Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants

Totally loved this movie, didn't know what to expect but was thrilled, charmed and amazed throughout. Cinematography is beautiful and the attention to detail astonishing, a lot of hard work has gone into this production and it really shows. Loved the personality's of each insect and although you need to suspend complete disbelief at what they achieve during the course of the movie it doesn't detract from a visual treat that is accomplished with zero dialogue from beginning to end, yes, no words from beginning to end and still a brilliant movie. Simply put, the best real film footage with CGI animation that I've ever seen - Kudos to the makers of this highly original film.

When I started watching this charming film, I was surprised not to see the usual list of stars who would be voicing the various parts. However, once the film got going and went to ground level I realised that there are no human stars - because there are no words. And yet I understood every conversation with no difficulty whatsoever.

This is the brilliance of this film - one which puts cgi (and not a lot of cgi really) over real filmed scenes in an effortless, flowing way to create completely believable cinematography. That is not to say the film is believable, in the same way that Tinkerbell and A Bugs Life are unbelievable. And yet it is completely riveting to watch a ladybug take a meandering, drifting, wonderfully entertaining journey to save the day for new friends.

There are no words spoken, and yet there is plenty of perfectly understandable dialogue - a mixture of toots, peeps and growls that need no translation, along with a mass of subtle and not-so-subtle sound effects. The humour of realising that the buzz flies are the insect equivalent of a motorcycle gang, and the smile at hearing the oh-so-faint sounds of sawing and hammering as the ants build their nest - these are some of what make the-film-with-the-impossibly-long-name so satisfying, even as an adult. And my children were completely engrossed and living the story along with the minuscule hero all the way through.

Great movie.

I was a fan of the series Minuscule, so I was looking forward to watch this feature film. Miniscule and the Valley of the Lost Ants has the same charm, visual impact and sense of humour as the episodes of the series, but there is a well-developed story here.

A young ladybug loses track of her family and, by accident, pairs with a group of black ants trying to carry a big case of sugar cubes to their hive. There is a considerable distance, and the weight of the case makes them take a detour through the forest. The adventure commences when the aggressive red ants get interested in the treasure.

Minuscule offers a very simple story, but it is very charming and engaging. Clean universal humour, for both children and adults, for people all over the world no matter their culture. If you haven't watch the series, it will surprise you see the character bugs being just bugs, not talking humans masked as bugs. However, they are enjoyable because they feel real bugs but also have situations that are basically human.

There are so many lovely scenes in the movie, so is difficult to choose one. However, my favorite is the one involving the spider, which is adorable! And the battle of the ants is absolutely epic!

The animation is great, a mix of natural backgrounds and 3D characters fused together as one. The filming of the backgrounds is fabulous because during the walking, flying or racing scenes the viewer feels that the magnitude and movement of the background is that a bug experiences.

The sounds of the different characters are wonderful and so very funny!

Some of the things that made Minuscule the series most appealing to me were the domestic environments in which many of the bugs' stories occurred, so I would have loved a bit of that also in the movie. That is a personal preference, of course.

Personally, I thought the film could have been shortened and some unnecessary scenes edited out and the film would still be as good.

Great fun, clean humour, very entertaining.

........ for anyone anywhere on earth!

Part of the beauty of this film is the fact that not one word is spoken! It's insect buzzing and beeping that tells the messages. So anyone can understand this story.

The story includes two ant colonies - one black ants the other red ants and in the mix is one lonely disabled ladybug! The black ants have something the red ants want. The blacks ants friend the disabled ladybug! The red ants prepare to attack the black ants - the story takes you to the finish!

A remarkable treat for the eyes and ears! You cannot tell where real photography ends and the computer graphics starts - it's that well merged!!

Bravo!!!

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.