In theaters

THE ANT BULLY, written and directed by John A. Davis, based on the book by John Nickle, 88 minutes, rated PG.

The new computer-animated movie “The Ant Bully” knows a few things about bullies, most of which we already know – all of which bear repeating.

For instance, the movie understands that for the most part, the average bully is a weak little miscreant whose fists and tough talk, when pressed into action by real intimidation, pack the punch of a feather. It also knows that not all bullies are created equally and that some just need a little nudge to lift them to the higher level of human existence they resist. That can take some doing, though the work generally is worth it, even if the methods for promoting change can be somewhat extreme.

Take, for example, young Lucas (voice of Zach Tyler Eisen), a hapless 10-year-old boy so relentlessly bullied by a menacing group of neighborhood brats that he becomes something of a bully himself.

It isn’t just his family that feels the redirected weight of his rage and humiliation, but also the little ant colony nesting in his front yard. With zeal, Lucas attacks it with crushing streams of water, creating such havoc inside the colony that the ant wizard Zok (Nicolas Cage) decides what Lucas needs is a taste of his own medicine.

With the help of his ant girlfriend, Hova (Julia Roberts), Zok devises a potion that when spilled into Lucas’ ear will cause him to shrink to the size of an ant. Only then, when Lucas is brought down to size, can Zok and the rest of the colony truly have their way with him, though not in ways that you might expect.

The movie, which writer-director John A. Davis based on John Nickle’s book, brings in the Queen (Meryl Streep), a towering, serene presence who looks and speaks as if she just stepped off the utopian mother ship. What she demands for Lucas is a stretch of time living among ants. Maybe then, if he’s forced to walk in their shoes (all six of them), he will come to appreciate all that he wanted to destroy.

When it comes to messages, this movie has its share of them – teamwork, understanding and tolerance all are underscored. For some, those messages might seem overdone, but these days, when a certain Hollywood star joins Hezbollah in headlining the news, an argument could be made that they can’t be done enough.

The film’s animation is particularly strong, though not in ways that overwhelm the story or the characters, which is typically how these computer-animated movies go. Several scenes are standouts, such as a gentle flight across a living room “meadow” with flower petals used as hang gliders, a war with wasps that recalls one of the battle scenes in “Star Wars: Episode III,” and a very creepy fight with an exterminator (Paul Giamatti) that will leave some scratching their heads for all the wrong reasons.

Grade: B+

On HD DVD

THE ITALIAN JOB, directed by F. Gary Gray, written by Donna Powers and Wayne Powers, 110 minutes, rated PG-13.

In “The Italian Job,” a smart remake of Peter Collinson’s 1969 film of the same name, Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron and Edward Norton star in a film whose $35 million gold heist isn’t just the prize but the problem.

At least for the characters.

The film, now available on HD DVD, lacks the original’s inspired casting (Noel Coward and Benny Hill as thieves), but it offers greatly improved stunt work and gives a fun update to the three Mini Coopers so crucial to the plot and the action.

Energetic and lean, this caper’s hip style is given a nice lift from the looseness of its cast, which helps to create a breezy mood of ultracoolness that never feels manufactured.

Befitting the title, the film opens in Venice with a daring heist that leads to a wild boat chase through the city’s clogged canals. It’s a rousing start, seamlessly introducing amid the action all the major players and their individual strengths.

There’s Charlie (Wahlberg), the architect behind the heists; John (Donald Sutherland), the veteran safe-cracker; Steve (Norton), whose personal connections prove vital; and Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), who knows how to handle women as well as he knows how to handle the wheel of a car or a boat. Also onboard are Lyle (Seth Green), a computer geek who claims he’s the mastermind behind Napster, and Left Ear (Mos Def), whose partial deafness proves he knows a few things about blowing things up.

Together, they’re a formidable team. But when one member of the group gets greedy and turns on the others, brazenly stealing the $35 million in gold they hauled out of Venice and leaving one man dead, the remaining members strengthen their bond and set out to destroy the dirty thief and vindicate their friend’s death.

They do so by enlisting the help of Stella (Theron), a gifted safe-cracker who has personal reasons for seeing this vendetta through: The man who was murdered was her father. Bolstered by a brisk pace and its solid performances, “The Italian Job” proves that for a heist movie to get the job done right, minor lapses in logic are forgivable in favor of style, chemistry and inventive action. Director F. Gary Gray comes through with just that – and then he surpasses expectations by coming through with more.

Grade: B+

Visit www.weekinrewind.com, the archive of Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s reviews, which appear Mondays in Discovering, Fridays in Happening, and Weekends in Television. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.