Just A Man [ EPIC : The Musical | Animatic ]

EPIC: The Musical by Jorge Rivera-Herrans @JayHerrans

HI AGAIN LMAO

sidenote: I'm pretty sure the baby gets thrown off the palace walls in the odyssey, but I forgor and knife is also more dramatic sooo don't mind that

Song: Just a man

Mine:

[mannylibiney]

The tear from Odysseus falling onto the infant's cheek while he's laughing — making it look like the infant is crying — yfjydutduyjtdut IT'S SO GOOD AND SAD AND AGHHH

[nightingale_wing]

The line “I’m just a man who’s trying to go home, ” hits so much harder when you know that (in some accounts) Odysseus didn’t even want to go to war and the only reason he went was because otherwise his son would’ve been hurt. In the end, he traded the life of one son for another.

[sapphicdionysus]

I like to think that when Odysseus sings “When does a comet become a meteor, when does a candle become a blaze, when does a man become a monster.” He isn’t only singing about himself and the extends he will go to get to his family and how they might change him but I think he is also singing about the uncertainty of whenever Astyanax (the baby) will end up becoming the vengeful man that Zeus told Odysseus that he would become when he grows. I think that’s why he alludes at small things becoming powerful and destructive. Again when does a “ripple” (a small thing), become a tidal wave (something potentially destructive); or more like when does Astyanax goes from a innocent child to a vengeful, murderous man.

[l-mi]

The fact that the mother of the infant had to watch him throw her child out a window... I can't even imagine the pain she felt after having her husband get killed and then seeing the last she had of him get killed must have just outright tore her to shreds. ( edit: this was one of the ways the story was said to have played out.)

[BecaExists]

This is amazing, as a classics student who's reading the odyssey at the moment, this has got me near sobbing my eyes out in the middle of college, you have portrayed Odysseus' pain and longing for home so beautifully, how fondly he remembers Penelope's grin, Astyanax's tiny face, I'll have to show this to my teacher lol

[rustyshackle]

This is why Odysseus has always been my favorite Greek hero.

He's not the long lost son of a great king, or the progeny of the god's, destined for greatness. He's just a man, one who is deeply flawed and yet relatable in those flaws.

[MaggieJaneSimpson]

the feels, the agony, the suffering, the fear of what he's going to become contrasting to the ignorence and purity of the child, who sees only the good on the edge of the sword... my heart is going to burst

[kendyljae]

I know nothing about The Odyssey, the story of Epic, or anything related. At first I thought this an emotional tale of a baby and maybe a surrogate father, a sweet lullaby as a man mourns his previous family and revels in this time to reset, start over and do better.
Then the line "Close your eyes and spare yourself the view" hits. As soon as I heard it the dread set in, suddenly I'm paying attention to every word, frame and detail. Before I know it Odysseus has a sword in hand hovering over the baby, a haunting chorus ringing out, and two simple words trumping over all of it. "Forgive me."

Oof did that hit hard in a way I didn't expect from a musical from TikTok lol

[JelliArt]

That last shot was fucking brutal and powerful. I wasn’t expecting the tear to land and fall from the infant’s eye. What a great animatic for a powerful guy-wrenching song

[topopurrito]

I totally forgot about the fact that Odysseus would have been gone 20 years because of the war and the odyssey. If he left when his son was only a baby, his son would be around 20 when he returned. That is such a painful thought.

[inerciasart]

CRYING AND SCREAMING– THE EXPRESSIONS??? THE BABY?? PENELOPE'S FLASHBACKS??? _THE ENDING???_ This is a master piece and my heart is broken in all the best ways 😭

[remiremsar]

Odysseus in EPIC: Please forgive me... I'm just a man.

Odysseus in The Iliad: YEETUS THE FEETUS!

[kanelinden]

I wanted to have a good day today and not focus on the depression that this song gave me when I first heard it. Thank you Wolfy for bringing it back. I am in misery

[aajnos]

Lyrics

[ODYSSEUS (ENSEMBLE):]
I look into your eyes and I
Think back to the son of mine
You're as old as he was when I left for war

Will these actions haunt my days
Every man I’ve slain?
Is the price I pay endless pain?
Close your eyes and spare yourself the view
How could I hurt you?

I'm just a man who's trying to go home
Even after all the years away from what I’ve know
I'm just a man who's fighting for his life
Deep down I would trade the world to see my son and wife
I'm just a man

But when does a comet become a meteor?
When does a candle become a blaze
When does a man become a monster?
When does a ripple become a tidal wave?
When does the reason become the blame?
When does a man become a monster?

(When does a comet become a meteor?)
(When does a candle become a blaze?) Forgive me
(When does a man become a monster?) Forgive me
(When does a man become a monster?) Forgive me

I'm just a man

[jedi_raptor]

The expressions and movement are on point again. It was so sad seeing him struggling with his memories of home and the choice between what he should do and what's right.

[colbee]

Sister introduced this to me a while back and I am obsessed, even better when I see one of my favorite animators making animatics on it

[inablackout]

I just realized: "when does a ripple become a tidal wave?"
The answer is, eventually.

[tomm.ymacleod]

OH IT'S THE WHOLE SONG
I'M NOT READY
I KNOW IMMA CRY
[edit: it is one minute in, and i am crying]

[adra_moth]

With Epic and The Odyssey it’s just bringing me more and more to realize how human some of our hero’s are. This was beautifully done Wolfy. Thank you for sharing your creative mind with us

[Duri_Frye]

Omg, I'm literally bawling my eyes out. This is beautiful- The expressions, how gentle he is with the baby when he lets the lil one hold his finger. The tear- I can't even-