Ants in Your Pants of 2006

"The Ant Bully" is now to be had thru HBO On call for and HBO move until December 18.

A boy, a wizard and a war--that is the primary formulation for plenty children's adventure memories. In "The Ant Bully," as the name indicates, this tale takes place in the insect global, however the bully is the boy named Lucas (voiced with the aid of Zach Tyler Eisen). This modest morality tale would not go for big laughs but does deal with situations that young children will unavoidably face.

The grownup

primarily based on John Nickle's 1999 e-book through the same name, this 2006 feature became the primary lively movie produced through mythical pix. "The Ant Bully" accompanied  better acknowledged 1998 ant-themed movies: DreamWorks' "Antz" and Disney's "A bug's lifestyles." All three films have messages, however are geared toward different audiences.

"The Ant Bully," rated PG for mild violence, is simply focused at younger children--preteen youngsters who may sense powerless, to this point outside of the grownup international. within the film, 10-yr-old Lucas has no buddies and is the target of the neighborhood bully. He turns his frustrations at the anthill in his front backyard, causing the ants to scurry approximately while he floods the anthill.

unable to explain his problems to his parents, Lucas is sullen and may not even say good-bye to his mother and father as they depart on a Mexican excursion, leaving him along with his older teenage sister and his alien-abduction obsessed grandmother (Lily Tomlin).

The nearby exterminator (Paul Giamatti), Stan Beals, plays on Lucas' feelings of powerlessness, convincing him to signal a settlement.  Stan is evil not simply because he smokes a cigar and due to the fact his provider is referred to as "Beals-A-bug" (a pun most kid's may not get), but because only an evil grownup might use humiliation to get a ten-12 months-antique's signature and completely pass the grownup in price. The humor here is puerile and barely vulgar.

The tribal society

So where does the wizard are available in? The wizard is an ant named Zoc who creates a potion that shrinks Lucas down to ant length. on this sequence, Lucas unearths himself naked--or as a substitute engulfed in his underclothes, then misplaced inside the white dunes of his sheet, and sliding down his bed into an open bag of potato chips. 

on the floor a small band of ants are waiting. real to Grandma's fears, Lucas is abducted, however now not through aliens, by using ants. All of Lucas' naughty bits are strategically hidden till he garments himself like a miniature Tarzan.

Zoc would not speak right down to Lucas. none of the ants do due to the fact he's Lucas the Destroyer. Lucas is handled as an grownup, but one who is definitely ignorant of the methods of the tribal society of the anthill. 

Zoc wants to have a look at Lucas and then devour him, however the Head of Council (Ricardo Montalban) has different thoughts. The Queen (Meryl Streep) appears from at the back of butterfly wings and intones is an airy voice that Lucas ought to discover ways to be an ant.

Zoc's female friend, Hova (Julia Roberts) takes charge of Lucas and one in all Lucas' first obligations is to join ant children learning the way to forage. beneath the steerage of their trainer Kreela (Regina King), two groups compete over an obstacle path that calls for teamwork to get a sugar rock (jelly bean). For Lucas, now not being an ant is a minor obstacle compared to his mind-set.

The wasps lead

Hova tells Lucas, that being an ant is "now not constantly considering your self first." The ants puzzle over human ways. whilst Lucas tells Zoc that during human towns a few but not all humans work together, Zoc is puzzled because it's the "variations that make a colony sturdy" and that is "wherein ants draw their strength."

The ants use different insects as draft animals--caterpillars supply them food and are ridden like horses, but wasps additionally covet the caterpillars. The wasps lead a raid upon the ants, however this isn't always the simplest natural terror Lucas faces with the ants. There also are frogs.

Hova additionally teaches Lucas some ant lore--that the extraordinary Ant mother will in the future go back and supply them endless bounty, however additionally the evil cloud breather threatens the whole ant civilization. The visualization of the ant colony's records, carried out like prehistoric cave paintings, is one of the most stunning sequences.

Nicolas Cage does a nice task inflecting heroism, cynicism after which tenuous friendship to Lucas. he's a wizard who is nicely-which means and ready. No big laughs there. He has a terrific relationship along with his female friend. 

Roberts' Hova is sort of too top-natured to be real, if ant guardians could be actual. The ants are noble at the same time as the human characters are incorrect. If we desired to move sociological, we might don't forget this story an instance of the noble savage myth.

The first lively movie

King offers her Kreela a wise, no-nonsense side at the same time as Bruce Campbell as the eager-for-threat scout ant Fugax offers comedian relief together with his blustery true-natured boasting.

This movie suffers barely in evaluation to the alternative better-regarded ant animation movies.

"Antz" became additionally the first lively movie for DreamWorks and featured some big names as voice actors: Woody Allen as the non-conformist hero, Jennifer Lopez and Sylvester Stallone as his pals. The film changed into stimulated by means of Aldous Huxley's 1931 "brave New world," an person novel not truly about ants at all. In "Antz," 

a power-mad ant wellknown attempts to take over a colony so enormous, in a international so specific that Roger Ebert felt comparisons to star Wars were justified. The message is to think for your self rather than following orders, and the banter is witty in a manner that might zoom over children's heads.

This film got two thumbs up from Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert with Siskel list the movie as one in every of his top ten for 1998.

The Disney-Pixar function, "A worm's lifestyles," became primarily based on Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" and Aesop's fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper." There aren't any ninja bugs or turtles, and as an alternative the ants are compelled to present a meals tribute to the warrior-like grasshoppers. 

The hero, Flik (voiced through Dave Foley), is an inventor ant who tries to free the ants from this buggy serfdom but the mercenaries he finds are sincerely a third-price circus troupe. 

The local ant colonies

again, individualism saves the day, but "A trojan horse's lifestyles" is extra of a family film than "Antz." there is additionally a Disney princess of types.

"Ant Bully" has an excellent narrower target market. The notion of demise and bodily harm isn't performed for laughs (like within the old Roadrunner cartoons). kids below six would possibly find this moderate violence and a few darkish humor annoying. 

teens may discover the portrayal of Lucas' self-involved cellular cellphone gabbing sister too near for comfort and consider themselves too hip for the message as they're for more youthful siblings tagging along. moms may discover themselves gasping in horror at the principal saddlebags that Lucas' mother is drawn with. The ants are extra appealing than any of the human characters.

nevertheless, bullying has become a hot subject matter and this animation stresses socially high quality movements instead of revenge and justified violence.

you'd possibly want to keep away from all 3 films if you're an entomophobic, because it could inspire your child to go buggy over bugs. it is not always a awful element. isn't that what were given Charles Darwin commenced?

In all, "Ant Bully" is a fascinating little tale with a limited attraction, and the chance of wanting a real exterminator if impressionable youngsters decide to present the local ant colonies with jellybeans.