After Pixar had so much success with Toy Story, they went on to make A Bug's Life. Dreamworks also started working on computer animated movies and released Antz very close to the release of A Bug’s Life.
Z, a worker ant, wasn't happy with his life in the colony and he wanted to be different. Z met Princess Bala and was interested in her even though he had no chance with her. He got his friend Weaver, a soldier ant, to trade places with him. Z was hoping he would get the chance to talk to Princess Bala again at the inspection. Instead, Z and the other soldiers were sent off to war by General Mandible.
Princess Bala was engaged to General Mandible even though they really didn’t know each other. She didn’t know how he really felt about the worker ants or about his big plans for a new, stronger colony. Z somehow survived the battle and returned to the colony. Things didn’t exactly go well. He did discover General Mandible’s plan and decided to try to do something about it with Princess Bala’s help.
The plot for Antz really wasn’t that complicated even though there were a few subplots tossed in. The movie was mainly focused on Z and everything he was going through. He ended up being connected to what was going on with the worker ants, Weaver, Princess Bala and the plan that General Mandible came up with. I thought that the plot was serious overall, especially for an animated movie. Discrimination was added into the movie through General Mandible’s disdain for the workers and his ultimate plan. The movie did have a message that was delivered in a way that worked.
I really didn’t think that Antz was that funny. Most of the things that were done for humor fell flat for me. The movie did make me laugh. It just wasn’t that often since I felt like the movie was more serious overall. I’m guessing that more things that Z said were supposed to be humorous but they just didn’t seem that way to me. I guess I didn’t get his type of humor. I did think that some scenes dragged a bit, slowing down the pace. That did make my interest wane a bit in what was going on. I could see children being bored by what was going in certain scenes.
A few scenes dealing with the war did include violence. It really wasn’t that graphic, but it could be upsetting to children. The segment that had the most potential to be upsetting featured a severed head talking. That did seem a bit extreme for an animated movie. I really don’t think this is a movie for younger children even though it is animated. Several characters swore throughout the movie. It wasn’t really excessive, but it seemed a bit much for a child friendly movie. The swearing might cause some parents some concern.
The movie did take some time to show a few developing relationships, though none of them received that much attention. Princess Bala was engaged to General Mandible even though she didn’t seem overly thrilled with the idea since he was basically a stranger to her. I got the feeling that her mother really pushed her into the engagement. Princess Bala and General Mandible had very few scenes together and it was clear how uncomfortable she was with him. She and Z met by chance and then ended up spending some time together. Their relationship did grow over the course of the movie even though there really wasn’t a lot of time devoted to it. I never really believed the connection between them. After Weaver and Z traded places, Weaver started getting closer to Azteca. It did seem like they had feelings for each other. There were a few comments made that were sexual in nature which might bother some parents. I would think that most children wouldn’t understand those, but I could be wrong.
Antz was one of the first animated movies created completely with computer animation. The animation was very well done throughout the movie. I didn’t think the animation was as good as what Pixar had done by that point. Antz and Pixar’s A Bug’s Life both featured ants as main characters and the movies were released very close to each other. I can’t remember now which one came out first. Both movies were created with computer animation but had very different looks. A Bug’s Life used more bright colors while this movie featured more subdued shades. The ants were a bit more realistic since they were brown. I did like both movies, though I enjoyed A Bug’s Life more and thought it was a better movie.
Z and Princess Bala were the main characters. Even though they were the main characters and in a lot of the movie, I didn’t think the development was as good as it could have been. Z spent a lot of time complaining about his life and his place in the colony. He was a nice enough character. I felt like a lot of Woody Allen’s way of performing and being funny was put into the character. I’m not sure that worked the best for the character.
Princess Bala was engaged to someone she really didn’t know and she didn’t really want to take over from her mother as Queen someday. She was very out of touch with the majority of the colony because she was the Princess. The voice Sharon Stone did for the character was fine. The Queen, Princess Bala’s mother, had a very minor part and was only around in a few scenes. Anne Bancroft’s voice did go well with the character.
General Mandible was probably the only other character that received much development. He had very specific views about how the colony should run. He believed the soldiers were better than the workers. Gene Hackman did very well with the voice for the character. Cutter worked very closely with Mandible and carried out certain orders. Cutter didn’t always seem to agree with everything that Mandible was planning or doing. The voice that Christopher Walken provided did fit the character.
Weaver was a soldier and Z’s best friend. The two were very different but they got along well. Weaver seemed to like being a soldier but he really enjoyed filling in as a worker too. He was generally happy. Sylvester Stallone’s voice fit for the character since he was one of the larger ants. Azteca was a worker and one of Z’s friends. She was a bit tough and outspoken at times. The voice that Jennifer Lopez did was fine. Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtain provided voices for a couple of stuck up flying insects. I don’t think they were supposed to be bees, but I could be wrong. Danny Glover voiced a soldier ant that befriended Z.
Main Voice Cast
Woody Allen - Z Dan Aykroyd - Chip Anne Bancroft - Queen Jane Curtain - Muffy Danny Glover - Barbatus Gene Hackman - General Mandible Jennifer Lopez - Azteca John Mahoney - Grebs/Drunk Scout/Additional Voices Sylvester Stallone - Weaver Sharon Stone - Princess Bala Christopher Walken - Cutter
Directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson
DVD Information
I received the DVD of Antz as a gift. My copy has the anamorphic widescreen version of the movie. I don’t know if there is a full screen version as well. The extras include audio commentary with the directors, a production featurette, something about the basics of computer animation, production notes, the theatrical trailer, and something on the character design and how the faces of the ant characters were created.
Antz was an entertaining animated movie that is worth seeing. The movie isn’t as family friendly as many other animated movies, so parents should keep that in mind.
Life is not a picnic for Z, a small worker ant with some very big ideas. When Z falls for the beautiful Princess Bala, his odds of winning her over ar...More at HotMovieSale.com
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