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Sometimes inventive and witty, this animated adventure into an ant-sized world is a pleasant diversion.
All Critics (116) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (72) | Rotten (44) | DVD (6)
Kiddie-friendly toilet humour, a whiff of suspense and familiar voice actors make it passably entertaining, but there's little warmth or emotional satisfaction to be had from its cynical characters. Aug 12, 2006 | Full Review…
Kiddie-friendly toilet humour, a whiff of suspense and familiar voice actors make it passably entertaining, but there's little warmth or emotional satisfaction to be had from its cynical characters.
Anna Smith
Writer-director John A Davis has one or two nice touches, but the film is disposable. Aug 12, 2006 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
Writer-director John A Davis has one or two nice touches, but the film is disposable.
Peter Bradshaw
Just another bug movie. Aug 12, 2006 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
Just another bug movie.
Neil Smith
... unnecessary ... Jul 28, 2006 | Rating: 2.5/4
... unnecessary ...
Steven Rea
... 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. Jul 28, 2006 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…
... 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.
Peter Debruge
If the Ant Bully story is generic, it is never plodding. It zips along quite nicely, aided by the especially well-constructed action sequences. Jul 28, 2006 | Rating: 3/4
If the Ant Bully story is generic, it is never plodding. It zips along quite nicely, aided by the especially well-constructed action sequences.
Terry Lawson
Hollywood animation can be boringly formulaic. And this one is all about some self-righteous moralising. Jan 18, 2019 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…
Hollywood animation can be boringly formulaic. And this one is all about some self-righteous moralising.
Namrata Joshi
Cute animated movie with a message for kids. Jan 1, 2011 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Cute animated movie with a message for kids.
Jane Boursaw
It's a fun adventure fantasy, and I was never bored... Oct 26, 2007 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
It's a fun adventure fantasy, and I was never bored...
Felix Vasquez Jr.
While the animation, particularly in the action set pieces, is indeed well done, it's nothing revolutionary nor imaginative that stands out from the rest in this CG-feature-a-week marketplace. Aug 25, 2007 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…
While the animation, particularly in the action set pieces, is indeed well done, it's nothing revolutionary nor imaginative that stands out from the rest in this CG-feature-a-week marketplace.
Michael Dequina
Isn't clever or inventive enough to make up for its repetitive and lackluster storytelling. Mar 24, 2007
Isn't clever or inventive enough to make up for its repetitive and lackluster storytelling.
Brian Tallerico
One of those animated features you can enjoy even without a kid by your side. Mar 1, 2007 | Full Review…
One of those animated features you can enjoy even without a kid by your side.
Frank Lovece
A good movie for the children. Although I enjoyed it too.
Super Reviewer
Stupid in my opinion, really not even a time waster.
This cartoon is pretty good. Has lessons on being aware of your environment and working together. They didn't bother with trivialities like the ant colony having only female ants, etc.
The Ant Bully is a nice bit of animation - short and sweet, with good pacing and enough humor to keep you smiling, even though the message is a bit overbearing (the whole, "it takes a village/no man is an island" bit). The story for the most part centers on the Ant Colony's point of view, which is a nice switch, even though a young boy is the featured character. Said young boy, called Peanut by his mother, is picked on by a larger boy, so he takes his frustration out on something smaller than he is; the ant colony. Amongst the characters in the ant colony is a wizard (voiced by Nicholas Cage, who must have been preparing for The Sorcerer's Apprentice or something). The Wizard comes up with a potion that renders Peanut (who the Ants call "The Destroyer") down to ant size. From here we have a fish out of water tale (kind of like Avatar - yeah Jhon, I knew that would get your attention), where Peanut learns some life lessons about community and teamwork. During the course of the film we meet an ant scout, full of bravado and himself, and a forager drill sergeant (voiced by Regina King) who puts the young foragers through boot camp. On the human side we have Peanut's whacked out Grandma who is preparing for an alien invasion, and a pest exterminator named Beals whose company is called.... Wait for it... Beals A Bug. Through it all the film keeps you smiling in a lightweight sort of way. There's nothing really revolutionary or exceptional, just harmless humor and entertainment as the colony deals with a mosquito attack (complete with the Flight of The Valkaries soundtrack that was used in Apocalypse Now), and a harrowing chase scene involving frogs. The best part of this film for me was that Julia Roberts was one of the voices - hurray, a film in which I didn't have to look at her ugly mug. I wish the film had been more successful so perhaps she'd do a career change - it would sure make my film viewing life better. This is the type of film that rates a firm 6.5 - entertaining, but certainly not mind bending and light years away from the depth of most Pixar films - though still worth a viewing.
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