Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2821 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-03-23
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Live, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 83 minutes

Amazon.com
Woody Allen as a worker ant with an inferiority complex? Sylvester Stallone as an affable soldier ant who discovers that digging tunnels is cool? The animation playground we all knew so well is turning into a theme park full of in-jokes for grownups. Antz explores age-old topics (one person--err, insect--can make a difference, individuality and social responsibility must exist side by side, war is hell) with comic asides and Woody Allen's funniest quips this side of PG (adults will chuckle at the socialist slogans bandied about as he campaigns for workers' rights). Sharon Stone voices the rebellious princess with a fun-loving streak that doesn't quite overcome her royal bearing and court training, but she can learn. Gene Hackman is all teeth (ants have teeth?) and menacing grins as the Army general plotting insect-icide. This bug's-eye view of life on Earth gives Allen's neurotic nonconformist an epic adventure of microscopic proportions: a devastating war with a termite colony, an odyssey to the fabled land of plenty (a picnic ground), and a race to save his fellow workers from certain death. Other voices include Anne Bancroft as the Queen, Christopher Walken, Jennifer Lopez, Danny Glover, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, and John Mahoney. The computer animation isn't exactly realistic but feels as solid and contoured as puppet animation with the smoothness and slickness of traditional cel cartoons, and the character designs and animation offer a marvelous range of expressions. The PG rating includes a gritty battle sequence that may frighten youngsters. --Sean Axmaker

From The New Yorker
The latest showpiece for computer animation, with all the contoured, suspiciously gleaming perfection that this entails. In this case, most of the characters are ants-a curious choice, since they all tend to look roughly the same, and it takes a while to sort out the heroes from the villains. Fortunately, help is at hand from the absurdly starry cast of voices; the leading ant, Z, is played by Woody Allen, and his new royal girlfriend by Sharon Stone. (In your dreams, Woody.) Gene Hackman speaks the role of a murderous general, with Christopher Walken as his sidekick; best of all is Sylvester Stallone, cast completely against type as a dim but helpful hunk of brawn. The plot is a swift, if confusing, account of Z's ascent to a station above that of his millions of fellow-workers; the directors-Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson-seem slightly unsure about what they think of old-fashioned working-class solidarity. With Anne Bancroft, Danny Glover, Jennifer Lopez, and-as a couple of Wasp wasps-Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Not for Kids
This movie had a lot of graphic violence, including a war against termites, and a scene of torture. It also had some sexual innuendo. I did not think it was appropriate for children. It was also very much a Woody Allen Movie. My daughter, age 6, wasn't very interested in it. We won't be watching it again.

Great animation, dull story.
Very pretty to look at. As long as you keep the volume turned off.
Ok, I'm exaggerating.
The story just didn't hold my attention.
This is basically the same movie as "A Bugs Life".
That movies story line wasn't interesting either.
Good for little kids with short attention spans.
For adults?
Pass.

Dis-educational
I would not expect any small children to learn any useful insect biology from this movie. The life history of ants is pretty far off the mark. In a real ant colony, all workers and soldiers are female. I gave it two stars because the animation is pretty good. Too bad all of the effort was wasted on this story.