Review of Antz (1998) by Van R — 28 May 2010

"Antz" is the first computer animated feature from Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Studio. Apparently, Spielberg and his studio partner Jeffrey Katzenberg wanted to beat their competitionâ??Walt Disney and its "Bug"â??by releasing "Antz" five months ahead of its original release date. Despite its predictable, anthropomorphic, B-movie plot, populated with obvious stereotypes, and indebted to several sci-fi films, "Antz" manages to enchant. Pacific Data Images' impressive 3-D animation; the witty, grown-up dialogue; the messages about conformity vs. individualism; and on-target voicing by a constellation of stars all make "Antz" an exhilarating experience. Not only does "Antz" emerge as an ingenious cartoon, but adults also can enjoy it without feeling insulted by its puny heroics. While the stimulating CGI special effects will flabbergast kiddies, the film's adult-oriented themes may boggle their wee minds. Happily, too, "Antz" dispenses with any Top-40 wannabe hits sung by the cast.

Indeed, the Todd Alcott and Chris & Paul Weitz screenplay covers familiar Disney ground. Work ant Z-4195 (Woody Allen, the cinematic master of the meshuganah comedy) complains about the conformist society where he toils long hours alongside millions of other proletarian ants in the excavation of a mega tunnel. Signs emblazoned with slogans such as 'Free time is for training," "Let's Work," and "We, Not You" proliferate in a setting that resembles Fritz Lang's 1926 silent, sci-fi, German, masterpiece "Metropolis." Like typical Woody Allen heroes, such as Broadway Danny Rose and Alvy Singer, Z qualifies as an angst-addled neurotic who babbles with a nasal twang and spouts consistently cute one-liners. Perennial feelings of insignificance bug Z. He sums up his plight as a 'soil relocation engineer' to his ant therapist (Paul Mazurky's voice) in the film's first scene.

"I always feel uncomfortable around crowds. I have this fear of enclosed spaces. When you're the middle child in a family of five million, you don't get any attention. My father was basically a drone. I feel physically inadequate. My whole life, I've never been able to lift more than ten times my body weight," Z explains. Incredibly, Woody Allen didn't write "Antz." Co-directors Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson let him tailor the dialogue to fit his native vocal patterns. Insiders say the cast recorded their voices during individually taped sessions, and that the animators incorporated signature physical gestures into their animation. Nope, Z doesn't resemble Allen. In fact, Z favors a classic Spielberg character who loved to hitch a ride in the basket of a bicycle during a full moon.

Anyway, Z is a lowly worker ant with nothing except his paranoia to distinguish him. Z's friendly, female co-worker, Azteca (Jennifer Lopez of "Enough"), tries to discourage Z from thinking such nonconformist nonsense. Z, however, refuses to accept his place as just another meaningless cog in a big machine. "I'm supposed to do everything for the colony?" Z gripes. "And what about my needs?" In the middle of the plot, the writers introduce the concept of an insect nirvana called Insectopia. In Insectopia, you can get anything that you want and you don't have to work for it! While Weaver and an ant are in the bar, they hear about an ant that has been to the fabled Insectopia. The truth that Z discovers about Insectopia adds to the mirth of "Antz." This entire conversation sounds like something that was edited out of the Humphrey Bogart classic "Treasure of the Sierra Madre.".

Meanwhile, the subversive General Mandible (dubbed by a villainous Gene Hackman) has convinced the gullible queen ant (Anne Bancroft) that their sworn enemies, acid-spewing termites, pose a threat. Not only does the colony's future depend on the new mega tunnel, but the ants also can only ensure their survival with a preemptive strike against the termites. Can we say "Starship Troopers?" Actually, Mandible wants to wipe out his colony so that he can wed the queen ants' lovely daughter, Princess Bala (Sharon Stone), and the build his own ant empire.

At least, "Antz" has a villain that thinks big! Those termites are pretty scary, too. They resemble a souped-up version of the boss critter of the spiders in "Starship Troopers" The ugly fiends have hoses sticking out of their foreheads that spray acid. The clever staging of the assault on a decaying tree stump, the Termite HQ, and how Z manages to survive the suicidual battle is well-done. Adult critics that try to shield young children from reality may have a hard time dealing with the Danny Glover character whose decapitated head talks. Z finds Barbatus (Danny Glover of "Lethal Weapon") on a battlefield littered with hundreds of dead ants and termites. "Don't follow orders all your life," screams the disembodied head to Z before it dies.

Anyhow, Bala balks at wedlock to the megalomaniacal Mandible. Slumming incognito in a nightspot, she spots Z standing alone at the bar and picks him up. They upset an army of ants sash-shaying on the dance floor to the strains of "Guantanamera." Bala and Z improvise their own jitterbug a la "Pulp Fiction." Chaos erupts into an old-fashioned bar room brawl out of a John Wayne western. Bala flees, but Z resolves to see her again. Switching places with muscle-headed, nice guy soldier ant pal, Weaver (splendidly voiced by Sylvester Stallone), Z gets to parade past the princess. When he learns that Weaver's company is shipping out on a suicide mission to destroy the Termites, Z's plans go awry. Meanwhile, Weaver has the time of his life in the tunnel romancing Azteca. Miraculously, Z survives Mandible's massacre. Surprising the evil general, Z returns to a warrior's welcome. Things go suddenly wrong for Z, and he tries to escape from Mandible. Inadvertently, Z kidnaps Bala, and they flee for Insectopia. Insectopia turns out to be a picnic area in Central Park, New York City. Eventually, Z exposes Mandible, wins the princess' hand in marriage after nearly getting squashed by a giant, bubble-gum encrusted sneaker!

"Antz" is a funny, fast-moving hill of hilarity.