Antz (1998)

Released in 1998 and produced by DreamWorks, "Antz" is an animated adventure/comedy about a colony of ants where one of the workers named Z (voiced by Woody Allen) feels insignificant in a system of rigid conformity. He meets Bala (Sharon Stone) and they escape the colony to find the mythical "Insectopia," which might not be the paradise they anticipated. Meanwhile, arrogant General Mandible (Gene Hackman) seeks to liquidate the lowly worker ants once they finish a mega-tunnel.This is a solid animated flick with many chuckles, but I found the opening act rather dull. The story really picks up when Z and Bala discover the outside world and the myriad hazards thereof. The end reveal of where the colony is located made me bust out laughing.Part of the fun of animated movies is trying to place the voices of the characters. Hackman was easy to figure out, as are Sylvester Stallone and Christopher Walken. Other actors who contributed include: Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Jane Curtin, Danny Glover, Jennifer Lopez, John Mahoney and Jim Cummings. How does "Antz" compare to Pixar's "A Bug's Life," which was released about the same time in late 1998? Generally speaking, "Antz" is more adult-oriented and darker while "A Bug's Life" is more family-oriented and colorful. When it comes to animated 'bug' films, I much prefer the nigh-genius of DreamWorks' "Bee Movie" from 2007.The film runs 83 minutes. GRADE: C+/B-

Great films often have one thing in common; the first minutes make you certain that you're going to encounter awesomeness many times. And surprisingly, in the case of "Antz", I had that impression before the very first minute ended (not counting the opening credits). I should mention that Woody Allen is one of my favorite directors and storytellers, because when the opening shot showed a shadowy silhouette of what looked like a pre-2001 New York City and when I heard the voice of Woody Allen in voice-over, deep inside, I knew it was going to be a very special experience. And I wasn't disappointed.So the shadows unveil tall grass looking down on an anthill where we can hear Z' whining to (guess what) his psychiatrist. His mother abandoned him, he never knew his father and he feels somewhat insignificant. Yes, we've heard that before, but the masterstroke is to have adapted Woody Allen's usual shtick for the ants' world. The anthill is designed to look like a vast and complex metropolis where one can easily develop deep feeling of rejections if he has a mother whose daily occupation consists on laying eggs. When the number of children is to be counted on millions, this is not your usual middle-child syndrome and Z elevates the Allenian existential crisis to its most hilarious heights.And I admire Dreamworks for picking the most unlikely protagonist for not for any animated film, but their first one, their "Toy Story". And for its first hit, DreamWorks recreated a very convincing Orwellian society, a world where ants are conditioned from the start, checked at their birth and selected to be either soldiers or workers. Z is a worker, he doesn't like his job much, there's more exciting work than digging holes and demolishing rocks, but as a natural-born pacifist, he doesn't want to be a soldier either. In fact, Z only wishes he could have a choice, to be able to take his own decisions. If children wouldn't necessarily care for Woody Allen, Z's personal issues are handled in a way that can even appeal to a younger audience. If anything, "Antz" is like a kids' introduction to Woody Allen.But let's not make it too centered on our lovable neurotic loser. As central as Z is, we also get to know his friends, a gentle solidly-built soldier voiced by Sylvester Stallone, a co-worker voiced by Jennifer Lopez, and at the top of the hierarchy, you have Princess Bala, voiced by Sharon Stone, her mother, the Queen, voiced by Anne Bancroft. Bala sounds like the typical Princess with a craving for freedom and self-accomplishment but actually, she's just curious to discover the outside world. She has no projects to cancel her marriage with General Mandible, the ambiguous Army Chief voiced by Gene Hackman, and whose right-hand man has the voice of Christopher Walken. You get it, this is a star-studded cast.But the voices are never distracting because the roles fit the actors' personalities and watching "Antz", you never feel like watching an 'animated film' but a film driven by fully written characters, not archetypes. And this contributes to very powerful sequences, there's one involving a fierce battle against termites, and this is almost as if "Saving Private Ryan" was made into animation, and I admire that. I love how DreamWorks went as far as making a soldier (Danny Glover) die in the arms of Z and not make a cliché out of it. I often blamed DreamWorks for relying too much on pop-culture tropes and celebrities but this is one of these times where it drove the plot in a nuanced and efficient way.And the more I let "Antz" play in my mind, the more I reconsider my opinion about Pixar's "A Bug's Life", which made it in the box-office top 10 in 1998, unlike "Antz". But when I watched the Pixar's film, I knew I liked it but something was missing, too many characters I said in my review, I guess I meant 'not enough characterization', in "Antz", you have characters with opposite motives and opinions that sometimes overlap, but from these contrasts, believable and gripping conflicts result, not to mention very funny interactions. I can see why DreamWorks producers were so bugged about "A Bug's Life", this is a case where the lesser film won. Or maybe we should try to see what went wrong with "Antz".Maybe it's the look of the "Antz", too brownish, too geometrical, compared to the cuter rotund faces of Disney, or the fact that you can't really sell a film to the kids if the main voice is Woody Allen, or maybe the parents thought one ant-themed film for the year was enough. Maybe there were improvements to be made in the visuals' department and looking at the following movie "Shrek", you can tell DreamWorks adopted a more Disney-like style without abandoning their tongue-in-cheek and adult friendly humor. And as a matter of fact, I wonder if the Pixar animators didn't try to pull some 'Antz" humor in their 2001 movie "Monsters & Inc." It's funny how the two rival studios can inspire one another.So, if "A Bug's Life" is a good film, "Antz" is a great one, so great it made the last Top 10 from the late critic Gene Siskel. It's even greater because you could tell the writers spent a few time studying ants and adapted some scientific facts into the film, the way they form a giant ball, the decapitated hand still capable to talk, the soldiers vs. workers shift. They could also add some human political questionings and philosophical issues like individualism vs. collectivity, and even feature war and romance. The film's as multi-layered as its underground setting.Or maybe that was the problem, it was just too smartly 'underground' for its own good.

Like how Pixar started off strong with Toy Story, DreamWorks also has a film that cranked their engine up nicely, its called Antz. It is a film that not only has a great story, animation, and characters, but one that belongs with the legends of animated films. After this, DreamWorks would shortly become Disney's greatest competitor. And this would only be the first of many successes in DreamWorks' lineup. Now let talk about what made this so great. First the story is very realistic. And the way the ants work actually seem like what they would actually be. The ants all look different, making them all easily recognizable. And the animation although dated, looks impressive for a first time animated studio. I'd say the animation is on par with Toy Story. Of course no film is perfect. The negatives are that although the story is realistic it does have many similarities to A Bug's Life. I know the whole story involving Disney and Katzenburg but don't get me started on that. The film did come out before A Bug's Life meaning that maybe A Bug's Life is the least creative. So with that said, Antz is the more original film. There however isn't much else to gripe about and the animation is just a nitpick, in 1998 it does look very impressive. Luckily, unlike Don Bluth, Amblimation, and Fox Animation, DreamWorks managed to stay for a long time to come. Antz helped to kick off one of the best companies working today. Now to grade. Story: B Characters: A- Animation: B- Voice Acting: A Music: A- Overall: A-

Antz (1998): Dir: Eric Darnell, Tim Johnson / Voices: Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken: Entertaining computer generated film about an ant with high hopes. The "z" in the title regards individuality as a worker ant convinces a soldier ant to switch places so that he may experience adventure in the outside world but he is thrown into the midst of a termite war. Z emerges from hiding and is celebrated as a hero until his worker title is revealed. To avoid punishment he flees with the reluctant Princess. While typical, co-directors Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson highlight with excellent detail particularly during a picnic sequence where the Princess is concealed in bubblegum on the bottom of a shoe that clothes in upon Z. Z is voiced by Woody Allen complete with posturing and personality. Sharon Stone voices the Princess who is at first seen as a hostage until she realizes what Z is. Sylvester Stallone voices the good-hearted soldier ant who switched places with Z. Gene Hackman voices the villain and despite his talent the role is standard issue and too familiar. Christopher Walken appropriately voices a sniper ant doing the obvious. We know how this will end but it is the celebrity personalities that prevail. Parents be warned of hinted sexual innuendo however triumphant images prove that more than just the colony put in hard work. Score: 7 ½ / 10