User reviews

I don't understand why some of the better animated films have semi-low ratings, I think because people were comparing this movie to the film "Antz", I'm not quite sure if it was a sequel, but I thought on it's own "The Ant Bully" was a very fun movie for all ages. The animation and the story were fun and great to watch, I honestly think that The Ant Bully is one of the best animated films I have seen in a while.

Lucas is a boy who is constantly picked on and he ends up taking his anger out on the ants in his front yard by smashing their colony and drowning them with the hose. The ants are fed up and decide to shrink Lucas and give him a taste of what they go through when he drowns and destroys their city. He now has to work as an ant and become one of them, he slowly realizes how important the ants are and how wrong he was. But things get more difficult when he forgets that he hired an exterminator to get rid of the ants.

The Ant Bully was a very touching and wonderful story that I felt is important for kids to watch. I loved how it showed the moral of "What goes around comes around", kids need to learn that more now a days, because it's very true. Not to mention that The Ant Bully in general is just a great animated film that the whole family could get a kick out of. A great cast and a fun filled story made this film work, so don't be so harsh.

7/10

I was able to attend a early screening of this movie by chance. Finding the free pass discarded on the ground at a busy bus stop here in downtown Seattle. Lucky I was!

I really enjoyed this movie, it was a great improvement over the past "Antz" movie it preceded not too long ago. The film was well rounded being able to capture the attention of late twenty somethings to preteens with its clever comedy and playful characters. Kinda like a Honey I shrunk the kids minus the moldy cheese.

There were a few jokes aimed @ an older audience but this helped keep more mature viewers feeling they had spent their 9 bucks on a delightful film.

'Ant Bully' is another cute animated film with ants. Many might compare it to Dreamworks's 'Antz' and if I'm told to pick one, then 'Ant Bully' is the better one. Of course the story isn't anything new per se but it moves at a steady pace and the characters are very likable. Besides, there's no harm in enjoying some laugh-out-loud moments. For me it was a good 90 minutes spent laughing as I was watching it with my mom and little sister (who enjoyed it too). Voice talents include names like Nicolas Cage, Lily Tomlin, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Paul Giamatti and many more. All of them do fairly well, though Cage appears to sound a little theatrical urban. The animation is brilliant. I especially like how the aunt 'colonization' was created with vibrant colours and attention to detail. Watch out for some cute shorts of the ants. All in all, this is a cute film to enjoy with the family.

A entertaining kids movie. Much better then i thought it would be. I even laughed a few times. This is one to see with the family or if you want a light movie that can be enjoyed.

The voice acting was great and the computer animation was good. This has charm and the must for a family looking for a good kids movie.

This is not a kids movie where you don't have to worry about the content. There was some nudity(kind of). There are some references to genitals and there are some dead ants seen.

A boy who is being bullied seems to take his rage out on the ants in his front yard. But the ants have made a devise that shrinks people and he gets shrunk. Not a very original story it has been used a few times.

I recommend it to the kids out there. It is funny and has charm.

6/10

Sometimes animated movies can surprise you. And this was one of those movies. While it did not wow me, it did have a nice storyline and good voicing talent and that was good enough.

Cage and Roberts play two ants. The thought of those two as ants at first seemed funny. But since they made them human, everything turned out alright. Enter actual conflict with other insects and it makes for a descent film.

The concept, however, has been used before. Animals/insects/aliens being threatened by humans is all too familiar. But it gets over such a thing with making it similar to Western English Europeans dealing Native American Indians to a small extent and that familiarize the audience with the conflict between ant and boy.

Overall, not bad. "B-"

"Ant Bully" was an OK movie about a boy named Lucas (vocied by Zach Tyler Eisen) who was shrunk to ant size. He was shrunken by a wizard ant named Zoc (Nicolas Cage) as a punishment for Lucas harming the ant colony. The Queen (Meryl Streep) then instructed her colony to train Lucas to become an ant like themselves which was a better solution than eating him.

This movie simply whelmed me (to use a term I heard from a YouTube comedy skit.) I wasn't overwhelmed, nor was I underwhelmed. The animation quality was fair-to-middling as was the plot. "Avatar" would go on to have a similar theme (converting a person into one of them) and I didn't like that movie at all. "Ant Bully" has similar components as other more successful movies, but the different elements didn't come together in that harmonious way that gives you a spectacular movie.

I love CG and am not tired of it yet. To me, the medium of the story is not as important as the quality of the plot, and in The Ant Bully, the story was just too overdone to be satisfying. The graphics and sounds were nice, and it's a shame they were not paired with a more unique storyline.

Pros: The voices were expressive, and there's a different take on ants in this movie than in the previous ones. These follow the laws of nature in some respects but don't in others, so their world may not be as familiar or believable to viewers as those in A Bug's Life or Antz might have been. The CG is great, with nice details where they're needed, and there are different species of wildlife involved. Now if they could just move on to a new subject. No one's done a big CG movie about cockroaches yet...

Cons: The message of the movie is pushed a bit too hard. In many ways, it's exactly the same message as the one in the previous two ant movies. Ant Bully might be pretty interesting for anyone who hasn't already seen A Bug's Life and Antz, but you'll probably still yawn a little and say the magician ant's catch-phrase along with him when it's repeated for the third time.

Seeing the trailers for The Ant Bully was an obvious groan for most people. A Bug's Life and Antz both came out around the same time frame a few years back, and are still fairly recent in most people's minds, yet just from the trailer, it looked like it was more of the same, and less of the different. I have found out since, that it was based off a book, so maybe it was not just a direct rip from previous animated films. I was willing to give it a chance, and I am surprised to say, it was slightly different from the other animated insect films. But not by a whole lot.

The Ant Bully tells the story of Lucas (Zach Tyler), an obviously geeky sort of youngster who has no friends, and is consistently bullied. The bully is bigger than he is, so in turn, Lucas takes his frustrations out on something smaller than he is, a colony of ants living on his front lawn. The ants are clearly getting fed up, and when the wizard ant Zoc (Nicolas Cage) comes up with a potion in order to shrink Lucas, he uses it, and sure enough, Lucas shrinks. Upon being taken to the Queen Ant (Meryl Streep), Lucas is given the ultimatum of having to live and become like an ant, or else he will never go back to his original size.

The movie basically goes on from here, and is generally fun for the most part. It gets really silly at some points, and at others, it really feels like a simple children's film and nothing more. There are obviously a few jokes that all audiences can laugh at, but it feels more geared primarily towards children than it does to an older audience. It has the obvious universal theme of acceptance, but it never really transcends and becomes anything more. It feels much more standard, and by the book. Hell, they do not even waste any time going through the motions, as the movie starts, and the whole plot basically begins right after. It is fairly fast paced, and basically flies through its eighty-eight minute runtime like nothing. Even to the point of not offering real tangible explanations for certain events that occur, that really do not make sense (and for a movie about ants shrinking a kid and making him one of their own, that is saying a lot).

What really hurts the film is how much the audience has already seen in the trailer, and how much of what happens has already been done in other films. It feels a lot more inspired by every other animated film before it, than it does feel like an original film. Granted, the filmmakers do make a valiant attempt at making the film different, it just does not totally work out the way it should.

The CGI animation is fairly colourful in its usage, but nothing too over-the-top. Most of the ants look the same, with a few looking different, and all the other bugs look the same as each other, just infused with lots of colour. There really is nothing too distinguishing about any of the characters, and until you learn the voices, you really have no idea as to who is who. The material really does not make for a whole lot of wacky settings, so the backgrounds stay very much the same as the film goes on. It is not necessarily a bad thing, but it really does not make for anything distinguishing to come from it either.

The voice acting is all fairly well done, from Cage in a more enthusiastic role than he usually gets, to Julia Roberts as the motherly figure (like we could not call that one in advance), to Paul Giamatti as the underused exterminator character. Streep does alright in her basic cameo role, while Regina King and Lily Tomlin put in memorable supporting performances (many of which give the biggest laughs in the film) and youngster Tyler does an admirable job holding his own against the heavy hitters.

But of course, the man himself, Bruce Campbell, puts in the film's undoubted best performance as the overbearing and slightly idiotic Fugax. He reads off his lines with his usual slapstick humour, and even without his likeness, enthuses the film greatly. He plays off everyone with his usual finesse, and he brings a presence to his role that no one else can even attempt to match.

The film, even with its problems, is definitely watchable and is really elevated by Campbell's performance. It is not overly original, but has many entertaining moments. Just do not expect it to fare well against other recent animated competition.

7/10.

It feels awfully long ago when computer animated films last generated sincere excitement for my part and rose above their technical brilliance to tell their story well. But the truth is, it was just a couple of years ago, when Pixar and Dreamworks Animation were the main players of the genre. It seemed to be the infallible aspect of film industry in general. But when Disney raised the white flag with their hand-drawn animation films two years ago, it signaled a new era in the animation industry, and perhaps not coincidentally, the demands demands for visually polished 3D animation has us witnessing other aspects, such as character development and storytelling, decline.

I knew right from the start that Warner Bros.' "The Ant Bully" wasn't going to be exactly a picnic. And you know something's wrong about a movie when you have Nicolas Cage, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, and Paul Giamatti attached to it yet it can only generate $8 million on its first weekend. To make matters worse, Pixar already has "A Bug's Life" and Dreamworks has "AntZ", which makes "The Ant Bully" a failure in terms of creating enough recognition of its own. Sad to say, this is a pointless animated movie, and it makes me yearn for the yesteryears of animation.

Lucas (voiced by Zach Tyler) is a kid who's been bullied around by other kids in the neighborhood. As a cathartic response to his helplessness against such maltreatment, he regularly floods an anthill with his water gun. Having had enough, one of the members of the ant colony - Zoc (Cage) - produces a magic potion that shrinks Lucas to their size and forces him to learn the ways of the ants. With the guidance of ants Hova (Roberts), Kreela (Regina King), and Fugax (Bruce Campbell), they teach the kid the values of - you know - teamwork, sacrifice, trust and friendship.

It's not so much that "The Ant Bully" is a horrible movie, it's just that it's an uninteresting and tedious one. Yes, the voice actors do their best but their noble work can't save them from director John A. Davis' script that is essentially dead on the spot. Kid has problems, no one can seem to help, he becomes a hero in one way or another, and he sees the world in a different perspective. Sure, it's a nice diversion for kids, but there's nothing much for the other members of the audience.

Visually, the film scores for its vibrantly "cartoonish" look. The characters look alive and the world they inhabit is colorful. The art direction is great in general although the problematic premise has it lacking any remarkable traits in any of its characters. Not one character (neither human or bug) really stands out and gets to be memorable.

"The Ant Bully" is a prime example of how the genre has already wore out its novelty, never mind the occasional flashes of brilliance. Yes, there are characters that have glimpses of creativity, but without much material that allows them to shine through it ain't fun. And while the animation is pretty to look at, it's no big deal considering the rapid advancement of technology and the constant release of newer and more powerful animation softwares.

Either way, it appears the movie-going public has reached a verdict. It seems we've had enough movies about ants.

I really don't get the negative reviews for this movie. I'm in my forties, so is my husband. Our children are three and eleven. We all loved this movie. I'll buy the DVD.

I liked this movie as well as A Bug's Life, if not better. Why? The message that it's okay to be yourself and that you don't have to simply accept bullying is delivered in a more laid-back way. A Bug's Life and Toy Story, by comparison, are frenetic.

The actors voices and characterization are terrific. All in all, I think the visuals at the end of the film - sort of a funky, hieroglyphic narrative - help to sum up this film's appeal or lack of appeal, depending on the nature of the viewer. If you genuinely prefer faster-paced, more "in-your-face" type of movies (and I realize that most American film viewers do these days), then you will have to acclimate a little to this film. But not much. It's plenty busy.

What it also is, however, is charming. Toy Story was charming. So was the first Shrek, in its own quirky, slightly perverse way. The Ant Bully, in my family's opinion (and we go to a lot of movies), was just what we needed for a Friday night of family entertainment. We had some really good laughs, enjoyed being together, and left feeling upbeat. The audience seemed to enjoy this movie very much. There was a lot of laughter and many people stayed to watch the colorful visuals at the end.

If you don't like this movie, then perhaps you need to learn to kick back and relax a little more often. We found it to be well worth viewing and it will certainly receive a lot of travel time viewing in our car once it's released on DVD. I saw that Tom Hanks was an Executive Producer. Thanks, Tom.

Are you looking for an entertaining little animated flick with ants in it? Well good news! A Bug's Life is available on DVD. If you're looking for similar fun in The Ant Bully then you'll be staying in the theater long after the credits roll still fruitlessly searching.

Typically, when I've failed to laugh within the first 10 or 15 minutes of a supposed comedy, I know it's going to be a long night. In an effort to keep my attention focused on the movie, I take note of how many times I actually laugh - this is always a good gauge of how ineffective the jokes are. The grand total of laughs during The Ant Bully? Four. That's right; four clever, genuine laugh-inducing moments.

Everything else is a mere exercise in "how can we make little kids chuckle?" I'll give the movie credit - it will definitely play well with 5-year-olds, but that's because it feels like it was written by one. No offense, but the problem with that is 5-year-olds just aren't that funny or creative. Their stories are really only gonna be tolerated by their peers or those who love them most.

Here's just one painful example of my experience with this film:

"Curse upon your children," Nicholas Cage's character exclaims towards a couple of rocks.

"I don't think rocks have children," replies his Julia Roberts-voiced wife.

"They won't now," Cage yells as he throws them on the ground.

The kids in the audience howl with laughter. Johnny rolls his eyes and looks at his watch.

There you have it. Expect 90 minutes of THAT. Throw in a completely unfunny grandmother who believes in aliens, and you've got a long night at the theater.

I also have a bit of a problem with the villainous portrayal of the pest control man. What are we teaching our children? That people who work in pest control are evil and their jobs aren't worthy of respect? Terrible message. Insects ARE pests, and though they do have their place, there comes a time when some of them must be killed. It's a little thing I like to call a fact of life. What's next; an animated film about how humans must learn to live with termites?

The Ant Bully really beats us over the head with its messages on teamwork, family, and the abuse of power. Here, I'll teach you that lesson real quick - it's good to work as a team, family is important, and try not to abuse power. I just saved you $8 a pop and 90 minutes of your time. All I ask in return is a check or Paypal payment for just half of what you would've paid for the entire family to see this. Thanks, and you're welcome.

Come on, a movie where a kid finds his inner ant? And this is supposed to play well with adults? Seriously?

Sure, the sound and visuals are fine, and things pick up a bit at the end, but so what? Don't care. That doesn't make up for the weak jokes and the "ants are heroic and humans are evil" themes. All it did was make me want to go step on some ant hills.

The Ant Bully? More like The Ain't Funny.

Accuse me of taking this too seriously all you want, but as long as there are kid's movies that refuse to give adequate entertainment to the adults who are forced to sit through them for the sake of their children, there's going to be Johnny Betts standing up and harshly putting them in their place.

THE GIST

The Ant Bully is just another example in a long line of animated movies that don't know how to appeal to both children and adults. Quit using the ol' "but it's a kid's movie" excuse because Pixar has proved that it can be done. Just watch A Bug's Life like I mentioned earlier.

Elements from several recent computer-generated pictures are truly evident in this animated feature that focuses on a young boy who takes his frustrations out on defenseless ants after being bullied himself by his peers. After he magically gets turned to the size of an ant, the youngster learns how the other half lives and survives. Under-rated picture that has good messages for the kiddies and will keep them occupied on rainy afternoons. A bit slow-moving and old hat for hardened adults, but still more upside nonetheless. Julia Roberts and Nicolas Cage are the two biggest names in a strong cast that lends their voices to their cartoonish alter egos. 4 stars out of 5.

Lucas is a victim of bullying by the other kids in his neighbourhood; he takes out his frustration on those smaller and weaker than himself—the ants in his garden—by flooding their colony with water.

Fed up with Lucas's destructive behaviour, and keen to teach him a lesson or two, ant-wizard Zoc creates a magic potion which shrinks the boy to insect proportions. With the now-tiny lad held prisoner in their nest, the ants set about showing Lucas the error of his ways.

Inevitably, Lucas realises that he was wrong to persecute the poor little bugs, makes a few new friends, and eventually risks his life to save the colony from a nasty exterminator who is determined to destroy all insects.

Thematically, the Ant Bully ain't exactly the most original of CGI movies: the 'bully' angle has already been tackled by both Antz and Toy Story; the whole 'talking insect' thing has been covered by Antz (again) and A Bug's Life; the 'shrunken-boy-in-the-yard' routine was done (poorly) in Arthur and the Invisibles; and the core message of 'tolerance for all others, despite their differences'—well, that's as old as the (ant)hills!

However, none of this matters too much because, with so much beautiful animation, several stunning action sequences (highlights being an air assault by nasty flies, and a brilliant frog attack), hilarious one-liners (yellow rain!!!) and sheer inventiveness crammed into 88 minutes, it's easy to be a little forgiving.

Even the fact that writer/director John A. Davis's frequently lazy script pushes the limits of believability purely for narrative convenience doesn't stop The Ant Bully from being constantly engaging and very funny (just try not laughing out loud at the 'insect head' gag).

My advice is to try and ignore the weak plot devices: Zoc's inexplicable ability to make magic; the crazy gran with the fan fetish; Lucas's seeming indestructibility and eventual possession of ant powers. Manage to do that, and you should find The Ant Bully a satisfying and entertaining experience.

It's really not that bad as the critics will lead you to believe. It's fine as a kids movie. The lesson's pretty simple: Don't be a bully, stand up for yourself. Lucas has a decent progression in the course of the film. It feels natural. It's pretty good. If you have kids, check it out. They'll enjoy it.

With a story and style that's definitely aimed more at children than adults, "The Ant Bully" will probably be entertaining enough for the young ones, but might not have enough meat to hold the attention of an older viewer. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, and it does what it seeks to do well enough.

The story revolves around the adventures of young Lucas. He's a young kid being bullied by the bigger kids in the neighbourhood and who takes out his frustrations by regularly destroying one of the anthills in his yard. Out for revenge, the ant wizard develops a potion that shrinks Lucas down into an ant-sized human, and the ants kidnap him and carry him back to the nest. Rather than destroying him, though, the ants decide to try to turn him into an ally by teaching him what it's like to be an ant. Nicknamed "Peanut the Destroyer" (Peanut being the name his mom calls him, and The Destroyer being what the ants called him) Lucas does learn from his new friends, especially Hova, he joins in the defence of the colony against an attack by wasps, and finally he becomes the inspiration for a plan to work together with the wasps to defeat an exterminator who's there to destroy both nests.

The story teaches the value of co-operation in overcoming big odds, and it's a very overt (appropriately so) anti-bullying message. It's a cute story, a little bit reminiscent of an animated version of "Honey I Shrunk The Kids." There's not enough to really hold an adult captivated, but it should entertain the kids. (5/10)

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

Vocal acting is very good. Story is above average. CGI effects OK & but cartoonish Jn appearance, but the story & vocal acting make up for it. It's fun, humorous, and teaches kids to put their feet in another's shoes without preaching that lesson.