The Ant Bully (PG, 2006)

Ten-year-old Lucas (voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen) is having a tough time adapting after a recent move. His family isn't any help and he's the number one target of the local bully. Lucas vents his frustrations by taking it out the anthills in his front yard. He kicks them, stomps them, squirts them with the garden hose, and fries them with a magnifying glass. The ants are tired of the abuse by Lucas The Destroyer and are ready to fight back! They put a single drop of their magic potion into Lucas's ear, which shrinks him to ant size. He's taken deep below the ant hill, where the Head of the Ant Council (Ricardo Montalban) proclaims him guilty of "crimes against the colony." To earn his freedom, Lucas is sentenced by the wise Ant Queen (Meryl Streep) to live among the ants and learn their ways. He suddenly finds himself in an incredible world teeming with life -- and peril -- that he never noticed or even imagined before. Nurse Ant Hova (Julia Roberts) tries to teach Lucas the ways of the colony and help him find that one special talent he has to contribute, but she has her hands full (all six of them). Eventually, Lucas's newfound "ant skills" are put to the test when he's asked to help his new friends defend the colony against certain annihilation from the local exterminator, in an epic life-and-death struggle waged on the front lawn.

Guess what? It's not all about us! That's right, there are lots of other worlds out there humming along quite nicely without us, thank you very much. And with Oscar-nominated director John A. Davis (Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius) and producer Tom Hanks to remind us of that, this is a fun family movie with some great life lessons.

While most kid movies spout valuable life lessons of one sort or another, the ones that work don't talk down to kids. This movie falls into that category, using humor and grace (not to mention an impressive cast of voices) to tell a good story and remind us there's more to life than our own little world.

Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: John A. Davis
Cast: Julia Roberts, Lily Tomlin, Meryl Streep, Ricardo Montalban, Zach Tyler
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 100 minutes
Theatrical release: July 28, 2006
DVD release: November 28, 2006
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: for some mild rude humor and action.