Antz
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Movie Reviews of Antz
Movie Review: Fantastic animated fare
Summary: 5 Stars
Now that Dreamworks has become a thriving studio, animation has seen a big revival. In past years, there was often only one such picture [always from Disney], but 1998 saw five major releases. They ranged from the mediocre Rugrats to the extraordinary Antz.Part of what makes Antz so special is that it is appealing to kids and to a broad range of adults. Years ago, there were many movies that did this. Today, when we watch such movies with our children, watching them be entertained is often more amusing to us than what's on the screen.
The makers of Antz created it primarily through computer technology, rather than the traditional hand drawn method. This choice has produced a visually stunning movie. I do not think it diminishes animation as an art form. It simply uses the latest tools. Computerized drawing is much faster, but mastery of it is tedious and difficult.
The ants in Antz have been skillfully created. They are insects with human features. They stand upright and have human facial features and hands. These hybrid creatures do not look grotesque at all. In fact, they are very appealing. What's most interesting is that each face resembles that of the star who is the character's voice.
While the story line is a typical of this genre, its dialogue, as well its visuals, lift it above the imitative and the mediocre.
The hero is a worker ant named Z-4195, who is different and want to be an individual. "I was the middle child in a family of five million, " he explains at the start of the movie. The voice is Woody Allen's, who succeeds here better than he has recently in his own films.
Z-4195 meets and falls in love with Bala, the colony's princess. She is engaged to Gen. Mandible, who, of course, turns out to be planning a takeover of the colony. Z fights a terrible war with termites, flees the colony with the princess, discovers "Insectopia" and returns to save the other ants from Mandible.
All of this is done at a fast pace, so there's hardly a dull moment. The dialog is sharp and funny. Some of it will mean one thing to adults and another to children, but none of it will offend anyone, save for the most pious among us.
Antz even has a message or two. One is that it can be dangerous for a group when everyone in it thinks alike. The other is that those on the lower end of the social ladder are not only important, but can be much stronger than they are given credit for.
While the ants are necessarily humanized, their point of view remains that of the tiny creatures that they are. Even "Insectopia", their version of Heaven on Earth, is very much a bug's vision.
The film score is excellent, and fits the movie perfectly. Surprisingly, Dreamworks opted to use some wonderful old popular songs, which makes for a pleasant change.
The only problem with Antz is that you may find that, after watching it with the kids, you may watch it again when they've gone to bed. It's that much fun.
Movie Review: An inoculation against irrational Disney animation
Summary: 5 Stars
Antz looks like standard animation fare. I didn't expect a great movie, or even a good movie. Boy was I wrong. Antz is to standard animation as 1984 is to political novels. What's more, it out-1984s 1984, and is in the league of, but not as political as, Rand's "Anthem". Antz is the story of a neurotic worker ant named Z-4195, masterly scripted and voiced by Woody Allen, as a depressed individualist in a microcosm where complete conformity, obedience and class-based social structure is the rule. The only thing that keeps him from becoming a total outcast is his friend Weaver, a soldier ant voiced by Sylvester Stallone.
Attracted to the princess of the colony, "Z" switches places with Weaver in a ploy to see her again, but is caught in a full-scale battle with a termite colony where he is the only survivor. While his individualism becomes contagious and creates turmoil amongst the other ants, he and the princess set in a journey to try to find the fabled Insectopia.
Other voice actors are Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Anne Bancroft, Christopher Walken, Jennifer Lopez, Danny Glover, and Dan Aykroyd. As goofy as the voice casting choices may sound, they really work. The humour will probably appeal more to adults than children (as for example Woody Allen pointing out that "when you're the middle child in a family of five million, you don't get any attention."). The views of the colony are impressive, even for an animation. A sense of scale and wonder is maintained throughout, under as well as over ground. The Insectopia, for example, turns out to be a picnic which, thanks to plastic bags and a looking glass, is more work than expected.
As a nice touch, there are socialist slogans everywhere, like "FREE TIME IS FOR TRAINING" (an actual real-life PDI slogan), and even an Atlas ant, in Atlas Shrugged pose, with the words "CONQUER IDLENESS". The evils of statism are not presented as stereotypical evil, but rather as an honestly-held belief, just as they are in real life. Even the backstabbing General Mandible is motivated by an ideology which, to simple minds, would make sense. While the worker ants rise up against their oppressors, they still hold their false premises, and chant socialist slogans : and as well they are quickly turned back into obedience by promises of more material gain by General Mandible.
While Disney continues to churn out mediocre animation which preaches the evils of collectivism, obedience and altruism (including the competitor to Antz, "A Bug's Life"), Antz is an incredible case in point of rationality, coupled with good humour, a sense of wonder, and modern technology, triumphing in modern movies. If you like animation, I cannot recommend "Antz" enough.
Weaver: What are you bitching about? In case you haven't noticed, we ants are running the show ! We're the Lords of the Earth !
Movie Review: This is clearly the superior film
Summary: 5 Stars
I had the chance to watch "A bugs life" and "Antz" at the same day, and so I was able to compare the two films, the CG but also the story.First of, when seeing the two films in cinema back when they were released, I thought that "A bugs life" was a little better from a CG (computer graphics) point of view.
But now that I've seen the two DVDs, I'm absolutely sure that PDI has created a film that looks a lot better than Pixar's "A bugs life". First of, look carefully at how the facial features and the mouth of the antz and other insects are animated. It's just amazing and very life-like. The fact that the ants have teeth (which is pretty funny by the way) also adds a lot to the quality of their facial expressions (the ants in "A bugs life have teeth, too).
Then, the ants in "Antz" are brown while the ants in "A bugs life" are blue (???). Also, everything in Antz has a lot more detail than it has in "A bugs life".
Anyway, CG might be one part, but the story is clearly more important...
AntZ has a very unique story, which is funny but also very clever. "A bugs life" on the other hand has a very ordinary story, very typical for a kids movie but it comes nowhere near the quality of other Disney movies like Mulan. It is funny at times, but the story is neither deep nor is it especially smart.
And last but not least, when I watched AntZ in the cinema back when it was released, there was a little kid and his mum sitting next to me. During the battle scene, the kid asked his mum "are they dead" (pointing at the dead ant bodies) and the mum said "no, they're just sleeping".
SO: This is definitely not a kids movie. It has been rated PG for obvious reasons. Don't let the cute look fool you into thinking this film is suitable for your kids. And even if they're not shocked by the depictions of violence, they will most definitely not get what the story is all about.
Oh, and about the voice actingt: Couldn't have been better. At times, I wasn't so sure if Sharon Stone was the right actress to dub the princess, but even Silvester Stalone does a good job here...
So go and see that movie... don't think of it as a kids movie, thing of it as an adult movie that not only tells a story but that also should make you think. Don't think of ants, think of the people around you.
Movie Review: It's No Bug's Life, But It's Still Fun
Summary: 5 Stars
The Film is Nothing Like Bug's Life, But It's Still Fun.
The Story Focuses on Z, a Worker Ant Who's Not A Huge Fan of His Job. One Day He Meets Princess Bala, and Thay Dance During The 6:15 Dance. Afterwards, Z Thinks He'll Never See The Princess Agian. But He Trades Places With His Soldier Buddy Weaver To Meet The Princess Once Agian. But Insted, He Ends Up in A Very Dangerous War. After The War, Z Meets The Princess Agian, But Accedently Ends Up Bringing The Both of Them on A Trip To Search For Insecttopia.
This is One of The Best Dreamworks Movies Scince Shrek and Galaxy Quest. The Acting Was Top-Notch, The Action (Rather Violent For Such A PG Film) Was Very Well-Animated, and The Humor Was Funny at times, and Wierd During Others. Woody Allen Does A Very Brilliant Job as The Voice of Z, and Selvester Stallon Does a Great Job as The Voice of Weaver. Overall, The Film is Fun and One of The Best Animated Films I've Seen.
Spiecial Features Include:
-Audio Commentary by Tim Johnson and Eric Darnell (Both The Directors)
-Making of Featurtte
-The Basics of CGI Animation
-Facial System For The Film
-Early Charecter Desings
-Production Notes on The Film
-Cast and Dirctor Bios
-ANTZ Trailer
The Audio Commentary For The Film Was Very Great To Listen To, and The Most Interesting Thing Thay Mentined on The Commentary Was How Thay Were Origanaly Were Going To Open The Film With. The Making of Features (Like Alot of The Making ofs by Dreamworks) Was Very Interesting. The Bsics of CGI Animation on The Film Was Pretty Repeated, But Still Fun To Watch. The facial System for The Film Was Interesting. The Charecter Desins Are Fun To Look at Because It's Interesting To See What The Charecters Origanaly Looked Like. The Production Notes Are Interesting To Read Because It Talks About The Reason Thay Wanted To Make The Film Was Made and Why Thay Chose Actors For the Roles in The Film. Cast/Director Bios Are Pretty Much The Same, Thier Life Story, How Thay Got Into Showbessnies, and List of Films Thay Were in. The Trailer is The Same 1-To-2 Minute Advertisment For The Film.
Overall Ratings:
Movie-5/5
DVD-4/5
Movie Review: funny, entertaining, sweet story
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first saw this movie in the theaters, I thought I was going to be seeing the insect version of "Annie Hall" since we hear Woody Allen's voice as the ant, "Z" (who is voiced by Allen) is laying on a psychiatrist's couch talking about relationships with his mother. The film was much more than just the opening scene. There is action, betrayal, jealousy, loyalty, adventure, bravery and more. This is not just a film for kids... the animation is awesome and very and the characters are endearing. There are so many clever insights into what it would be like to be that small... things that you've never really thought of. We see Z, a lowly worker in a culture where the welfare of the colony far outweighs the welfare of the individual, who is unsatisfied with his station in life. Through his perserverance and love for the colony, he ends up exceeding even his own expectations. This is an encouraging movie for kids who feel like they're the only ones in class that wear glasses or if they're the last one picked for sports teams. It shows that trying your best and being a good friend are more important than where you come from or what everyone expects of you.
The DVD is chock full of goodies including theatrical trailers and a behind-the-scenes featurette. If you liked movies such as "Toy Story" and "A Bug's Life" due to the computer animation AND the storyline, you won't be disappointed by this great family flick.