Have you ever longed to be someone else?
Someone special?
The class clown or the football star?
Someone people thought was cool, or just even noticed.
I know I have. That's me. Pelle Norhmann.
A perfectly ordinary 12-year old
Oh boy...
A bit too ordinary if you ask me.
Hang on...
I'm sure many people like being normal
but I'm pretty tired of it.
I'm nothing special.
Not even the nerd everyone teases.
At least he gets some attention.
I'm just Pelle,
a tiny ant in a giant anthill.
Super. Now shoulders way up. Come on.
Tiny and insignificant.
Chin up. Look up. Not that much.
Look into the camera. Smile with your eyes. Super.
Great, what's your name?
Pelle.
Palle? Ok, super. Next.
Pelle.
Yeah. Next in line, please hurry.
Are you Amanda?
And that's Amanda Sommersted.
Even though we're in the same class,
she doesn't know I exist.
No one else does either.
That's great. Yes yes yes, that's good. wow.
That's just great. I'm gonna keep shooting.
The camera loves you.
Give me a little smile. Super!
That's so nice. Love it.
Everyone calm down, sit down. Stop it, you two!
heads up and Cheese!
Put the photos away and look at the front.
Ida, take off your headphones, we're in class.
Your assignment for next week
is a presentation
of someone significant in this town,
an important person,
someone in your family can help you.
You'll begin with a plan,
then you'll to make a poster with pictures
and important facts about your choice
important facts about your choice themselves and their families
for example
what do you and this person have in common?
There is no one interesting in Middellund.
What about your dad, Ida?
The CEO of Exofarm?
Why don't you do the presentation of him?
That might be fun. What do you think?
You can work with your sister.
Sound good, Amanda?
Sure.
Ok, team up in pairs.
Find a partner and go to work on your project.
Get away from me. Stop it!
Chill out. Stand still.
Leave me alone.
Get a grip, loser!
Get off me already.
- Are you crying for your mama? - What's your problem?
- You are. - Give me my backpack.
He brings comics to school.
Leave me alone.
Are you mental? You are, aren't you?
Give me those! Give me those!
Jump, little guy!
Give those back to me!
Is there a problem?
What kind of a name is... AHHH.
Who threw that?
Hey.
Hey, what did say about being up here?
Norhmann. You think that's funny?
Your dead meat!
Where did he go?
I heard something. Come on!
Where did he go?
In there?
Into Mrs. Gaemelkra's?
Yeah.
He wouldn't dare.
Sure?
Hey, you're scare of her, sissy.
No, I'm not. I'm not.
So go look for him.
Why me?
- Scared? - Not scared.
I just don't wanna go.
Look over to the fence. Did you see him?
You're scared the zombie witch is going to get you.
- Shut up. - You shut up.
Come, let's look over.
Do you realise what time it is?
Is that him?
Yeah.
Sorry.
Where have you been?
Playing.
With who?
A Schoolmate.
During dinner time? Come and eat.
I don't want to. I'm going to bed.
Good night.
Middellund faces
- a flea epidemic. - Good morning. Sleep well?
Nah.
I am here outside the medical company, Exofarm
to find the truth about what happened that cause of the epidemic
Isn't that Amanda and Ida's Dad?
-Mr. Sommersted, -Yes.
Can you shed some light on what's happening here?
You missed out on my lasagne.
Had a date with someone?
A date?
Father, can you help me?
You bet.
We're all out of sugar.
Though I could've sworn I just bought some.
What happened?
Well, I'm not cleaning that up.
Hey. What's your problem?
Sorry.
Here's your magazine.
Magazine? Are you insane? It's Spiderman.
Today we're going to focus on
tactics, coordination, speed and stamina.
I learned this exercise in the army.
I was a machine, no one could stop me,
no one could beat me, anyone who tried ended up dead.
The rules are simple.
If you fall,
go outside the circle or drop the stick, you've lost.
No questions?
Good.
Who wants to help me demonstrate? Hmm?
Pell?
Pelle.
In the middle.
- No, thanks. - In the middle, Pelle.
What about protective gear?
We won't need it.
Pain is your mind telling you your alive.
En Garde!
You can do better than that.
Hmm?
C'mon Pelle give it your best
You're not even trying.
Yeah.
Yeah, let's go.
Let's go, Pelle, come on, son
Don't be scared.
Hey. Hey how did you do that?
What?
With Carsten. How did you get so strong?
I'm not. It was for show.
What about the school door?
Where'd you get your powers?
Are you some kind of government experiment?
Who me??
Yeah, of course.
- No. - Are you a mutant?
No.
C'mon, no? Are you sure you weren't bitten by a super spider?
Promise I won't tell anyone.
What?
That you're a superhero, of course.
Please read this. Take it, come on.
Fine. Happy now?
It could be your story, you have all the same cool power.
For all we know, you can fly or maybe climb walls...
Hey. Do you realize how lucky you are?
Get off my back.
I'm sending you away
with a flea in your ear.
Amanda.
Gotcha Amanda! You'll never get me, teddy.
Help Pelle. Shut up.
You really shouldn't hit girls.
What? Who said that? I did.
Freeze. What are you?
I'm a real superhero. Not today!
Thank you for saving me, Pelle.
You're welcome Amanda.
Time for you to die.
Have mercy on me. Not today.
It was an ant.
It was an ant that bit me.
That's the most awesome thing ever.
Shhh.
Can you help me?
Of course.
All super heroes get their power from something
and they have a weakness.
Martial manhunter loses his telepathic powers
when exposed to fire.
Thor is the god of thunder
but only when he has mjolnir.
I suggest we skip school tomorrow
to test your powers.
Superman gets his powers from earth's gravity
and the suns rays.
But kryptonite makes him weak
and could kill him.
Wilhelm. When are you taking out the trash?
Later.
Take out the trash now.
I've got someone over now.
What weakness does an ant have?
We'll know once we figure out your powers.
Welcome to the hidden world of the ant.
Millions of years of evolution.
Boring.
The army ant protects the colony against enemies.
It uses its sharp mandibles
which enable it to bite with great force.
The ant is one of...
Bite into this.
What?
Bite into this.
Wilhelm, it's a book.
Yeah. Bite into it anyway.
Okay.
I knew it! Alright, what else?
The ant has poor eyesight
and is dependent on its sense of smell
which enables it to sniff and identify scents from afar.
You need a costume.
Okay. I refuse to wear long johns over my clothes.
I want a cape like superman.
Know how impractical they are?
No cape, no go!
Some male ants can fly under favorable weather conditions.
Go on Pelle, come. Flap your arms.
This only goes for a tiny percentage however.
The ant colony has one central ant
that is the most important one of all.
The queen ant, the center of every male ant's universe.
Apart from its mandibles,
the ant also defends itself with its formic acid.
A corrosive poison
which it sprays through large glands.
It turned out better than I thought.
Now we have to think of a name.
- What about anthuman? - No.
Why not?
"Help anthuman" sounds stupid.
Do you think they need help?
Nah
Pissant-man
Too long.
Gi-ant
Argh. A superhero name but be cool and easy to understand.
And Aguaman, Batman, Captain America,
Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Deadman, Deadpool,
Doctor Fate, Doctor Strange, Hellboy,
Hawkeye, Hawkman, Hulk, Iron Fist.
Ok, I get it. Cool and easy to understand.
Let's have some action.
How about Antman?
Antman's taken
and you're not a man.
Antboy!
I guess it'll do for now.
I'm hungry, how long do we have to stay here?
Until we witness a crime.
I'm going to the store.
No. What if somebody robs a bank?
I'm just gonna buy some candy.
Stay here.
No! Help! My bag! Help! Help!
You shouldn't steal.
Who are you supposed to be?
Man, you look ridiculous.
Why don't you go back to your Halloween party?
Why don't you go back to school?
What you say?
And get an education.
It's not very smart... to skip... school.
Who are you?
I am. Antboy!
It's true. He just stood there in that weird costume
and then he climbed the wall
and then he chased after me.
The little ant guy, he runs around, scare-free...
He said his name was Antboy.
Wilhelm.
Did you see that?
What happened?
I just stopped the criminal.
And I can climb walls.
No way.
Check this out.
What? I can do it.
I just did, I swear.
I'm so hungry. Why am I so hungry?
Your powers need regular charging.
How?
Ants need sugar to get energy.
That's why you raided the kitchen for candy
after you were bitten.
Here. This belt has containers for candy
so you can always recharge.
Cool.
This is a cover for you phone.
Thanks.
And this is your antcom.
Connect it to your phone to stay in touch with me.
A superhero has come to our small town of Middellund
Who is he? The citizens want to know who is this masked hero
after a man was rescued from a car accident
by a boy dressed like a superhero.
The superhero Antboy rescued a six-month old baby
from a burning building
talking even more interest in his true identity.
Antboy was a hit.
For the first time in my life people noticed me.
We love you, Antboy!
Antboy is so cool. Antboy so awesome.
Antboy is so cute.
I wasn't just Pelle anymore.
I was Antboy.
Even the school play was about me.
They even got a copy of my costume.
I was Middellund's protector and the villains' worst nightmare.
Help! Antboy, help.
I was untouchable.
What's up?
Antboy's a superhero, not a showoff.
A superhero has better things to do.
Like what?
You just want to be popular.
No.
Girls don't care about guys like us.
I know. But they love Antboy.
IDA! Ida!
Amanda?
Turn it down.
You're so annoying.
I can't focus with your crappy music.
Good morning. Amanda and her sister aren't coming today.
Amanda's sick.
So. Mette and Aisha do your presentation.
Someone help me! I'm gonna fall!
Help!
It's Antboy!
Somebody help me! Help!
Hello?
Hi. Buy some milk, will you?
But get rice milk not...
I can't talk right now, mom.
Help.
- Soy milk just isn't... - Gotta run, mom.
Help me!
Don't worry. You're safe now.
I'm gonna fall! I'm gonna...
Antboy! I'm sorry about that but I really need your help.
My dad received this video this morning.
Mr. Sommersted, CEO.
I have your beautiful young daughter.
I'm The Flea, just like the insects.
I'm impossible to get rid of,
so don't waste your precious time
calling the police.
My demands are simple.
Number one, twenty million in small unmarked bills.
Number 2, you will step down as CEO of Exofarm.
Who is he?
I don't know.
Can't your dad just pay up?
Twenty million? He's not that rich.
Isn't it your job to save her?
- Me? - Yeah.
You are superhero, yeah?
Sure. Wilhelm and I will find her.
Wilhelm?
No. I didn't say that?
Sure you did. You said Wilhelm.
I gotta go now.
I'm coming with you.
Bad idea, it's too dangerous.
Hi. Whassup?
Please don't get mad.
- Why? - Promise me you won't get mad?
Hi.
You're into superheros, huh?
What were you thinking?
You can't bring a girl into the fortress of solitude.
- Where? - I told you,
girls ruin everything.
I bet she's gonna tell everyone I know who you are.
I doubt it.
You don't even know her.
You sure have a lot of dolls.
They're action figures, hands off.
Chill out.
You only became a superhero to get girls!
Oh, grow up, will you? This is serious.
What kind of puny sidekick are you anyway?
The kidnapper calls himself The Flea.
My demands are simple.
Number one, twenty million in small unmarked bills.
Number 2, you will step down as CEO of Exofarm.
You have 48 hours, Sommersted.
Spend them wisely if you want to see your daughter again.
Or I'll suck her blood instead of yours.
Do your parents know The Flea?
No.
Her dad's like Lex Luthor.
I heard that, and he's not like Lex Luthor.
She doesn't know who he is.
The villain in superman.
Yeah. A rich businessman acting like a model citizen
but who really wants to take over the world.
You're weird.
You are.
Stop this. Has your dad got any enemies?
Dunno. Some people don't like him.
He says it's lonely at the top.
- Top of what? - Exofarm.
The factory outside town.
What medicine do they make?
Mostly vaccines. But they carry out research too.
What kind?
I think it's a secret
but my dad says they try to help the very sick.
Sounds dodgy.
Maybe its someone from town?
Maybe Marienne! She's evil.
Maybe Mark or Alan.
Nah, they're too stupid.
Is that Amanda's necklace?
Are you okay?
I can smell her.
Over there.
- That one. - In there?
You're kidding, right?
That's old Mrs. Gaemelkra's house.
The ant bit me in Gaemelkra's garden.
This is where I got my powers.
Mrs. Gaemelkra died last summer, who knows what's in there?
They found her rotting corpse
after two weeks on the floor.
I heard that they only found her dead body
after two whole months in the master bedroom.
Rumor has it that her spirits still ridden with disease
mysteriously appears at night, roaming.
For real?
I have to see what's in there.
Anyway, Antboy isn't a coward.
Hello?
It's me.
You scared me.
Are you inside?
I'm in the basement.
It looks like a lab.
Cool.
Did you find Amanda?
Not yet.
This place give me the creeps.
Be careful, Antboy!
You never know if The Flea is hiding down there.
Wilhelm? You there?
It must be the... connection.
Don't worry, I'll get you out.
At last, we meet, Antboy.
If I'm the one you want, let Amanda go,
she hasn't done anything to you.
No. My fight is with her father,
the CEO of Exofarm, Pietre Sommersted.
Before he ruined my life,
I was a biochemist at Exofarm,
my research was groundbreaking.
What research?
A very rare species of ants. Culformica accelonia.
It was my theory that the species had unique antibodies
capable of killing lifethreatening illnesses.
So I began developing hercules,
a serum which transferred the healing powers
to my first test person,
my mom.
You're Mrs. Gaelmerks son?
Yeah.
The tumors in her body got smaller and smaller.
But then Sommersted implemented his cutbacks,
the company had to save money.
My research was the first to be terminated.
I was furious.
I tried to threaten the board to let me continue,
but Sommersted didn't give a damn.
"I'm sending you away with a
flea in your ear" he said.
And my mom... it was too late.
After her death, my plans for revenge started taking shape
I chose another species,
pulex irritants, the flea of blood!
It's properties removed the arthritis in my legs
and made them one hundred time stronger.
Be glad you only have to eat sugar to maintain your powers.
When I got the powers of the flea,
I got its insatiable craving
for blood.
The ant that bit you was the last of its kind,
a genetically modified hercules ant,
you ought to thank me, Antboy,
or should I say Pelle?
Amanda only loves Antboy,
she doesn't even know Pelle Norhmann exists.
And how about your little friend,
the comic book geek?
Do you really think he's interested in your friendship?
I see you, Pelle,
for what you really are, a tinny pissant,
and I'm gonna crush you under my boot.
Until we meet again.
The Flea was right.
Why should I risk my life for people who don't care about me?
I was just a tiny ant
who dreamt he was big and strong and loved by everyone.
But the dream was over now
and the ant had woken up.
I just wanted to be Pelle Norhmann
and forget Antboy ever existed.
What was I thinking?
I couldn't save Amanda.
Hey, The Flea is on the run
and Amanda and her family are safe.
No thanks to me.
I didn't stand a chance against him, Wilhelm.
We can't stop now with The Flea still on the loose.
I just can't do it anymore, Wilhelm,
why don't you go be Antboy?
- Fine. - Fine.
Fine.
So we've discussed each of your favourite fiction books,
and remember the book reports are due next week.
And now we are moving on to non-fiction,
any suggestions as to what non-fiction might be?
For example autobiographies, is that non-fiction or fiction?
Books about how to do stuff...
Leave everything behind. Calm Down. One line.
Pelle, hurry up!
Hurry into the yard!
Pelle, The Flea's attacking the school.
It's not my business, let the police handle it.
Don't be afraid, run outside.
Antboy.
Antboy saved me.
Wilhelm.
Wilhelm! Wilhelm! Wilhelm! Wilhelm!
Wilhelm!
Wilhelm! Wilhelm!
Let go, loser louse!
Insects have existed for 500 million years,
they will outlive the human race,
I am not a louse, I am The Flea
The problem with you super villains is
you talk too much
Get your hands off him.
Antboy.
You're the dumbest genius I ever met.
Game over, Gaemelkra.
You will be real sorry if you don't let go of my friend,
What's wrong, Antboy? Low on sugar?
Sugar.
Let him go.
Say Goodbye to your friend, Pelle Norhmann
I'm gonna take your little friend for a walk in the woods.
Look!
Let me go. Put me down
Wilhelm.
Where are you going?
Antboy. The Flea took Wilhelm
Don't worry, Ida.
I will take care of this.
Wilhelm! Hold on.
Antboy. Antboy.
I thought your sugar craving was your Achilles heel
Antboy. But your real weakness is people.
Hello?
- Where are you? - I'm not sure.
Are you okay?
I've got an idea.
Antboy.
Gaemelkra!
Pissant.
To think you are willing to risk so much
for such a pathetic little weakling.
That pathetic little weakling is my friend.
What so you need friendships for
when you have infinite strength?
You're not as strong as you think, little bug.
Bring it on. Flea.
Time for dessert.
AHHHHHHHH
AHHHHHHHHH
You know what your weakness is, Gaemelkra?
Your blood tank is empty
and you haven't got any friends to help you.
You lost Gaemelkra.
Give up.
Never.
Did you know ants can lift
50 times their weight?
Thanks, Pelle.
The arrest puts an end to Gaemelkra's terror against Middellund
beginning with the abduction of Amanda Sommersted,
and culminating with the attack on the school,
and showdown with Antboy in the forest.
I will express gratitude from all of us in Exofarm
Security measures have been improved
A sick man committed these crimes...
You'd better close this window from now on.
Just to be sure.
I was hoping you'd come,
so I could say thank you for saving me.
Is Ida in?
Ida?
Yeah, I just came to return this.
Ida.
Your sister.
What?
Hi. How are you doing?
I came back to say thanks.
No. Thank you! You're awesome, Pelle Norhmann.
You thought I didn't know?
It's amazing no one's figured you out yet.
Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.
I have to go now.
Pelle, wait. Can't we be friends?
See you tomorrow, lda.
Woohooo
Hi. Pelle,
what are you doing?
I have to give skipper a flea cure, so they won't return.
I want to talk to you about something.
I've got an idea for a new costume.
I like the one I've got.
That's not what I meant.
Who then?
Antboy needs a sidekick like Batman and Robin.
You think Ida wants to be a superhero?
What? I'm not talking about Ida.
I was kidding.
But who needs Antboy now that The Flea's gone?
The World will always need Antboy.
Have you ever longed to be someone else?
I know I have but not anymore.
Antboy has superpowers and lots of fans
but Pelle is still a tiny ant in a giant anthill,
and that's ok,
because if there's one thing an ant's got, it's friends,
and so do I now.
Fortunately,
because I can't save the world on my own, can I?