ANTZ RATING: 6.5 / 10 --> So-so
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PLOT: One ant living among millions of others doesn't feel right in just following orders and not thinking for himself all day, and attempts to find more meaning in his monotonous, everyday humdrum existence.
CRITIQUE: Competent, adult computer-animated feature from DreamWorks, manages to draw some great one-liners from star Woody Allen, a few chuckles here and there, and a semi-interesting story line, but nothing too outstanding. It was also fun in respect to all of the big names that had voice parts in this film, but somehow the movie didn't blow me away overall. The special effects were good, but nothing spectacular, the characters were interesting, but not fully engaging, and the lack of songs made it feel as though it was missing a certain "je-ne-sais-quoi". Woody Allen was essentially portraying his standard, neurotic role that he does in all of his films (he must've ad-libbed some of his lines) and was damn funny, but it might not be so fun for people who don't care for his typical, whiny character. Also, I don't see kids appreciating most of the adult humor laced through this film. The cute homages to other films like PULP FICTION (7.5/10) and RAMBO (When the Stallone ant is being interrogated) was also nice, but overall, the movie is just a passable good time, with some laughs, a lot of big star voices, and a short running time (about one hour and twenty minutes).
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: Woody Allen recorded his part as "Z" in only 5 days.
Review Date: March 21, 1999
Directors: Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson
Writers: Todd Alcott, Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz
Producers: Brad Lewis, Aron Warner and Patty Wooton
Actors (voices): Woody Allen as "Z", Sharon Stone as Bala,
Gene Hackman as General Mandible,
Sylvester Stallone as Weaver,
Jennifer Lopez as Azteca,
Christopher Walken as Colonel Cutter
Genre: Animation/Comedy
Year of Release: 1998
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