and decay. When teeny forest queen Tara (Beyoncé Knowles) succumbs, MK teams up with a "Leafman" warrior (Colin Farrell), rebellious Leafman teen Josh Hutcherson and assorted oddballs (including Chris O'Dowd's snail), to prevent a regenerative royal "pod" from falling into the evil clutches of Mandrake (Christoph Waltz) and his blight brigade. After a slow and rather sombre start, Epic finds a well-paced groove of alternating dark and light, comic scenes - there are some scenes that may scare younger, more sensitive souls, though it's generally family friendly fare. Director Chris Wedge (who made the first Ice Age movie) doesn't let the eco-minded philosophy get in the way of some nicely animated action.