Movie Review: THE ANT BULLY Author: Bill Ramey Tuesday, July 25, 2005, 12:00 PM TEXAS TIME U.S. Release Date: July 28, 2006 Distributor: Warner Bros. Director: John A. Davis Writing Credits: John A. Davis, John Nickle (book) Cast: Paul Giamatti, Nicolas Cage, Julia Roberts, et al. Genre: Animation/Comedy/Adventure MPAA Rating: PG OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.theantbullymovie.com TRAILERS: www.apple.com/trailers One thing I learned from watching THE ANT BULLY is that ants are communists. But I digress. THE ANT BULLY is based on the 1999 children’s book of the same name by John Nickle. The films stars the voices of Zach Tyler, Regina King, Nicolas Cage, Julia Roberts, Lily Tomlin, Meryl Streep, Bruce Campbell, Rob Paulsen, Paul Giamatti, Frank Welker, and S. Scott Bullock. It was written and directed for the screen by John A. Davis. THE ANT BULLY is sort of an amalgamation of ANTZ and HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS. Except it’s “kid” singular and instead of promoting individualism as in ANTZ, it advocates conformity. Lucas Nickle is a lonely little boy who is constantly picked upon by the neighborhood bully. In response, he takes his frustrations out on the ant hills that are found in his yard. He is either using a water gun, hose, or, well something else (the source of the dreaded “golden rain”) on the ant pile. To these ants, Lucas in known as “The Destroyer!” When the colony’s wizard Zoc (voiced by Nic Cage) develops a potion that can transform humans down to ant size, they use it on Lucas and bring him to his colony to stand trial for his “crimes.” Instead of being eaten as many of the ants want to do with “the monster,” the Queen of the colony (Meryl Streep) sentences him to a life of an ant, so he can learn their ways and customs. Given the job of training Lucas is Hova (Julia Roberts), who also just happens to be the girlfriend of the wizard Zoc. At first Lucas resists the efforts of the group to teach him all things “ant.” But he eventually learns a valuable lesson about cooperation and working with others for the good of the group. There seems to be this theme running through animated films of late about redemption. I found that to be the case from two earlier films this summer, CARS and UNDER THE HEDGE. That’s fine and everything, but it’s starting to get a bit redundant. Consequently, that’s one of the faults of THE ANT BULLY. You know that Lucas is going to learn his lesson and change his ways. The voice work here was pretty good, although there seemed to be a bit of overdoing it by some of the actors at times. Especially good was Bruce Campbell as the scout ant Fugax, who sort of steals the show. The animation is very nice, but not as “breathtaking” as that found in some other animated features. On the other hand, TAB is better story-wise than any of the animated flicks I’ve caught this season. The two finest parts of the movie take place in a bullfrog’s belly (you’ll have to see it, trust me) and during the finale. During the latter, dragonflies and ants unite to form sort of an insect version of fighter jets and pilots, respectively. They join to take down a common enemy: a hygene-challenged, cigar-smoking exterminator named Stan Beals (Paul Giamatti). All in all, THE ANT BULLY provided an enjoyable 88 minutes. Despite the superfluous themes of redemption and learning “life lessons,” I was entertained. And be on the lookout the next time you kick over an ant hill. Look real close and see if there are any little ant-flags emblazoned with a sickle and hammer. JETT’S GRADE: B Bill Ramey, aka "Jett," is the founder and editor-in-chief of BATMAN ON FILM and ON-FILM.NET.