Antz

Z is a neurotic ant who is dissatisfied with his lot in life as a mere worker, where all he does is move earth around and hate his life. When he accidentally meets a new girl at the worker bar, who just happens to be beautiful Princess Bala, he finds himself in love and he’s determined to do whatever it takes to win her affection., DreamWorks and Pacific Data Images collaborated on this all computer-animated comedy-adventure about the ant angst of misfit worker ant, Z (voice of Woody Allen), who feels trapped by the conformist confines of his totalitarian ant civilization and eventually sets forth in search of Insectopia. After DreamWorks began animating Prince of Egypt June 1, 1995, the company launched Antz in Palo Alto a year later (5/20/96), the same month the DreamWorks/PDI partnership was announced. The screenplay by Chris and Paul Weitz and Todd Alcott has uncredited input by Woody Allen (who matched dialogue to fit his usual style of verbal delivery). The story suggests the possible influence of Yevgeny Zamatin’s classic novel We (1923) and Ayn Rand’s similar-themed Anthem (1936), filmed in the early ’70s in a rarely seen unauthorized film adaptation (which Rand never allowed to be shown commercially). Following the 1995 Toy Story (1995), Antz is the second fully computer-animated feature, preceding the release of Disney’s all-CGI A Bug’s Life by seven weeks. Antz begins with worker ant Z discussing his feelings of insignificance with a shrink (voice of Paul Mazursky) before heading off to his tunnel-digging job, work supervised by General Mandible (Gene Hackman) and Colonel Cutter (Christopher Walken). Mandible has big dreams of conquest, and he convinces the Queen (Anne Bancroft) an attack is necessary to prevent a termite invasion. Her daughter is Princess Bala (Sharon Stone), who’s not overly enchanted by her engagement to Mandible. The Princess goes slumming, visiting the bar where Z hangs out with his friend Weaver (Sylvester Stallone). To the tune of “Guantanamera,” Bala dances with Z — in a scene with allusions to the dance in Pulp Fiction (1994). Entranced by the encounter, Z convinces Weaver to swap places, so a military parade will allow him to see Bala in the reviewing stand. Befriended by soldier ant Barbatus (Danny Glover) during the parade, Z nervously realizes he’s actually marching into battle. Attacked by termites, the troops experience horrors highly reminiscent of the Starship Troopers (1997) bug battles. The dying Barbatus tells Z, “Don’t follow orders all your life.” As the only survivor of the slaughter, Z returns home a war hero. Threatened by Mandible, Bala and Z are thrown together in a journey into the outside world, and they travel toward the legendary Insectopia. Major city newspaper critics were almost unanimous in their praise of Antz. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival., Woody Allen leads the voice cast as a worker ant desperate to escape colony conformity and woo the beautiful princess. Sharon Stone also voices this fun bug adventure., Visually exuberant animated tale about a neurotic ant who struggles to express his individuality in a colony of conformists., Visually exuberant animated tale about a neurotic ant who struggles to express his individuality in a colony of conformists. With the voices of Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Lopez and Christopher Walken., A neurotic worker ant tries to raise himself out of the colony and find an insect Utopia in this animated feature., Computer-animated comedy adventure about a neurotic ant, Z, who struggles to express his individuality in a colony of totalitarian conformists, and eventually sets forth in search of Insectopia., A worker ant with radical ideas about individuality clashes with his colony’s militaristic warrior ants in this hilarious computer-animated adventure. The worker ant’s love interest: a like-minded princess ant who longs for the nirvana of “Insectopia.” The amazing voice cast includes Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Sylvester Stallone and Dan Aykroyd., Adults and children alike will love this visually exuberant and witty animated adventure starring Woody Allen among an ant-hill of all-star voices. Z is a neurotic ant struggling to express his individuality in a colony of conformists and whose love for the beautiful Princess Bala leads him to become an inadvertent hero., A neurotic worker ant (voice of Woody Allen) tries to raise himself out of the colony and find an insect Utopia in this visually stunning, witty computer-animated feature, the first released by DreamWorks. Other voices include Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman and Sylvester Stallone., Woody allen, Sharon Stone. Directors: Eric Darnell, Tim Johnson. A rather neurotic ant tries to break from his totalitarian society while trying to win the affection of the princess he loves