From director John A. Davis, and the rest of the team that created Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, I wasn't expecting much from this computer animated film, but I still went for it. Basically ten-year-old Lucas Nickle (Zach Tyler),moved in a new neighbourhood, has no friends, and is the target for a local bully and his gang. The only thing Lucas can do to express his anger is bully the ants in his front garden, and the ants themselves are living in fear of the giant "Destroyer". Wizard ant Zoc (Nicolas Cage) has invented a magic potion that he is sure will shrink Lucas down to their size, and it works, and they drag him down to their colony. As punishment for endangering all the ants, Lucas is sentenced to live and work amongst the insects, and slowly this does open his eyes up, not just to what he has been doing, but to what the ants get up to, e.g. teamwork. But Lucas forgot that he signed a form to get the help of bug exterminator Stan Beals (Paul Giamatti) to vaporise the colony, so with the help of all ants and some wasps, they team up to save everyone. Also starring Julia Roberts as Hova, Meryl Streep as Queen, Jerry Maguire's Regina King as Kreela, The Evil Dead's Bruce Campbell as Fugax, Lily Tomlin as Mommo, Scary Movie's Cheri Oteri as Doreen Nickle, The Nutty Professor's Larry Miller as Fred Nickle, Allison Mack as Tiffany Nickle and Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan's Ricardo Montalban as Head of Council. This film was obviously very hyped with the list of big stars providing their voices, and while the animation is good, the story that goes with it is a little dry, but I suppose there is some fun to be had for the family. Okay!
The Ant Bully
2006
Action / Adventure / Animation / Comedy / Family / Fantasy
The Ant Bully
2006
Action / Adventure / Animation / Comedy / Family / Fantasy
Keywords: bullyantchild heroshrinkingant-hill
Plot summary
This is the story of a ten-year-old boy named Lucas Nickle (Zach Tyler),who has just moved to a new neighborhood, has no friends, and is the target for the local bully and his gang. His parents, Fred (Larry Miller) and Doreen (Cheri Oteri),are leaving for a honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, so they are too busy to attend to his problems. His sister, Tiffany (Allison Mack),is distracted by her cell phone, and grandmother Mommo (Lily Tomlin) is obsessed with U.F.O.s and aliens. Lucas is constantly being beat up by the neighborhood bully, Steve (Myles Jeffrey). Because he cannot fight back, he takes out his anger on an anthill in his front yard. He kicks it, stomps it, squirts it with his water gun, and floods it with a hose. This terrifies the ants, who call Lucas "The Destroyer". One wizard ant, known as Zoc (Nicolas Cage),being a hopeful and adventurous type, is trying to solve this dilemma. He tries to devise a magic potion that he believes will solve all their problems. As the plan to shrink Lucas down to their size with a magic potion and forcing him to live like an ant within the colony - an astonishing new world opens up to him. Lucas learns first-hand the value of friendship and teamwork, ultimately leading the ants in an effort to save their colony from annihilation. And in the process, Lucas obtains the things he wants most: friends, companionship, acceptance, and the courage to stand up for himself.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
The Ant Bully
Definitely worth the watch, with handsome animation, good voice acting and a great moral, three reasons to look past the predictable story
I will say I enjoyed The Ant Bully on the whole. Of course the concept has been done to death, and the story is predictable at times. The script on the whole is nice, maybe not as smart or as sassy as Antz and Bug's Life and certainly not as humorous. But this is an example of an animated film that looks very handsome with detailed backgrounds, vibrant colouring and convincing enough character movements. The soundtrack is absolutely lovely. I always look out for this element in every film I review, and I was most impressed with the soundtrack overall. The voice acting is another saving grace, Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage and Paul Giamatti among others do a stellar job voicing engaging enough characters. The Ant Bully also has a great moral about bullying, a topic I feel most strongly about. Sometimes there is a danger of moralising in films being too preachy, but the writers somehow managed to avoid that, and that was most commendable. All in all, this is a above decent animated film, that never tries to be the best movie ever made. It tries to do something original about a over familiar concept, and while not entirely successful, it is a jolly good attempt. Remember you could have been watching Doogal. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Strictly a little kiddie movie
Lucas Nickle is a nerdy friendless kid bullied by the other kids. He takes out his frustration on the tiny ants. His parents go on a holiday leaving him with his older sister and grandma. Zoc (Nicolas Cage) is an ant wizard who accidentally creates a shrinking potion. Annoying exterminator Stan Beals (Paul Giamatti) tricks Lucas into signing a contract. Zoc puts a drop of the potion into Lucas' ear, and he's shrunk down to ant size. The ants take Lucas prisoner to face charges against the colony. The Queen sentences Lucas to learn the ways of the ant. Hova (Julia Roberts) volunteers to teach the braty kid.
I really didn't like this brat. If you want something good, watch 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'. This has none of the charm nor likability. The animation is understandably cartoonish. This is strictly a little kiddie movie which is almost unwatchable for adults.