Ant Bully [HD/DVD Hybrid] DVD

The Ant Bully
A kid who hates ants finds himself living among the six-legged critters in this computer-animated comedy-adventure. Lucas Nickle (voice of Zach Tyler Eisen) is a ten-year-old boy whose family has just moved to a new town, and Lucas isn't enjoying it much -- he hasn't made any friends yet, his big sister ignores him, his parents (voices of Larry Miller and Cheri Oteri) are occupied with their upcoming vacation in Mexico, and his loving but slightly crazy grandmother (voice of Lily Tomlin) is convinced space aliens are casing out the neighborhood. To make matters worse, the local bully has found Lucas and is making his life miserable, so the boy looks for someone he can push around -- and he soon finds a large colony of ants in his yard. Lucas takes out his frustrations by stomping, drowning, and burying the bugs, little realizing the ants see him as a threat to their safety and aren't about take his attacks lying down. Zoc (voice of Nicolas Cage) is a "wizard ant" who creates a formula that shrinks Lucas to the size of an insect, and the tiny boy is brought before the leader of the Ant Council (voice of Ricardo Montalban) and the Queen of the Colony (voice of Meryl Streep) to answer for his crimes against the ants. Showing compassion, the queen sentences Lucas not to death, but to live among them and see how difficult their circumstances can be. Nurse Ant Hova (voice of Julia Roberts) is put in charge of looking after Lucas, and with the help of Scout Fugax (voice of Bruce Campbell) and Forager Kreela (voice of Regina King), Lucas gets an eye-opening picture of how the other half lives -- just in time for Lucas to help the ants in an all-out battle against Stan (voice of Paul Giamatti), a pest-control man brought in to get rid of the bugs. Produced by Tom Hanks, The Ant Bully was written and directed by John A. Davis, who handled the same chores on the film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast Julia Roberts as Hova Nicolas Cage as Zoc Meryl Streep as Queen Paul Giamatti as Stan Beals Zach Tyler Eisen as Lucas Nickle Regina King as Kreela Bruce Campbell as Fugax Lily Tomlin as Mommo Cheri Oteri as Doreen Nickle Larry Miller as Fred Nickle Allison Mack as Tiffany Nickle Ricardo Montalban as Head Of Council Myles Jeffrey as Steve Jake T. Austin as Nicky Rob Paulsen as Beetle Scott S. Bullock as Glow Worm Scott S. Bullock as Wasp Survivor Mark de Carlo as Fly Frank Welker as Spindle Frank Welker as Frog Frank Welker as Caterpillar Paul Greenberg as Sleeping Ant #1 Paul Greenberg as Head Lice #1 Paul Greenberg as Head Lice #2 Paul Greenberg as Head Lice #3 Paul Greenberg as Head Lice #4 David Kaye as Sleeping Ant #2 David Kaye as Guard Ant #3 David Kaye as Wrangler Ant Alfred Jackson as Slacker Ant Ken Mitchroney as Ant #17 Ken Mitchroney as Guard Ant #2 Denzel Whitaker as Albert Casey Masamitsu as Shigeko Bryan Fabian as Fernando Creagen Dow as Mullet Boy Jake Goldberg as Helmet Boy Jake Goldberg as Nob Jake Goldberg as Red Teammate #1 Keith Alcorn as Ant #18 Keith Alcorn as Pupa Keith Alcorn as Soldier Ant #3 John A. Davis as Ant #19 Tom Kenny as Drone Ant Tom Kenny as Ant #2 Tom Kenny as Ant #6 Sarah Mensinga as Mother Ant Nika Futterman as Ant #1 Nika Futterman as Ant #7 Scott Holst as Ant #3 Susan Silo as Ant #4 Paul Rugg as Ant #5 Larry Cedar as Ant #8 Nicole Sullivan as Ant #9 Candi Milo as Nurse Ant #3 Nissa Alcorn as Billo Patrick Fraley as Ant Council #1 Tyler James Williams as Blue Teammate #1 Jared Goldsmith as Blue Teammate #2 Jared Goldsmith as Red Teammate #2 Austin Majors as Blue Teammate #3 Jaishon Fisher as Blue Teammate #4 Aaron Michael Drozin as Blue Teammate #5 Max Burkholder as Blue Teammate #6 Sam Green as Red Teammate #3 Colin Ford as Red Teammate #4 Kendall Sanders as Red Teammate #5 Shane Baumel as Red Teammate #6 Neil Ross as Wasp #1 Neil Ross as Wasp #5 Bob Joles as Wasp #2 Wally Wingert as Wasp #3 Leon Morenzie as Wasp #4 Jonathan Teague Cook as Wasp #6 Ken Mitchroney as Wasp #8 Sean Donnellan as Soldier Ant #1 Tress MacNeille as Old Council Ant Richard Green as Wasp Leader Don Frye as Soldier Ant Clive Robertson as Hova's Wasp Vernée Watson Johnson as Head Nurse

Crew Chris Consani - Art Director Sang Woo Lee - Character Animation Patrik Puhala - Character Animation Michelle R. Gorski - Character Animation Amila Puhala - Character Animation Tim Hatcher - Character Animation Karen Prell - Character Animation Rani Naamani - Character Animation Jason Hendrich - Character Animation Hyun Chul Jung - Character Animation Keith Lango - Character Animation Deanna Molinaro - Character Animation Kent Culotta - Character Animation Brian F. Menz - Character Animation Scott Lemmer - Character Animation Joe Gorski - Character Animation Ryan Davis - Character Animation Rena M. Fowler - Character Animation Andrew Burke - Character Animation Paul C. Allen - Character Animation Ray Chase - Character Animation Youngjae Choi - Character Animation Thomas Danen - Character Animation Sarah Mensinga - Character Animation Sean F. Ermey - Character Animation Alex Fleisig - Character Animation Richard Oey - Character Animation Ernesto Bottger - Character Animation David Tart - Animation Director Ruth Lambert - Casting Kim Saxon - Co-producer John A. Davis - Director Jon Price - Editor Scott Mednick - Executive Producer William Fay - Executive Producer Diana Choi Sachs - Executive Producer Thomas Tull - Executive Producer Keith Alcorn - Executive Producer Steven Shareshian - Executive Producer Ellyn S. Klein - Lighting John Debney - Composer (Music Score) Shawn Murphy - Composer (Music Score) Barry E. Jackson - Production Designer Kim Benzine Rowell - Production Manager John A. Davis - Producer Tom Hanks - Producer Gary Goetzman - Producer Shawn Murphy - Sound Mixer Michael Jonascu - Sound/Sound Designer Lee Supercinski - Unit Production Manager John A. Davis - Screenwriter Alex Urbelis - Production Assistant Michael Hughes - Production Assistant Jennifer K. Ford - Production Assistant Luke Rose - Production Assistant Meagan Nicole Hovey - Production Assistant Hilal Hourani - Production Assistant Riki Johnson - Production Assistant David Santiago - Visual Effects Supervisor Bruce Tanis - Sound Effects Editor Randall Guth - Sound Effects Editor Chuck Michael - Sound Effects Editor Willard Overstreet - Sound Effects Editor David Grimaldi - Sound Effects Editor Rick Franklin - Sound Effects Editor Jason King - Sound Effects Editor Bernard Weiser - Sound Effects Editor Gary Glover - Matte Artist Fred Gambino - Matte Artist Mark Nonnenmacher - Matte Artist Chris Consani - Matte Artist Lisa Davis - Additional Editing John Wahba - Additional Editing Yon Van Kline - Additional Editing DNA Productions - Animation Producer Bret Marnell - Associate Editor David L. Brehm - Layout Shane L. Wapskineh - Layout Mark Gelfuso - Layout Yin-Fang Liao - Layout Mike Sanderson - Layout Jeff Carson - Music Editor James Harrison - Music Editor Tanya Noel Hill - Music Editor Andrew Dorfman - Music Editor David Parker - Re-Recording Mixer Rick Kline - Re-Recording Mixer Angie Griffin - Script Supervisor Tiffany Anne Brower - Special Effects Coordinator Christopher T. Welch - Supervising Sound Editor David Marcus - Assistant Sound Editor Brian Risner - Dialogue Editor Val Kuklowsky - Dialogue Editor Gerhard Borchers - Electrician Roman Robbins - Electrician Scott McCullough - Electrician Pei Cheng - Electrician Mandy Au - Electrician Kyoung Lee Swearingen - Electrician Joe Beckley - Electrician Adel Abada - Electrician Jake Patton - First Assistant Editor Pamela Nedd Kahn - Foley Artist David Lee Fein - Foley Artist Alyson Moore - Foley Artist John Roesch - Foley Artist Dodie Kindred - Personal Assistant Tory Haljun - Personal Assistant Sooki Raphael - Personal Assistant Julie Shimer - Personal Assistant Allison Diamond - Personal Assistant Mimi Chen - Production Accountant Dave Feiten - Storyboard Artist Mike Kazaleh - Storyboard Artist Alex Johns - Co-Executive Producer John Nickle - Book Author Chris De Laguardia - Color Timing David Jobe - Foley Mixer Mary Jo Lang - Foley Mixer Scott Morgan - Foley Recordist Eric Hosmer - Foley Recordist Mo Henry - Negative Cutter H. Buck Lewis - Character Design Kathy Graves - Assistant Editor Nathan Schauf - Assistant Editor

The Ant Bully
The glut of digital animation that hit theaters in 2006 finally took its toll -- on the wrong movie. Despite first-rate visuals, an all-star vocal cast and a new spin on some familiar territory, The Ant Bully trickled out of the top 10 within three weekends, leaving Warner Brothers and producer Tom Hanks with a certified flop. Meanwhile, Barnyard's box office continued to prove the earning power of far less inventive films. Antz and A Bug's Life may have gotten to this microscopic world eight years earlier, but it took The Ant Bully to explore the age-old one-sided battle between ants and "human destroyers" -- i.e., cruel children who stomp on anthills. Director John A. Davis and company have developed an imaginative variation on the landscape their predecessors established, one that's surprisingly unburdened by what came before. Plus, they've provided children a positive message on perspective that has both a literal interpretation (don't kill other living creatures) and a figurative one (don't pick on the little guy). Although Lucas Nickle adapts unnaturally quickly to his change in circumstances -- nary a freakout about his shrunken size -- his immersion in the colony and eventual bonding with its members are both handled well. This sets up a series of strong set pieces, including a wasp attack, a mission into Lucas' house to get "sweet rocks" (jelly beans), and a narrow escape from a determined bullfrog. The climactic battle against the exterminator -- voiced by Paul Giamatti in a regrettably brief showpiece of vulgarity -- is a final summary of all the film's clever decisions about size and the possibilities therein. If audiences finally decided they preferred something really "different," it was a poor time to reach that conclusion. Better to give fresh life to old material than approach new material in a derivative way. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French, Spanish Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DD2: Dolby Digital Stereo Additional Features: 7 hilarious animated shorts Additional scenes It Takes a Colony: Explore the giant filmmaking process from a tiny perspective Ant habitat TV screensaver DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 2 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 89 min   DVD Chapters: Disc #1 -- The Ant Bully 1. Final Ingredient [2:47] 2. Destroyer [3:05] 3. Human and Alien Problems [5:04] 4. Stan Beals [4:02] 5. Tiny Lucas [4:53] 6. Queens Ruling [3:31] 7. Scout Ant Adventures [4:04] 8. Finished at the Finish [2:56] 9. Wasp Attack [3:08] 10. Fire in the Hole [3:19] 11. Too Much Honeydew [2:51] 12. Indoor Hang-Gliding [4:54] 13. Hold the Phone [4:15] 14. Not the Ant I Love [4:40] 15. Frog Food [4:32] 16. Alka Root to the Rescue [2:32] 17. Perhaps We Are Alike [3:08] 18. Cloudbreather [3:07] 19. Unlikely Allies [2:55] 20. Insect Squadron [2:32] 21. The Sting [2:53] 22. Cross Our Hearts [3:55] 23. Dogpile and Sweet Rocks [6:06] 24. End Credits [3:04]