Antz (1998)

Maybe I was a victim of high expectations, but after all I had heard about it, I was disappointed in Antz. The animation was interesting and enjoyable. But you have to be a fan of Woody Allen to enjoy the story. And I am not. I didn't realize the plot was so similar to the typical Woody Allen movie - watching him deal with his neuroses.

Hear that A Bug's Life is much better, looking forward to seeing it.

Fmovies: Miles better than A Bug's Life. The latter film was just bugs-in-peril...a bit like The Seven Samurai, yes, but essentially unimaginative (if funny). This takes Woody Allen ("the middle child in a family of 6 billion"), makes him best mates with Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Lopez, and sticks him on the run with Sharon Stone. At the same time, thousands of his fellows are massacred in a Starship Troopers-like attack by termites. Only in animation. It's exciting, it's clever, it's often hilarious, and it boasts one of the best ensemble casts ever put together.

Released 1 year after Disney/Pixar's 'A Bugs Life' and still during the early years of the computer generated genre, Dreamworks released their second all CGI cartoon 'ANTZ' and despite the glaring resemblances between the 2 movies; all it not as it appears.

ANTZ still stands alone as the more adult movie in the genre, far more complexity in the character's emotions and a far more sinister plot evolution separate this from rest. OK movies like 'Shrek', 'Finding Nemo' and 'Toy Story' have adult undertones beneath the humour, but ANTZ doesn't rely on such subtlety.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT A CRITICISM OF EITHER STYLE!

We follow the struggle of 'Z' (Woody Allen) as he tries to come to terms with his life as a worker, his neurosis, his love for Princess Bala and dream of something better. Allen is excellently supported by an all star cast, including Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken, etc, and we are treated to a visually impressive rendition of a heart warming story about life as an ANT.

This movie can still be enjoyed as a family film, but much of it will be lost on younger kids.

In Summary ANTZ is a fine film, but in truth it is difficult to compare with others in the genre, and for that; i salute it!

7/10

Antz fmovies. Antz is a charming romantic comedy that is better appreciated by adults than children. In fact, there are some scenes that may be a bit too violent or gruesome for small children.

All of the actors perform brilliantly with an excellent script even though the plot is a bit trite. All the actors excel in their roles even the usually bland Stallone and Lopez who are more animated in this film than in most of their other roles.

I found the move to be appealing visually. Apart from some of the backgrounds that seem to be hand painted, the animation is superb.

From what I have read, DreamWorks got the idea of an insect animation film from Disney, rushed to market before the Disney version was released, and that they think this will enable them to compete against Disney in the animated film market? I think some reevaluation is in order.

ANTZ is not bad, far from it. The animation is very well done (to this untrained, unschooled eye) and the voices well-acted (and maybe Woody wasn't so much acting as being Woody). The feel-good plot was well......very Disney. Certainly worth the price of a rental. And I mean this for adults. I can't comment of the movie being too dark and violent for small children, well maybe very small children.

Nothing earth-shaking or leading edge, but good ol' entertainment.

Okay, so it's not War and Peace, but this film is about as dark and meaningful as you could want a big-budget comedy animation to be. The computer animation itself never ceases to be awe-inspiring and more than compensates for the plot holes - I personally did like the style of the characters themselves, although others have disagreed. The casting is perfect, and Woody Allen as Z-4195 the neurotic worker ant complete with impeccable one-liners is at times hilarious. Although the plot falls into predictability, the communist metaphors combined with the basic boy-meets-girl-above-his-station story make this highly enjoyable, and all you could want as a 3D animation suitable for adults. A strong opening blow in the Disney-Dreamworks rivalry swordfight.