Antz

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Antz

Produced by	Penney Finkelman Cox, Sandra Rabins, Carl Rosendahl
Written by	Todd Alcott, Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Starring	Woody Allen, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Sharon Stone
Music by	Harry Gregson-Williams, John Powell
Distributed by	DreamWorks Animation Pacific Data Images
Release date(s)	October 2, 1998
Running time	83 min.
Language	English
Budget	$60,000,000 (est.)
IMDb profile

Antz is a computer-animated film produced by DreamWorks, released in 1998. It features the voices of well-known actors such as Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken and Danny Glover as various members of an ant society. Some of the main characters share facial similarities with the actors who voice them. [1]

1 Plot
2 Trivia
- 2.1 Other trivia
3 Reception
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The setting for the story is an ant colony in Central Park in New York City. The protagonist (voiced by Woody Allen) is an ant named Z-4195, or Z for short. Z is a neurotic and individualistic soul living in a society that values strength and conformity. Z dreams of a better place where he can truly be himself, and upon hearing a drunk talking about Insectopia, he becomes convinced the place exists. During the same night Z meets Princess Bala in the bar and they dance together. Z has no idea who she is and falls madly in love with her. When he discovers her true identity, he begs and pleads his best friend Weaver, a soldier ant, to trade places with him for just one day, so that he can meet the princess again. Weaver agrees, unaware that the military ruler of the colony, General Mandible, is planning on sending The Queen's army to war against the vicious termites.

Z, who believes he is going for a mere royal inspection, ends up the only survivor of the terrible battle and makes his way back to the colony. Upon his return, Z is hailed as a war hero, and General Mandible pretends to congratulate him on his valiant efforts, while secretly Mandible is angry that he is still alive. When Z is presented to The Queen and Princess Bala, she reveals his identity as a worker ant. Furious over Z's disregard for procedure and masquerading as a soldier, General Mandible orders Z's arrest. Hiding behind Bala, the ants falsely assume Z means to hold her hostage; by accident Princess Bala and Z fall down a chute exiting the colony. Stranded in the desert, both Z and Princess Bala begin their journey to Insectopia. Word has spread throughout the colony and the workers refuse to work. Instead they take up a protest march, demanding individualism and choice. General Mandible stands upon a balcony and portrays Z as a villain who does not care for the workers. Upon making this speech, Mandible notices Weaver amongst the worker crowd and orders him brought to his office. General Mandible has Weaver beaten and asks him where Z would flee to. Weaver refuses to speak up and so Mandible begins to torture Azteca, a former co-worker of Z, even though she is an innocent worker. Weaver can take no more, and replies "Insectopia". Mandible sends out his most loyal and trusted officer Colonel Cutter to locate Princess Bala and kill Z.

Meanwhile Z and Bala have found Insectopia, and Bala starts to reciprocate Z's feelings. Just as the couple get cosy in the insect paradise, Cutter intrudes and recaptures Bala. Z escapes Cutter, but turns back towards the colony to rescue Bala. Bala, upon returning is not taken to her mother, but taken to General Mandible. There he starts to rave about washing away the filth of the colony and starting a new pure colony. Mandible orders Bala to be locked up while he puts his plan into action. Z returns, rescues Bala from captivity, and uncovers the general's plans to eliminate the Queen and the workers by flooding the colony using the workers' mega tunnel, leaving his pure race of ants to rule the colony. Z and Bala rush to save the colony but they are too late. The colony has been flooded and Mandible has fled with his troops. Z calls upon the workers to make a ladder so they can break through the colony roof and avoid drowning. As the ladder is formed, Weaver holds it up by himself, ordering Z and his new girlfriend Azteca to reach the top and break through. Z achieves this, and the workers break through to Mandible's speech. Z begs for help and Mandible grabs a spear, determined to finish off the ant that has caused him so much grief. Cutter steps forward and knocks Mandible aside. Cutter, tired of his friend's cruelty, helps Z up to safety. Mandible is furious, shouts "I am the colony!", and charges at Cutter to attack him, but Z pushes the colonel aside and it is he who Mandible knocks over. Z and Mandible both fall into the colony, Mandible hits a thick root whilst falling and dies, while Z lands in the water, while Cutter (feet) and the soldiers help the workers up to safety. Then Cutter dives down into the watery colony to save Z. Cutter grabs Z and flies up to safety.

Z is hailed a hero and marries Bala, the colony is rebuilt and Cutter is promoted from colonel to general. The colony is transformed from a hard military state that values conformity to a democratic state that values individualism.

[edit] Trivia

This movie contains several clever references/parodies to blockbuster movies of the '90s. Below are just a few.

Independence Day: When the magnifying glass looms over Z, Bala and the soldiers, one of the soldiers, Ridgeway, says a line that mirrors the one said right before the initial attack in ID4. "It's beautiful!" The enormous energy beam, then, is an obvious reference.

The Mask of Zorro: The scene in which the worker ants are protesting the class system and shouting for Z is similar to one in the Mask of Zorro. Don Raphael has returned to California, and the peasants begin to revolt, shouting "Zorro! Zorro!" Mandible gives a speech that bears a strong semblance to Raphael's. Both sought-after figures have names in which the letter "Z" figure prominently.

Titanic: During the flooding of the tunnel, one shot in particular contains a strong reference to Titanic. The similar shot in both movies contain a large number of characters fleeing up an incline away from an impending wall of water. Even the music during that shot contains an homage to Titanic.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope: After Bala accuses Z of being an idiot for kidnapping her, he says "Who's the bigger idiot, the idiot or the person who got kidnapped by the idiot?", echoing Obi Wan Kenobi's famous line, "Who's more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?"

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back: While crossing the lake, Bala says "I hope you know what you're doing", to which Z responds "Yeah, me too". Leia Organa and Han Solo (respectively) say the same thing as Han takes the Millennium Falcon into an asteroid.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Other trivia

This is the first animated film released by DreamWorks, whose animation division is now its own company, DreamWorks Animation.
This movie is sampled in the song "Sacrifice" by Jedi Mind Tricks

[edit] Reception

The cinematic release of Antz was somewhat overshadowed by Pixar's A Bug's Life. In theaters just a month after Antz, A Bug's Life is also a computer animated film based on the adventures of a misfit ant who falls for the princess of the colony. Antz, receiving a PG rating, is not as child-centric as A Bug's Life (which received a G rating). It deals with slightly more complex themes, including comformity and war, and its imagery is less colorful and more realistic; for example, the ants' coloration is orange-brown rather than bright blue and the ants in Antz have six extremities (four legs and two arms) rather than the more human-like four. The film shows the transition of the colony from an autocracy to a democracy. General Mandible's plan to "wash away the filth of the colony" is reminiscent of Adolf Hitler's "Final Solution". There are also parallels to Marxism, as well as to Lois Lowry's famed novel, The Giver.

Despite the greater box office success of A Bug's Life, critics praised Antz with positive reviews. The variety of themes, interesting visuals and voice acting were each aspects of the film that were praised. The film holds a 97% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [2]

The film grossed $90 million domestically. [3]