Antz, from DreamWorks pictures (a.k.a. Spielberg, Katzenburg, and
Geffen, Inc.) is a benignly entertaining, computer-animated cartoon.
Its paean to individualism over conformity may be just a bit too
juvenile for adults and a bit too droll for children; a project
like Antz at least makes a good-faith effort to target some middle
ground.
Younger viewers ages 6 through 10 might be the most likely audiences
will enjoy the story of Z, a hapless worker ant (voiced by Woody
Allen) who achieves heroic insect proportions through his determination
to be true to himself rather than a conforming, complacent participant
in herd (or, rather, in this case, colony) mentality. His picaresque
adventures include a traditional array of folkloric elements
going to war (against an army of termites); proving his friendship
for a good-hearted, slow-witted co-worker (the voice of Sylvester
Stallone, which seems surprisingly gentle in this disembodied
state); running away with a princess (a vocally typecast Sharon
Stone, curt and smart-alecky); and embarking on a quest for a
legendary paradise (which, in this world would, of course, be
Insectopia). The other all-star voices in Antz are Gene Hackman,
Christopher Walken, Danny Glover, and Dan Aykroyd.
More mature members of the audience can amuse themselves with
some of the more sophisticated animation sequences and with watching
how the films creators have cannily utilized these well-known
actors voices to inform the ants characterizations and to produce
some sly double-entendres of both voice and persona.
--Hadley Hury
Full Length Reviews
Antz 
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Antz 
Antz 
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