Antz

Antz is a computer-animated film produced by DreamWorks. 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]

Plot

The setting for the story is an ant colony in Central Park, New York City. The protagonist 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. He dreams of a better place where he can truly be himself; upon hearing an ant at a bar talking about the heavenly "Insectopia", Z becomes convinced that the place exists. During the same night, Z meets Princess Bala in the bar and they dance together. He has no idea who she is, and he falls madly in love with her. When he discovers her true identity, Z 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, because Z tells him he will meet some worker girls. They are unaware that the secretly evil military ruler of the colony, General Mandible, is planning on sending The Queen's army to war against vicious termites to eliminate them so he can focus on his current twisted plans.

Z, who believes he is going for a mere royal inspection, finds he is in for a surprise when he finds they are going to battle against the termites. Fortunately, he meets an amiable soldier ant named Barbatus, who protects him from one of the termites during the battle. After the battle, Z finds Barbatus's head. Barbatus knows he will be gone soon, and tells Z to follow what his heart said, unlike him. Z is understandably heartbroken and feeling guilty for not being able to help the others. In a nutshell, Z ends up the only survivor of the terrible battle and makes his way back to the colony. Upon his return, he is hailed as a war hero, and General Mandible pretends to congratulate him on his valiant efforts, while secretly being angry that Z is still alive, as he hoped to get all the soldiers loyal to the queen out of his way. When Z is presented to the Queen and Bala, the princess reveals his identity as a worker ant. Discovering Z's disregard for procedure and masquerading as a soldier, General Mandible orders Z's arrest. By accident, Bala and Z fall down a chute exiting the colony. Outside, Z saves Bala from a magnifying glass, and despite her naturally stubborn nature and orders to go back to the colony, convinces her to go with him to Insectopia, stating he has very reliable sources that it exists, one of which is his heart. Stranded in the desert, both Z and Princess Bala begin their journey to Insectopia. Word of Z has spread throughout the colony and the workers refuse to work. They take up a protest march, demanding individualism and choice. General Mandible gets an idea, and stands upon a balcony, asking the crowd why Z doesn't come back for them. He lies that Z "doesn't give a damn" about the workers. He then tells the workers if they follow procedures as usual, they will get to come to the Tunnel Opening Ceremonies and have the day off. 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's and Weavers new girlfriend (This is one of the scenes that was criticised in the movie, as, although we cannot see it, it is quite possible there is implied rape here). Weaver cannot tolerate the torture of Azteca and therefore says "Insectopia." Mandible sends out his most loyal and trusted officer, Colonel Cutter, to locate Bala and kill Z.

Meanwhile, Z and Bala have found Insectopia, which is essentially an insects' foraging-ground surrounding a garbage basket. Bala starts to reciprocate Z's feelings. Just as the couple become complacent in the insects' paradise, Cutter intrudes and recaptures Bala. Z escapes Cutter and turns back towards the colony to rescue Bala. Bala, upon returning, is not taken to her mother, but to the evil Mandible. There, Mandible starts to tell his plan to "rinse away all the filth from our gutters" and start 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 Mandible's plans to eliminate the Queen and the workers by flooding the colony using the workers' mega tunnel, leaving his chosen 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 Azteca to reach the top and break through. Z achieves this, and the workers break through to the surface. Z begs for help and Mandible grabs a spear, determined to finish off the ant that has caused him so much trouble. Cutter steps forward and knocks Mandible aside. Cutter, tired of his Mandible's cruelty, helps Z up to safety. Mandible is furious, shouting "I am the colony!," and charges at Cutter to attack him; Z pushes Cutter 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 is killed, while Z lands in the water. Cutter orders the soldiers to help the worker ants up, then dives into the water, searching for Z. He finds him, and flys with him to the surface. 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. At the end, Z announces that he is seeing a therapist to help him recover from his ordeal.

Cast

• Woody Allen — voice of Z
• Sharon Stone — voice of Princess Bala
• Jennifer Lopez — voice of Azteca
• Sylvester Stallone — voice of Weaver
• Dan Aykroyd — voice of Chip
• Jane Curtin — voice of Muffy
• Anne Bancroft — voice of The Queen
• Gene Hackman — voice of General Mandible
• Christopher Walken — voice of Colonel Cutter
• Danny Glover — voice of Barbatus

Trivia

• This movie contains several clever references/parodies to blockbuster movies of the '90s. Below are just a few.
  • 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!" General Mandible gives a speech that bears a strong semblance to Raphael's. Both sought-after figures have names in which the letter "Z" figures prominently.
  • Titanic — During the flooding of the tunnel, one shot in particular contains a strong reference to the film 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 a homage to Titanic.
  • Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope — After Princess 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.
  • Starship Troopers - The termite battle is similar to the Klendathu invasion in Starship Troopers, where many soldiers battle giant insects that effectively kill off most of the soldiers.

• 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.
• The song "The Ants Go Marching" was subsequently used as an effective anti-war song in the movie.

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 conformity 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 "rinse away all the filth from our gutters" (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]

See also

• Competing films with similar plots

References

IMDb

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