# Antz (1998)

### reviewed by
Brian Koller

    Antz (1998)

    Grade: 69

"Antz" provides proof that Hollywood takes animated films seriously. DreamWorks sunk 65 million dollars into this project, much of which must have gone to the impressive cast providing the voices: Woody Allen, Gene Hackman, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Christopher Walken, Sharon Stone, Danny Glover, Anne Bancroft, and Saturday Night Live alumni Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin.

The results are pretty good. While "Antz" is not the great film that "Toy Story" was, it is thoroughly enjoyable. The animation is satisfying, the characters are interesting, there are many funny moments, and even some suspense.

The story begins with worker ant Z-4195 (Allen) questioning his role in the ant universe. Seemingly fated to a life of mundane toil, his only friends are hulking soldier ant Weaver (Stallone) and lady co-worker Azteca (Lopez). Z falls for Princess Bala (Stone), who is the daughter of the queen (Bancroft).

In an attempt to meet Bala, Z cons Weaver into trading places. The ants declare war on a neighbor termite colony, and Z is forced into battle. At least he makes a new friend in Barbatus (Glover). The war with the termites is part of an evil plan by general Mandible (Hackman) to wipe out the colony. Mandible's right hand man (or is it, right legged ant?) is brooding Cutter (Walken).

The best supporting characters are a snobbish wasp couple (Aykroyd and Curtin). They provide a great comic relief, but unfortunately do not see much screen time. The characters of Z and Weaver are very familiar to students of Allen and Stallone, and when the action slows, it is fun to look for the actors' personalities in their dialogue.

The animation, although very good, is not quite up to the level of "Toy Story". The backgrounds become redundant in color and texture, but the foreground action is well done.

The great weakness to the story is Mandible's genocidal plans. If he wants to abduct Bala and begin a new colony, he can do it without destroying the existing colony. One philosophic question that "Antz" doesn't address: does every cartoon needs a villian?

kollers@mpsi.net http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html

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