![]() Successful as an adventure, a surprisingly sophisticated comedy, a light romance,Īnd a visual treat, there are few things that Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson's feature debut does notĭo. As the first production out of the gate, Antz gets things off to a It's too early to compare Antz to A Bug's Life, but, for anyone who appreciatesĪnimated films (especially those of the computer-generated variety), the late months of 1998 Queen, Dan Aykroyd as a snobbish yellowjacket, and Jennifer Lopez as Weaver's love interest. Voices include Christopher Walken as the general's second-in-command, Anne Bancroft as the ant And Sylvester Stallone is solid as Z's burly, dim-but-loyal friend. Stone's Bala is strong-willed andĪppealing, with a hard side the emerges from time-to-time. Z like an insect version of his well-established screen persona. The characters, despite their only vaguely humanoid appearance, are instantly likable. A significant portion of Antz's comedy is like this. Most children aren't going to understand Z's comment that aīetter alternative to war with the termites might be to "try influencing their political process withĬampaign contributions," but almost every adult in the theater will get a hearty laugh out of suchĪn observation. The dialogue is consistently smart, and has not been diluted to enable underage audience Or, as Z puts it,Īntz is "your basic boy meets girl, boy likes girl, boy changes underlying social structure" The basic plot is a crossīetween an adventure and a "Taming of the Shrew" romantic comedy. Story-wise, there's nothing here that is likely to confuse younger viewers. Antz takes the visual strengths of Toy Story and improves upon ![]() The characters are wonderfully rendered, with a complete gallery of facialĮxpressions. ![]() You can see this movie several times and still notice Of majestic spectacle and bustling activity. Great care is taken to make the inside of the colony a place ThisĪnimated effort has texture and depth. Snicker behind death's back," does the only thing he can: he hides.Īdults and children alike will be awestruck by Antz's impressive production design. In the face and laugh at it, this timid worker, whose preference is to "make belittling comments and Surrounded by fierce fighters that look death Termites, and Z finds himself in the midst of a battle. General Mandible (Gene Hackman), arranges for the ant army to attack a nearby colony of His scheme involves impersonating hisįriend, Weaver (Sylvester Stallone), a soldier ant. Plan a way to arrange another meeting with the princess. Z is immediately lovestruck and begins to Stone), who's out incognito for a night of adventure. One night, while at a bar, he dances with Princess Bala (Sharon Where conformity is not only desirable, but mandatory. Z is in therapy because he's an individual in a colony ![]() Where else can you find Woody Allen, Sylvester Stallone, Anneīancroft, Christopher Walken, Sharon Stone, and Gene Hackman in the same film?Īntz follows the adventures of Z-4195 (Z for short), a neurotic worker ant whose voice isĪppropriately provided by Woody Allen. Image-consciousĪdults should not feel embarrassed about sitting through this "kids' movie." The big-name vocalĬast is expertly-selected. A significant helping of Antz's humor will go over the heads of the average under-12 viewer. On a script level, it was developed as much with a mature audience in mind as with the usual pre-pubescent crowd. Visually, it's more impressive than Disney's Toy Story, the pioneer in this burgeoning genre. And now, as the Mousketeers prepare the bring the computer-generated feature A Bug's Life to the screen, Dreamworks has engineered a preemptive strike by launching its own computer-animated insectĪntz, which had its world premiere on Septemas the Closing Gala Selectionįor the 23rd annual Toronto International Film Festival, is a very good movie, no matter how you Fox's Anastasia was actually better than last year's Disney animated film, Hercules. The animated market, but, as we enter the latter years of the 1990s, the corporation that gave usīambi and Snow White is finding their dominance challenged. ![]() For years, Disney has had a death grip on In the Magic Kingdom, they must be getting nervous. ![]()
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