Ant Bully, The Review

"Ant Bully, The" reviews

Movie

Ant Bully, The

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-04-04 22:20:12

Rating

1.5/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

Throw The Ant Bully into the abyss of middle-of-the-road, unspectacular animated fare, which has begun to spread uncontrollably with no end in sight.

Story

After being bullied for the umpteenth time by the kids from the neighborhood, pint-sized 10-year-old Lucas (voiced by Zachary Tyler) mindlessly takes out his aggression on an ant colony by hosing it down with water. Turns out he just opened Pandora's Box because the six-legged pests are tired of being bullied themselves. When Lucas goes to sleep, the chief wizard of the colony, Zoc (voiced by Nicolas Cage), spearheads a plan to sneak into the boy's room and zap him with a potion that cuts him down to size; when Lucas awakens, he's no longer just figuratively an ant. For his repeated ant offenses, Lucas must stand trial before the Queen Ant (voiced by Meryl Streep), who sentences him to live and coexist with the very creatures he formerly terrorized. While Zoc is wary of his new colony-mate, Zoc's girlfriend, Hova (voiced by Julia Roberts), tries instead to keep Lucas out of harm's way (frogs, dragonflies, etc.) and teach him about understanding different creatures and the meaning(s) of life.

Acting

A-List doesn't always mean A-game. Despite some of Hollywood's biggest movie stars comprising the Bully cast, there's not a whole lot of spirit, and only two actors, Paul Giamatti as a nefarious exterminator and Cage, have distinguishable enough voices for animation. In a movie aimed exclusively towards tots, some of the casting just doesn't figure. Take Streep: While clearly a supreme actress, her voice just doesn't quite register, and is a six-year-old going to stand up and shout, "Mommy, mommy! It's the Sophie's Choice lady!"? But there are solid performances, with Giamatti, as usual, turning in the best. (Now there's an actor meant to be cartooned!) Cage is also always a safe bet and doesn't disappoint here. But Roberts, in her much-hyped first post-birth role, is, well, nurturing and soothing to young Lucas, but there's just nothing exciting about her; she's just…there. Which completely sums up the rest of the cast, which includes Regina King, Lily Tomlin, et al.

Direction

The Ant Bully is based on a bedtime story (written by John Nickle) that producer Tom Hanks used to read to his kids—it might help lull your little ones to sleep, too. Hanks and Co. enlisted the help of director John A. Davis (of Jimmy Neutron fame), who also adapted the screenplay. Davis on occasion offers gorgeous visuals, but sadly there's just not much new here in the ever-growing world of animated features. The themes are decidedly unsubtle—which, given the target audience, is probably intentional, but even the youngest of young might find Bully too rudimentary. And it begs the question: Wasn't this precise concept, while thematically different, much more groundbreaking and visually striking when shot in live action for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids…in 1989?! Needless to say, despite a few fun moments for kids, the only genius here comes courtesy of whomever decided to sandwich the release date to fall between Monster House and Barnyard.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 1 1/2 stars.

Movie

The Ant Bully

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-08-03 00:00:00

Provider

MyMovies

Review

The backyard is certainly not a new playground for those computer savvy boffins behind CGI movies. We're already visited this particular area in films such as "Antz" and "A Bugs Life". So director John A. Davis ("Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius") is going to have to offer something new to get bums on seats - and in "The Ant Bully" he has as a ten year-old is magically shrunk to join the colony and learn just what being a true ant is all about.

The ten year-old in question is Lucas Nickle (voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen) who has recently moved with his family to a new town where he's become a target for the local bully. In return Lucas takes out his frustration on the anthill in his yard. But the ants decide to fight back and, thanks to a drop of magic, soon have Lucas 'The Destroyer' in their grasp, where they decide to teach him all about teamwork and friendship, thanks to a group including Hova (Julia Roberts), Kreela (Regina King), Fugax (Bruce Campbell) and wizard Zoc (Nicolas Cage).

Seeing as it's aimed at younger children, it would be unfair to be too harsh on "The Ant Bully". The movie is colourful, fun and contains perhaps the largest single concentration of 'poop' gags ever witnessed on screen. Davis has created some fun characters, while the adventure scenes, most notably a battle against a horde of marauding wasps, certainly keep one's attention. However anyone over the age of ten may find their interest waning as the script is rather weak compared to the standard of the animation on display, while the life lessons are nothing we've not experienced before.

It may not be on a par with the likes of "Cars" or "Over The Hedge", but "The Ant Bully" will serve as a welcome break for parents looking to distract the kids during the summer holidays.

Movie

Ant Bully

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-07-28 15:00:24

Provider

Review

Ten-year-old Lucas Nickle (Zach Tyler Eisen) has moved to a new city with his family but is struggling to make any friends. Worse, he receives constant grief from his teenage sister Tiffany (Allison Mack) and not much attention from his parents (Cheri Oteri and Larry Miller), who are more interested in planning their anniversary weekend. As for his loving but bonkers grandmother Mommo (Lily Tomlin), she spends most of her time trying to protect her family from the aliens she's read about in magazines, leaving Lucas to become a punchbag for neighbourhood bully Steve.

Understandably, Lucas takes out his frustrations on the ant hills in his garden, which he stomps on and squirts with a garden hose. As far as he's concerned, they're "just a bunch of stupid ants", rather than members of a complex society, with names and responsibilities. Aggrieved at having their homes destroyed, they're ready to fight back.

This they achieve with one drop of Wizard Ant Zoc's (Nicolas Cage) magic potion. Cunningly dropped into Lucas's massive ear, it reduces him to ant size, allowing his foes to drag him underground where he's forced to stand trial. The head of the Ant Council (Ricardo Montalban) finds Lucas guilty of crimes against the colony, Ant Queen (Meryl Streep) sentencing him to live among the ants and learn their ways before he can taste freedom.

Witty and heartwarming, Ant Bully is a joy, providing important lessons about friendship and how to stand up for yourself in the face of bullying.