Actor Tom Hanks will be the voice of one of the characters for the new animated film "The Ant Bully". His company, Playtone Productions teamed up with Warner Bros and the IMAX Corporation to make an animated project entitled 'The Ant Bully'.

The film will be directed by John A Davis, who also worked for the 2001 box office hit 'Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius', and will be released simultaneously in 2D and IMAX 3D on 4 August 2006.

The story follows a naughty boy, Lucas Nickle, who floods an ant colony with his watergun and he's magically shrunken down to insect size, and sentenced to hard labor in the ruins.

Nicolas Cage, Julia Roberts, Paul Giamatti, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin and Kahn himself, Ricardo Montalban, Cheri Oteri, Alan Cumming, Regina King and newcomer Zach Tyler Eisen are also voicing characters.

"The Ant Bully is based on a beloved book which teaches kids important life lessons in an entertaining way. We believe this film is well suited for both commercial and institutional theaters and looks incredible in IMAX 3D", declared Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment.