A marvelously crafted, technologically amazing and downright fun tale, "Antz" is a film that should appeal to adults as much as, and perhaps more than, to their kids. Beating Disney's similar computer-animated "bug" movie, "A Bug's Life," out of the starting gate and into moviegoers' hearts and minds, this film significantly ups the ante in this genre and probably has the Big Mouse a bit worried about the prospects for their pending release due later this fall.
For anyone ever interested in those flat, glass enclosed ant farms or just what the miniature parade of such insects marching across the ground is up to, then this is the movie for you. Something of a combination of "Metropolis" and "Logan's Run" with elements of the 1950's nuclear paranoia film, "Them!" thrown in, "Antz" is a visual delight with the potential to appeal to generations of moviegoers.
Okay, so the only relation the latter film has to this one is that it contains ants (actually, really, really big ants). Much like that film that was nominated for best special effects in 1955, however, this one should similarly receive an Oscar nomination for its incredible visuals. While "Toy Story" was an amazing feat in and upon itself for being the first full-length, completely computer- generated feature, this film raises the bar many, many notches.
Whereas the characters in "Toy Story" had some emotive expressions, the fact that they were toys made of wood or plastic, along with the general technological limitations of the time, prevented Woody and his pals from having what most would consider "real" human facial characteristics. Although the characters here are obviously ants, the range of emotions that appear on their faces is often quite stunning.
As helmed by supervising animators Raman Hui & Rex Grignon, these new effects are literally amazing and give the characters a "human" dimensionality that "simple" 3-D imaging and other such effects couldn't produce in the past. For better or worse, such realistic effects are definitely the precursor to studios one day replacing high dollar, flesh and blood thespians with their less expensive, computer generated counterparts.
Beyond the emotive qualities present in the ant characters, the film is an overall visual treat to behold in nearly every way imaginable. From the massive subterranean world in which Z and his fellow workers (or "Soil Relocation Engineers" as he puts it) toil away their lives, to the outside picnic world straight from the set of "Land of the Giants," the film never fails to amaze.
In particular, the scenes involving a wrecking ball consisting entirely of thousands of ants, a fun dance number with a brief "Pulp Fiction" reference, and an amusement park-like "ride" where Z and Bala find themselves stuck on a human's tennis shoe (and are quickly lifted and lowered hundreds of "ant" feet in the air) are just a few of the moments that are extremely well-done and equally fun to watch.
Of course, special effects alone can't carry a film, and co-directors Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson and screenwriters Todd Alcott, Chris Weitz & Paul Weitz have made sure the film has a strong story and likeable characters. Written to appeal equally to kids, their parents, and any other adults, the film's potential as a huge box office hit, however, may suffer somewhat from its nebulous target audience.
While kids will obviously enjoy the computer effects and wild action sequences, the film doesn't have the requisite kid-oriented material (the toys in "Toy Story," the wisecracking sidekicks in Disney and now other studios' animated films) to make this a huge success. Such comments aren't made to fault the film, but merely to point out what may prevent it from being a huge success should that happen.
Notwithstanding that, and although much of the material will fly right over younger kids' heads, most adults should find the proceedings to their liking. Some of that, however, will depend on your tolerance level regarding actor Woody Allen.
As the voice of Z, Allen ("Deconstructing Harry," "Manhattan") fills him with those well-known neurotic tendencies for which the actor is best known. Appropriately enough, the film starts with Z on the psychiatrist couch rambling on and on about his multiple neuroses partially stemming from his growing up as the middle child in a family of five million -- all of which wants to make him curl up in the "larvae" position.
While Allen's mannerisms fit perfectly with Z's characteristics, they strongly dominate the audience's perception of the character (compared to other animated characters whose voices are recognizable, but not with a certain "routine"). While we didn't find that too troublesome, for those who dislike or have grown tired of Allen's schtick, you may have a hard time enjoying the film as much as you should.
Even though that holds true for Allen, the obvious vocal work of Gene Hackman ("Unforgiven," "Absolute Power") and Sylvester Stallone ("Rocky," "Cliffhanger") is excellent (and who would have thought that of the latter after "Yo, Adrienne!"). As the deranged general, Hackman's voice is easily recognizable, but lends a great deal of authority and subtle nuances to his military ant, while Stallone creates an extremely likeable character (which, out of all the ants, has been "molded" the most to somewhat look like its vocal benefactor).
The rest of the vocal performances are fine, although some are barely recognizable -- Jennifer Lopez ("Selena," "Out of Sight") as Z's coworker and Dan Aykroyd ("The Blues Brothers," "Ghostbusters") as a snobbish, but friendly wasp (or make that WASP) -- and Sharon Stone's ("Basic Instinct," "Casino") take on Princess Bala could have used a bit more conviction to make that character jump off the screen a bit more.
Much like "Toy Story" that took a familiar world (of toys) and turned it upside down under a microscope to show what might just occur there, this film does the same with creatures we see all of the time, but never think much about. Although not quite as good as that earlier film in overall enjoyment, this picture has so many fun little moments (along with some impressive big ones and a great, tell-all, zoom out shot that concludes the picture) that make it a film well worth recommending.
From its amazing special effects, to its strong story and nicely developed characters, "Antz" may have a few slow moments and many kids might be oblivious to much of the material, but those are only minor complaints. Stunning to watch and just about as much fun to experience, "Antz" gets an 8 out of 10.