... The Ant Bully is just a great ride, but all that moralizing diminishes the fun of feeling ant-sized yourself and being immersed in Lucas's incredible adventures.
The Ant Bully (2006)
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Reviews Counted:111
Fresh:70
Rotten:41
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: Sometimes inventive and witty, this animated adventure into an ant-sized world is a pleasant diversion.
Theatrical Release:Jul 28, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $28,133,159
Synopsis: A young boy learns the importance of teamwork and gains self-confidence in this animated feature written and directed by John A. Davis (JIMMY NEUTRON: BOY GENIUS), and based on the book by John... A young boy learns the importance of teamwork and gains self-confidence in this animated feature written and directed by John A. Davis (JIMMY NEUTRON: BOY GENIUS), and based on the book by John Nickle. Misfit Lucas (Zach Taylor Eisen) doesn't have any friends and suffers daily at the hands of the neighborhood bully. Lucas's mother (Cheri Oterie) might call her 10-year-old "Peanut," but to the ants inhabiting the colony in his front yard, Lucas is "the Destroyer." Lonely and frustrated by his small stature, Lucas repeatedly takes his aggressions out on the colony, leaving the ants running for their lives. Tired of the unprovoked attacks, Zok (Nicolas Cage), an ant wizard, devises a potion that will shrink the Destroyer down to their size so that he can stand trial for his actions. Soon, Lucas is ant-sized and sentenced to live among the ants where he has to learn their ways in order to earn his freedom. Zok's ever cheerful girlfriend, Hova (Julia Roberts), becomes Lucas's mentor, teaching him the ways of the ant world and helping him gain a whole new perspective. He begins to understand the meaning of teamwork and how working with others can help an individual accomplish great things. He also learns that danger lurks everywhere for an ant: killer wasps, hungry frogs, even sunlight reflected off a mirror can mean certain death. Even worse, before being shrunk, Lucas was tricked into signing a contract with a slimy exterminator, Stan Beals (Paul Giamatti), who will soon be returning to destroy the colony unless Lucas can find a way to stop him. An amusing, smart script and likeable characters are hallmarks of this pleasant romp through a secret underground world. Meryl Streep voices the ant Queen, while Lily Tomlin is Mommo, Lucas's grandmother, and Ricardo Montalban is the Head of the Ant Council. [More]
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Bruce Campbell, Paul Giamatti, Allison Mack
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Bruce Campbell, Paul Giamatti, Allison Mack, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Cheri Oteri
Director: John A. Davis
Director: John A. Davis
Producer: Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, John A. Davis
Composer: John Debney
Studio: Warner Bros.
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Reviews for The Ant Bully
The screenplay is blessedly free of mediocre songs and light on flashy pop-culture in-jokes ...
If the Ant Bully story is generic, it is never plodding. It zips along quite nicely, aided by the especially well-constructed action sequences.
[It's] a rousing adventure capped with just the right measure of sweetness... John A. Davis shows heaps of invention.
[T]he movie certainly means well, and its worthwhile message (teamwork is good, selfishness is bad) should penetrate the brains of kids old enough to stay in their seats and pay attention to it.
The brilliance of The Ant Bully is in the crafty way it delves into the minds of ants as they plot to save themselves from extermination... Davis creates a marvelously labyrinthine society for them, right below the surface of a bland suburb.
The Ant Bully isn't a kid classic, but it's an enjoyable diversion until the next ant movie comes along.
Bright visuals, snappy dialogue and a smart plot make The Ant Bully a welcome summer treat.
Though the story is predictable, the message is benign, and the visuals, particularly in IMAX 3-D, are stylized and surreal.
While the picture has the star power of Nicolas Cage and Julia Roberts voicing insects in love, they're not nearly as interesting a couple as Woody Allen and Sharon Stone in Antz.
This generic exercise in computer-generated animation may provide passable entertainment for very young children, but adults will be less than enchanted by its preachiness, talkiness and Communist Party-line political views.
The Ant Bully does not talk down to kids or feign to talk up to their parents with pop references, though adults may be amused (or maybe not) by the Christian parallel in the ants' religion.
It would be wrong to dismiss The Ant Bully as just another bug movie.
The Ant Bully is the summer's best family movie -- funny, action-packed, sometimes disgusting, sometimes affecting.
The Ant Bully is too flawed to be a true classic, or even the best of this busy year. But when it stops talking and starts moving, it reaches breathtaking heights that almost make up for its lows.
The Ant Bully, which was three years in the making, seems fussed over and, occasionally, a little dull.
Even as the story drags a bit, it balances enough gross gags for the kids (poop jokes!) with verbal trickery for the adults, -- so every member of your colony will feel satisfied.
There's a sweet simplicity and humility to this film. Amid all the animation hype, it's just a very good movie. It's no big deal; and thus, it is.
The whole thing is so mean-spirited, cruel and crude that all the funny jokes in the world couldn't make up for it.
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