Starring the voices of Zach Tyler Eisen, Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Paul Giamatti, Regina King, Bruce Campbell and Lily Tomlin, it was produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's Playtone, Davis and Keith Alcorn's DNA Productions, and Legendary Pictures in their first animated film, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

After being shrunk by Zoc, Lucas must join forces with his new friends (Roberts, King, and Campbell) to defeat Stan Beals (Giamatti), an exterminator who threatens their colony upon signing the contract.

10-year-old Lucas Nickle is left with his older sister and grandmother when his parents go to Puerto Vallarta for their wedding anniversary.

Neglected by his family and tormented by a local bully named Steve, Lucas takes his anger out on an anthill in his front yard.

That night, Zoc and a troop of ants administer the potion into Lucas's ear while he sleeps, leaving him miniaturized, and carry him to the anthill.

Lucas is shown paintings of the Ant Mother, who is prophesied to return to the colony and provide sustenance, and the Cloud-Breather, an ominous figure who heralds death.

Recognizing the Cloud-Breather as Beals, Lucas convinces Hova, Fugax, and Kreela to visit his house and collect candy jelly beans.

Lucas finally stands up to Steve, whose friends turn on him, and showers the colony with jelly beans as a parting gift.

Additional voices were provided by Tyler James Williams, Jake Goldberg, Austin Majors, Jaishon Fisher, Tom Kenny, Neil Ross, Bob Joles, Wally Wingert, Leon Morenzie, Johnathan Cook, Clive Robertson, S. Scott Bullock, Susan Silo, Zack Shada, Max Burkholder, Benjamin Bryan, Jordan Orr, Candi Milo, Nika Futterman, Colin Ford, Nicole Sullivan, Pat Fraley, Paul Greenberg and David Kaye.

"[4] Davis states that he felt like something of a hypocrite when, while he was working on the script, carpenter ants infested his house and he called an exterminator.

"[11] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly liked Roberts and Cage in their roles, and referred to Streep's queen ant as "excellently magisterial".

She also wrote that "the kind of life lessons that usually gum up the fun go down as easily as jelly beans in The Ant Bully.

"[12] Jeffrey E. McCants of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote that "the film's heavy-handed lessons turn it from a fun romp through a cartoonish insect world to a predictable and preachy snoozefest".

[13] Bill Muller of The Arizona Republic wrote, "The Ant Bully, in trying to match Antz or A Bug's Life, just digs itself into a big hole.

[17] The soundtrack's music score was composed and conducted by John Debney, who previously worked with Davis on Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.