The Ant Bully (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]

The Ant Bully (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] Review

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My 4.5 year-old preschooler loves "The Ant Bully", and this is one of the few kid movies that I actually enjoy watching with her [we've watched it over 5 times now]. The animation is great, and the story too has a lot to recommend it. The story centers around a young boy, Lucas [Zach Tyler] who is constantly being bullied by an older and bigger neighborhood bully. Lucas in turn vents his anger and frustration on the ant colony in his yard. Typical of animated movies, the ants can 'talk' - there's Zoc [Nicolas Cage] a sort of ant wizard who experiments with a shrinking potion, his girlfriend Hova [Julia Roberts] who believes that "Peanut the Destroyer" aka Lucas is good at heart and that humans and ants can co-exist in peace. Lucas inevitably gets shrunk to ant size [well, a little smaller actually] and is sentenced by the Queen [Meryl Streep] to live and work in the ant colony, learning to 'become' an ant with the hope that Lucas will learn compassion. Over the course of the movie, Lucas learns that ants too have 'feelings' and that his actions of bullying the ants was not justified in any way - in fact, Lucas comes to form a real friendship with the ants.

A story with a positive message and wonderful animation, with lots of humor throughout - perfect for kids and adults alike. Highly recommended as a family movie.

The Ant Bully (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] Feature

The Ant Bully (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] Overview

From Academy Award nominated filmmaker John A. Davis (Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius) and producers Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman (The Polar Express), The Ant Bully tells a witty and heartwarming story about a 10-year-old boy who embarks on a remarkable journey. New in town, friendless and tormented by a neighborhood bully, young Lucas Nickle has been taking out his frustration on the innocent ant hill in his yard. But one day the ants retaliate. Using a magic potion, they shrink Lucas down to ant size and sentence him to live like an ant in their colony. In this strange new world Lucas will learn important lessons about friendship, get a whole new perspective on life and ultimately find the courage to stand up for himself.

DVD Features:
Featurette:It Takes a Colony: The Black Beetle explores the giant filmmaking process from a tiny perspective.
Screen Saver:Ant Habitat TV Screensaver

The Ant Bully (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] Specifications

An all-star cast--including such A-list stars as Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage, and Meryl Streep--lend their voices to The Ant Bully. Social misfit Lucas gets bullied by the bigger boys in his neighborhood, so he takes out his frustrations on the only things around smaller than him: An ant hill on his front lawn. After being flooded and stepped on, the ants fight back when ant wizard Zoc (Cage, National Treasure) develops a potion that shrinks Lucas down to bug-size. But Zoc's thirst for revenge gets foiled when the beatific ant queen (Streep, The Devil Wears Prada) decrees that Lucas must learn to live like an ant, and Zoc's girlfriend Hova (Roberts, Runaway Bride) takes up the task of teaching the unhappy boy how to value others over himself. The animation of The Ant Bully makes good use of scale as Lucas grapples with the gigantic world around him, but the writing is not so imaginative; the name actors are thrown away on bland characters and lackluster dialogue. The lessons Lucas learns are admirable (and amusingly Communist in flavor), but the way he learns them feels contrived and uncompelling. It's too bad, because there probably won't be many other movies featuring the combined talents of Meryl Streep and Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness). Also featuring Ricardo Montalban (Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan), Lily Tomlin (Nashville), and Paul Giamatti (Sideways) as a sleazy exterminator. --Bret Fetzer






*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jan 13, 2010 08:40:17

Not a boys movie - Steven Jones - Tennessee USA
First, the premise of this film is essentially that what boys need is a good dose of feminism to teach them how to be men. Second, the scene in which Julia Roberts' character stings the pest control man on the [...] was totally inappropriate for children. In fact, it was just downright inappropriate for anyone. But it set the tone for this movie more than any other scene. If you have boys, get them something else.

poor service - Carylon S. Yourtee -
I ordered this video for my grandson's birthday back in Aug. I received the wrong video. It was an adult video. I have e-mailed the company twice since I returned the wrong video and have not heard a word from them.

Funny, entertaining - Bruce W. Turner Sr. - Jacksonville Fla.
Nice kiddie flick,great for a rainy day with the grandkids,,,nice plot but simple for children,,cna't say too much or Ill give the plot away( hint see title)