In The Ant Bully, Lucas is your garden variety, socially-awkward youngster, a kid constantly getting picked on by bullies bigger and stronger than him. He takes out his frustrations by flooding and stomping on an ant colony in his front yard, but one such incident is about to change his life forever.

Determined to put an end to the attacks made by "The Destroyer," wizard ant Zoc (voiced by Nicolas Cage) creates a potion and uses it to shrink Lucas (voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen) down to ant size, sentencing him to work in the colony in order to undergo an attitude adjustment. Lucas' rehabilitation is aided by Hova (voiced by Julia Roberts), a kindly ant who thinks this human has what it takes to gather up some self-esteem and learn to stand up for himself. However, Lucas will have to learn fast, because he must deal with frogs and wasps that are dangerous now in his ant size while also helping to protect the colony from the impending arrival of a sleazy exterminator (voice of Paul Giamatti).

In a year that's given moviegoers such animated treats as Monster House, Hoodwinked and Over the Hedge, The Ant Bully (written and directed by Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius  creator John A. Davis) comes as something of a letdown. Davis has assembled one of the most impressive voice casts in recent memory including not only Cage, Roberts, and the always welcome Giamatti but also Meryl Streep as the queen ant, Lily Tomlin as Lucas' alien-obsessed grandma, and, most surprising of all, cult hero Bruce Campbell (of Evil Dead and Bubba Ho-Tep fame) as a scout ant who's a closet coward. A lot of big names are onboard for The Ant Bully, but aside from Campbell's involvement and Giamatti's deliciously over-the-top turn as the evil exterminator, everyone seems to be coasting here. 

In fact, most of The Ant Bully follows the same pattern of doing just enough to get by. The story is pretty basic, a modest package containing a tried-and-true moral about standing up for yourself instead of taking your aggression out on those more vulnerable. It's a nice lesson that should  appeal to the little ones, who will also probably enjoy the occasional potty humor joke. However, most parents brought along for the ride may find the movie a little on the tiring side. The animation presents an eye-catching sight or two (the animators did a terrific job of turning a simple patch of grass into a danger zone once Lucas gets shrunk) but, on the whole, nothing more than passable in comparison to the suburban landscapes of Over the Hedge or the beautiful colors of Curious George.

In short, this movie was made for the kids. It's goofy, good-hearted, and a fairly diverting watch, a decent alternative for those who might find Monster House a tad too scary. For the rest of the moviegoing public, The Ant Bully isn't worth making a mountain out of an anthill.

MY RATING: ** 1/2 (out of ****)

(Released by Warner Bros. and rated "PG" for some rude humor and action.)