A rather neurotic ant tries to break from his totalitarian society while trying to win the affection of the princess he loves.A rather neurotic ant tries to break from his totalitarian society while trying to win the affection of the princess he loves.A rather neurotic ant tries to break from his totalitarian society while trying to win the affection of the princess he loves.
- Directors
- Writers
- Stars
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 6 wins & 14 nominations total
Woody Allen
- Z
- (voice)
Sharon Stone
- Bala
- (voice)
Gene Hackman
- Mandible
- (voice)
Sylvester Stallone
- Weaver
- (voice)
Dan Aykroyd
- Chip
- (voice)
Anne Bancroft
- Queen
- (voice)
Jane Curtin
- Muffy
- (voice)
Danny Glover
- Barbatus
- (voice)
Jennifer Lopez
- Azteca
- (voice)
John Mahoney
- Drunk Scout
- (voice)
Paul Mazursky
- Psychologist
- (voice)
Grant Shaud
- Foreman
- (voice)
Christopher Walken
- Cutter
- (voice)
Jerry Sroka
- Additional Voices
- (voice)
Eric Darnell
- Additional Voices
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Pat Fry
- Worker Ants
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
It's probably the first time Woody Allen is so much like himself when he isn't at all. Ant Z, a neurotic, fatalistic, depressive, sorry ant with a record low level of self-esteem transforms into a (part-time) content, revolutionary hero of his utterly totalitarian and fascistic colony ever imaginable. Apart from the incredibly precise animation and "logical" fantasy, one feels a bit distracted with the subliminal messages the picture tries to impose. While it would be easy to reduce the moral to the frequently recited motto: "think for yourself once!", there are too many of them to ignore. This definitely is not a kid's flick, it is meant for and appreciated by adults, with many philosophical, psychological and social references and conflicts. One big "bravo!" to Dreamworks. I think they have achieved the point where adults can actually enjoy animation movies while believing the whole stuff. These insects are surely going to bite some Disney bugs.
Okay, so it's not War and Peace, but this film is about as dark and meaningful as you could want a big-budget comedy animation to be. The computer animation itself never ceases to be awe-inspiring and more than compensates for the plot holes - I personally did like the style of the characters themselves, although others have disagreed. The casting is perfect, and Woody Allen as Z-4195 the neurotic worker ant complete with impeccable one-liners is at times hilarious. Although the plot falls into predictability, the communist metaphors combined with the basic boy-meets-girl-above-his-station story make this highly enjoyable, and all you could want as a 3D animation suitable for adults. A strong opening blow in the Disney-Dreamworks rivalry swordfight.
From what I have read, DreamWorks got the idea of an insect animation film from Disney, rushed to market before the Disney version was released, and that they think this will enable them to compete against Disney in the animated film market? I think some reevaluation is in order.
ANTZ is not bad, far from it. The animation is very well done (to this untrained, unschooled eye) and the voices well-acted (and maybe Woody wasn't so much acting as being Woody). The feel-good plot was well......very Disney. Certainly worth the price of a rental. And I mean this for adults. I can't comment of the movie being too dark and violent for small children, well maybe very small children.
Nothing earth-shaking or leading edge, but good ol' entertainment.
ANTZ is not bad, far from it. The animation is very well done (to this untrained, unschooled eye) and the voices well-acted (and maybe Woody wasn't so much acting as being Woody). The feel-good plot was well......very Disney. Certainly worth the price of a rental. And I mean this for adults. I can't comment of the movie being too dark and violent for small children, well maybe very small children.
Nothing earth-shaking or leading edge, but good ol' entertainment.
This is one of the movies I used to watch over and over again as a kid and I still love it even now. The animation was great for the day and the writing is great with many humorous parts and a great storyline. This movie is also backed by an all star cast which you don't really see too often in an animated movie.
This movie is about an ant named Zee who is a part of an ant colony when he figures out a terrible secret lead by the general of the ant colony that not even the queen knows about.
This really is a perfect film for all ages. It has a great cast great writing and it makes it a very enjoyable movie. If you have kids or are just a fan of a good animated movie this one is for you.
This movie is about an ant named Zee who is a part of an ant colony when he figures out a terrible secret lead by the general of the ant colony that not even the queen knows about.
This really is a perfect film for all ages. It has a great cast great writing and it makes it a very enjoyable movie. If you have kids or are just a fan of a good animated movie this one is for you.
Antz is an animated movie that wasn't appreciated upon its initial release. After the family friendly movie Toy Story, I feel like people weren't ready for something a little bit darker, and more intense. This movie has death (and a lot of it at that), it has violence, it has gore, it has humor, it has swearing, and it has alcohol in it... pretty epic huh (granted, just being edgy doesn't necessarily equal good). The movie Antz which actually came out before A Bug's Life by about a month takes the role of what ants do a lot more seriously and better captures an ant like atmosphere. The movie A Bug's Life really doesn't seem to understand what ants do or how their colonies work, but the movie Antz does it all. There are the miners, the warriors, the drones (the ones with wings) the queen and others. The voice acting itself is also pretty good and Woody Allen fits the role of Z perfectly. The animation was also pretty advanced for its time, because it did many things that were hard for that time: Water, large amounts of moving objects, realistic face movement, realistic body movement, lighting, and many others.
The nice thing about this movie is that it doesn't pretend to be a kids movie. Ants swear in it (the word b****in is used once) and as mentioned there is a lot of violence. Like a very intense scene where the ants are trying to fight a termite colony and the ants are getting attacked by acid, are getting decapitated, and dying in other various barbaric ways. The thing is that this movie doesn't cover up death. When someone dies, the movie won't hide it.
The other cool thing in Antz is that the rest of the insects in the movie are as hideous and monstrous as they should be. Praying Mantis? It is infinitely larger than an Ant. Wasps? Like giants. It gives this overwhelming sense that Z is not only small in the ant world but also small in the insect world as well. There is nothing that can't kill him (even the princess could if she wanted).
Honestly this movie was really good, it has a good story, it has good characters, it is realistic, and has nice action. One of Dreamkworks' best.
The nice thing about this movie is that it doesn't pretend to be a kids movie. Ants swear in it (the word b****in is used once) and as mentioned there is a lot of violence. Like a very intense scene where the ants are trying to fight a termite colony and the ants are getting attacked by acid, are getting decapitated, and dying in other various barbaric ways. The thing is that this movie doesn't cover up death. When someone dies, the movie won't hide it.
The other cool thing in Antz is that the rest of the insects in the movie are as hideous and monstrous as they should be. Praying Mantis? It is infinitely larger than an Ant. Wasps? Like giants. It gives this overwhelming sense that Z is not only small in the ant world but also small in the insect world as well. There is nothing that can't kill him (even the princess could if she wanted).
Honestly this movie was really good, it has a good story, it has good characters, it is realistic, and has nice action. One of Dreamkworks' best.
Did you know
- TriviaChristopher Walken's voicework was so excellent that Cutter's role was expanded. He was originally a faceless lackey to General Mandible, but Walken brought some unexpected depths to the character.
- GoofsIn real life, the situation between ants and termites is reversed from their roles in the movie. Ants prey on termites, which are much smaller - and ants are the ones who secrete acid to kill them.
- Crazy creditsA child's hand holding a magnifying glass brings into focus the tiny names of the cast.
- Alternate versionsIn 2008, Cartoon Network started broadcasting the film in an edited format, with all explicit language completely removed, despite airing it virtually uncut in 2004.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Masters of Fantasy: The Anime Filmmakers (1998)
- SoundtracksGive Peace a Chance
Written by John Lennon
- How long is Antz?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Antz: Hormiguitaz
- Filming locations
- Universal City, California, USA(Studio)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $105,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $90,757,863
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $17,195,160
- Oct 4, 1998
- Gross worldwide
- $171,757,863
- Runtime1 hour 23 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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