Arnie & Barney (2026)

If you can imagine a formic equivalent of "Gungha Din", then you're half way to getting the dynamic between this hapless pair. They are so hopeless that their captain tasks them with digging a fairly pointless hole in the ground whilst he and his more elite squad of rescue ants go off in search of much needed water for their meadow. They are quite happy as that means they can read their comic adventures of the "SssKeat" but when they realise that they have been pretty much abandoned, they set off in search of their pals whom we already know have fallen under the spell of the menacing mosquito "Hypnita" and are now complicit in a dastardly and venal plot. Can these two manage to help save the day? I actually quite enjoyed this, even if the plot doesn't really advance very evenly and there are a few undercooked characters who rather clutter things up at times. The animation is all fairly standard but there is plenty of mischief here; there are some fun quips from the dialogue and these two make for amiable heroes as it's environmental messages are presented to younger eyes quite entertainingly as are those of friendship, loyalty and of never being afraid to chase a dream. It's more of a reinforcing film than an innovating one, but the insect kingdom gives them plenty of scope for antics a-plenty and I did quite like the baddie, too.