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Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants Movie Review

Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants is a 2014 French animated adventure film directed by Helene Giraud and Thomas Szabo. It is an underappreciated gem of animation.

Warfare starts between a tribe of red ants and a tribe of black ants in an otherwise tranquil site due to a set of circumstances. A young ladybug allies herself with black ants to defeat the red ones. This movie was released in one festival in 2013, but it only saw wider release the next year, which makes it one of the best animated movies of 2014. So many people missed on seeing this one, but after my second viewing, I can confer that it is an incredible feature.

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Based on the titular television series, the film is all about honoring the silent movie style of yesteryear. Yes, it has a couple of references to famous sound movies too in certain sequences, but in its approach and execution this is pretty much an homage to those silent comedies while still being distinctly French in its charm and humor. It’s a potent mixture of newer technology and old-fashioned storytelling that really worked.

This is technically a live-action/animated hybrid as the backgrounds are all done in live-action. Shot in national parks in Southern France, the movie is absolutely gorgeous to watch. Every single frame is wallpaper-worthy in their awe-inspiring imagery of the surrounding nature and its many immediate details. The film looks so polished that it seemed to be animated, but in reality these are real natural landscapes, which made me instantly want to go to this region.

As for the animation, it is perfectly incorporated into these real world environments. The juxtaposition is, in fact, so natural and so seamless that it should be a text example of how to mix the two mediums for anybody attempting to do it properly. The various insects that we get to meet include the ladybugs and the red ants, and each and every one of them looked so endearing and adorable while also being feisty and imposing when the script demanded that of them. They never seemed out of place within their environment, which was crucial in making the film lived-in and charming.

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As for the plot, it is the case of style over substance and immense minimalism that definitely made it frustrating to watch in moments, but it is so undeniably effervescent and cute that it ended up still being an enjoyable, engaging watch for the most part. It goes through all the motions as the insects literally love and fight, retaliate and persevere against all odds. Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants is above all else an adventure. It has its humorous moments, but it is a sheer adventure first and foremost in its epic scope and so many scenes that were delightfully entertaining and spirited. Some of the action set pieces are brilliantly imagined and executed.

The editing is good, but the pacing is somewhat slower, which made the movie far from the most entertaining animated flick out there. But if put in the right mood and frame of mind, viewers will bound to enjoy this tale of insects doing their insect things. I am a biology and animation enthusiast, so this was a treat on both counts for me. The film having no dialogue also made it timeless while the soundtrack is just beautiful and so uplifting.

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