Antz (1998)

Directed by

Tim Johnson, Eric Darnell

Genre

fantasy film, comedy film, adventure film, family film, children's film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 23m

Rated

PG

Rating

6.2 of 10 from 4,778 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A nervous worker ant named Z wants a different life and falls for a princess. When a power hungry general threatens the colony, Z has to find courage in himself to help save everyone.

lightheartedanxiouswhimsicalfast-pacedslightly darkunderdog storyfunnyadventurous

What happens

Antz is a 1998 American animated comedy film directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson, and written by Todd Alcott, Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz, with additional sequences directed by Lawrence Guterman. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and PDI, the film stars the voices of Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Christopher Walken, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Danny Glover and Gene Hackman. Some of the main characters share facial similarities with the actors who voice them. The film involves an anxious worker ant, Z, who falls in love with Princess Bala. When the arrogant General Mandible attempts to seize control of the ant colony, Z must combine his desire for purpose with his inner strength to save everyone. Development began in 1988 when Walt Disney Feature Animation pitched a film called Army Ants, about a pacifist worker ant teaching lessons of independent thinking to his militaristic colony. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Katzenberg had left the company in a feud with CEO Michael Eisner over the vacant president position after the death of Frank Wells. Katzenberg would later go on to help co-found DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, and the three planned to rival Disney with the company's new animation division. Production began in May 1996. DreamWorks had contracted Pacific Data Images (PDI) to begin working on computer-animated films to rival Pixar's features. During its production, a controversial public feud erupted between Katzenberg of DreamWorks and Steve Jobs and John Lasseter of Pixar, due to the production of their similar film A Bug's Life, which was released a month later. The feud worsened when Disney refused to avoid competition with DreamWorks' intended first animated release, The Prince of Egypt. Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell composed the music for the film. Antz premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 19, 1998, and was released theatrically in the United States on October 2, 1998 by DreamWorks Pictures. It grossed $171.8 million on a budget of $42–105 million and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the voice cast, animation, humor, and its appeal towards adults. Nevertheless, it has been considered to be overshadowed by A Bug's Life. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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