Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants (2014)

Load of rubbish!!

Blistering performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Valley of the Lost Ants is a different film, that has its moments. Certainly would of benefited from some dialogue in spots.I feel like some ogre bashing on a cute little kids film, with all these glowing reviews. I did like the perspective of experiencing the world through the assortment of insects, amphibians and reptiles, without the personality attached. There were cute and humorous moments, but I feel so many spots could have been funnier with some dialogue, the red ants getting angry for example. Just because it's different doesn't make it better.

Minuscule is about a baby ladybird who gets lost and befriends some ants. I went into this expecting it to be some happy little film with cute creatures, but it's so much more. There was so much peril in store for the ladybird and his friends, I began to wonder if there was even going to be a happy ending! I love the characters, even with the minor ones like the spider you still get a good feel of their personality.The wide mountain shots were absolutely stunning, and paired beautifully with the soundtrack. I love that although the creatures were animated, they still used real backgrounds. I also love the insect noises being like traffic, which I thought was very original. It also helps make a distinction between the red and black ants, as the black ants have a calming whistle whilst the red ants sound like angry dogs in my opinion.Parts of the film were a bit unrealistic. Obviously the big fight at the end was and I was okay with that because it was funny and it's an animated film so what else would you expect, but the beginning with the pregnant lady is a bit stupid. She starts going into labor (I assume this anyway, we only see some light gasps) and plays with her husbands leg to wake him, then they both gaze at the scenery before he knows what's up. If you have time to gaze at the scenery, you have time to pick up your picnic and not be litterbugs. I guess they had to set up the film somehow though. I also think it's crazy they had a whole box full of sugar, that's gonna be one hyper baby she gives birth to.Overall, Minuscule is a cute little film with some original touches and it's definitely worth watching.

I am the big fan of the television short-video series 'Minuscule'. I watched all of them like a kid when it was aired in my country on Nickelodeon. Along with me everyone in my family loved it and each of us like different characters. So we all expected this movie from the very beginning when they announced the project. The wait is over, I saw it a couple of days ago and I totally loved it.It was the best choice of characters for the movie over plenty of tiny creatures are desperate to debut on the silver screen. They chose ants and ladybugs and their adventures filled with lots of humour. This was the story of a young ladybug who got separated from his parents. He meets a pack of black ants who are on a hunt for food, then they team up and help each other to face the challenge that coming in their way to home. Especially red ants who are on the trail to snatch their finds. This running and chasing between two small groups of creature becomes a crucial war between those races.If you are familiar with this TV series, then you will clearly understand the characters and their behaviour. Not much deviated, they kept as much the original except stretched to 90 minutes runtime. The story was largely inspired from 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. Each section of the story telling reminds different episode of 'The Lord of the Rings'. First, it begins with 'The Fellows of the Sugar Cubes', then 'The Single Tower' and ends with 'The Return of the Queen'. All the way it was so much fun like you had for the TV series.No need to worry for the first time watcher, especially who are unfamiliar with these little characters. It was more like another version that you had seen in the Hollywood animations 'Antz', 'A Bug Life' 'Bee Movie' et cetera. The best part of all of it was this movie was dialogueless. No speaking, no names and no hard-coded subs. It only features amusing sounds created by the bugs and the wonderful background scores. It's a universal theme and presentation without any language barriers.A specially made movie for children with fine story. In company of them adults as well can enjoy it equally. One of the best animation movie, in fact the best children's movie of the year. Hope this title continues with many sequels in which each of the installments should brief different bug's or insect's tales. A must show to the kids and must see by the animation movie fans. Have this and have a great time.

Hélène Giraud and Thomas Szabo wrote and directed this highly unusual French film. Although the subject matter is rather familiar (with prior CGI films like Antz and A Bug's Life), the style and content is like nothing I've ever seen before—and this is, by far the biggest strength of this cute little film. However, I must warn you that initially I hated this film, as the beginning was loud and not especially enjoyable— but keep watching…it will grow on you!When the film begins, it begins with a normal setting out in the countryside. This is not CGI but real film. However, throughout the film the two are integrated together. When you see the world from a human's point of you, it's standard film. When it goes to the micro world of insects, the CGI is used. It's a very clever way to do the movie and it works very well. However, what did NOT work well for me were all the sound effects for the racing bugs. Using automobile sound effects seemed a bit heavy-handed and silly. Fortunately, this soon gave way to a strange sort of world where instead of voices (like you'd hear in films like A Bug's Life), you hear a combination of odd whistles and chirps. It's strange but works—especially since this makes the film much more universal than a typical animated film. There's simply no need to re-dub or caption the movie! I should also note that I did NOT see this in 3D—and assume that would have improved it…at least a bit.The plot to Minuscule is not so childish or anthropomorphic as the other insect films I mentioned. In fact, the plot is amazingly simple. A group of black ants (along with their friend, a lady bug) find a lunch box filled with sugar and take it back to their colony. However, a group of red ants are NOT pleased—it should be their sugar and if the black ants take it, it's war!!What follows is a very surreal war between the colonies—and the film improved tremendously. This is because all pretext for realism goes out the window and the movie really won me over! After all, MOST insect battles do not involve bugs bringing cans of insect spray, slingshots and firecrackers to the conflict! Who's going to win? See the film for yourself.The best thing about the film is simply how different it is from everything else. Too often films are derivative and familiar—something that bores me to death. However, here the filmmakers manage to create something wholly new and clever. The CGI is lovely—and different from what you'd see from Dreamworks, Disney or Pixar. More noticeable is the music. It's almost magical and so unlike the typical child-oriented CGI film. It's instead very classically inspired and perfect for the film. Finally, the film has a cute sense of humor. While I don't think it's a comedy or is meant as one, I loved the expressions on the faces of the red ants. Despite a few slow moments here and there and the rough start, this is really a film to see. Will it appeal to little kids? Maybe not. But for older kids, teens and adults who want something different and not cloyingly sweet but still family-friendly, it's well worth seeing. Vive la différence!