every ant has his day . at least , that's what woody allen would have you think , in this twisted animated version of annie hall meets brazil . starting with a moody grass-scape of what turns out to be a quiet corner of central park , voiced-over by allen's `z' , a hapless worker ant who feels the weight of the colony--so to speak--on his back , antz tracks a lot like any allen flick . in fact , if it wasn't for all the forumla-driven bad guys , perilous situations , and narrow escapes , antz would be * exactly * like any other allen film . but this is animation , and that means kid-pleasing effects must plaster the screen . sadly , this hurts the story to the point where antz will quickly get lost in the shuffle of animated films coming out over the next year , despite its unique touches . to make matters worse , some of the more gruesome scenes , including an ant-termite battle that would leave private ryan wetting himself , are decidedly not for children . don't get me wrong , i thoroughly enjoyed the movie . and if the humdrum trailer for a bug's life is any indication , antz is going to be the best we'll see out of computer animation for awhile , at least until toy story 2 . but , to paraphrase z himself , a boy-meets-girl , boy-loses-girl , boy-changes-underlying-social-structure movie . . . just isn't that original . even if it is about ants . more story , less silly antics . maybe then i'll be inclined to put down my can of raid . . . . 
