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A Slice of Life
by Francine Brokaw
The Ant Bully
We’ve all done it. How could we not? At some point we’ve stepped on an ant! Let’s face it. There are more of them than us. And who gave it a second thought? You have a line of ants walking across your kitchen counter and you reach for the bug spray. Little Lucas (voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen) is no exception. Being picked on by the neighborhood bully and his big sister (voiced by Allison Mack) frustrates the little guy. So, who does he take his frustrations out on? The ants.
Lucas stomps on the ants and floods their home with water and sometimes the yellow stream, not giving them a second thought. The ants, on the other hand, feel like “the destroyer,” as they call him, is going to be their demise unless they do something about him. So, Ant Zoc (voiced by Nicolas Cage) develops a formula to shrink Lucas down to their own size. Ah ha. Retribution!
One night they sneak into his home and in an instant Lucas is the size of the ants. When he is taken to their colony Ant Queen (voiced by Meryl Streep) proclaims his punishment for all the dastardly deeds he has performed on the ants is to live with them and learn to be an ant. Ant Hova (voiced by Julia Roberts) volunteers to be his mentor. This doesn’t sit well with young Lucas, or with Zoc, who feels his girlfriend’s mentoring of the enemy is tantamount to treason. But nevertheless, Lucas must live with them and learn to be an ant. Then, and only then, might he be resized and sent home.
Lucas tries to work like an ant, but they can do something he cannot – climb up a wall. However he finds other ways to get around, and in no time he is part of the colony. To his amazement, and that of the ants, he becomes an important part of the group, going above and beyond (literally) to save the colony from an exterminator.
Okay, so we’ve had movies about shrinking kids down to tiny sizes and we’ve had movies from the perspectives of bugs, but this one combines all of those into a fun and entertaining film with heart. It is a compassionate way of looking at life and even though after watching it we still might step on an ant or call for the exterminator when they move into our bathroom, it is a tender and sensitive story about learning to live together. As they say in the colony, “It’s the differences that make a colony strong.” This is new to the little boy, as he tells them all about the human world and how humans don’t really work together as one.
Grab your kids and head out to the movies. This is an enjoyable film for the whole family. It’s the best family film of the summer.
© 2006 Francine Brokaw
All pictures ©Warner Bros. All rights reserved .
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