Fridae

Yet another animation released in a year that's chock-full of animated films, The Ant Bully boasts a stellar cast of voice talents and rather decent animation (though not on par with Pixar's Cars), but unfortunately not a storyline that would interest anyone above the age of 10.

Lucas (Zach Tyler) is a little boy who is mercilessly picked on at school. Angry and frustrated, he vents his anger on the ants inhabiting his front lawn, but these ants aren't mindless insects, but thinking and talking beings that find a way to magically transform Lucas into the same size as them. He gradually learns lessons of teamwork, diversity and friendship from the ants, and then prepares for a showdown with the Exterminator (Paul Giamatti).

The Ant Bully is a film that imparts all the right values to young children, and preaches these messages nonstop from the beginning to the end. However, this also means that the film is rather boring for anyone who is not in need of these life lessons, which is probably anyone reading this newsletter. Despite the stellar voice cast, this is only a good children's film, not a family film.