I've been seeing trailers on the TV for The Ant Bully, and through the usual trailer shots and voiceover the only recognisable hook for the general audience is produced by Tom Hanks. No mention of any of the starring cast, and I find that very surprising considering how strong it is, are people really going to be pulled in by the mere notion of Hanks producing? To a children's film?

What bugs (snigger) me is that there is such a strong cast there, looking at IMDB:

Julia Roberts - Hova, Nicolas Cage - Zoc, Meryl Streep - Queen Ant, Paul Giamatti - Stan Beals, Zach Tyler - Lucas Nickle, Regina King - Kreela, Bruce Campbell - Fugax, Lily Tomlin - Mommo, Allison Mack - Tiffany Nickle, Ricardo Montalban - Head of Council

So where are those names mentioned? For me hearing those names that are voicing the actual characters is much more of a pull than hearing that a top Hollywood actor has been out finding backing for the movie to be made. What's interesting is that a large portion of the audience seeing that TV trailer probably won't even know what the producer does...does that mean that they might think the producer is a key role in a good movie?

I don't know, but for me hearing those names as the voices would pull me in far more than who the money and backing guy was. What do you think, are they underselling the film this way?