Lucas, fourmi malgré lui

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

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.

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' 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.

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