Anne Bancroft, Christopher Walken, Dan Aykroyd

Central Park ant drone Z longs to be an individual of accomplishment, but Z's colony is a society that puts the value of the colony over personal achievement. Young Z sets his sites on the colony's Qu...( read more  read more... )een daughter Bala- who is uninterested until Z successfully mounts a revolution within the colony for the advancement of individuality.

Flixster Users

47% liked it

434,367 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

85 critics

PG, 1 hr. 23 min.

Directed by: Eric Darnell, Tim Johnson

Release Date: October 2, 1998

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DVD Release Date: March 23, 1999

Stats: 15,821 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (15,821)


  • September 28, 2009
    Great cast but not a great film! Why is it that Pixar and Dreamworks always seem to bring out their own versions of the same story at the same time?
  • August 22, 2009
    Totally cute.
  • August 17, 2008
    Such a metaphorical film for many issues. Woody Allen was a great choice for the main character here, a great film to teach the kids about individuality.
  • June 7, 2008
    Although only coming out a month prior to A Bug's life, I don't think it took anything away from the flim, but in fact helped it and itself by demonstrating how many dramatic and comedic possibilities can be found in an anthill...
    Although this film in itself deals with slightly...( read more) 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 a dictatorship 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."...
    "Antz" has a more sophisticated sensibility and could play for adults attending by themselves...
  • May 17, 2008
    General Mandible: You're an ant after my own heart, an ant who looks death in the face and laughs.
    Z: Actually, I generally just make belittling comments and snicker behind death's back.

    An enjoyable animated comedy, made better by the more adult sense of humor that it brings t...( read more)o the table. It combines rich animation and great music into a world of talking ants. The best part is the voice talent and clever writing that runs throughout this film.

    The story starts off as a Woody Allen film. Z, who is in fact voiced by Allen, is an insecure/nervous ant living in a colony, performing a monotonous job of moving dirt around.

    All of that changes when Z meets Princess Bala, voiced by Sharon Stone, and he gets the chance to show off some more individualism. Things change even more when Z switches places with his best friend, voiced by Sylvester Stallone, to pose as a soldier ant and hopefully see Bala again.

    After being the only survivor in a suicide mission launched by the treacherous General Mandible, voiced by Gene Hackman, Z gets himself into a predicament leading to he and Bala's exit from the colony, where they become involved with each other and witness life beyond the colony.

    The whole movie contains various themes involving social change and individualism, as well as the kind of Woody Allen humor that makes his movies work. Then, as mentioned the whole thing is filled with witty dialog and well done animation.

    There is also a superb voice cast that also stars: Jennifer Lopez, Christopher Walken, Dan Aykryod, Danny Glover, and Anne Bancroft.

    Its a quick watch with a good story and a lot of clever humor. making it very enjoyable.

    Weaver: Don't you want your aphid beer?
    Z: Call me crazy, but I have a thing about drinking from the anus of another creature.
  • November 10, 2009
    Yet another childhood classic
  • November 8, 2009
    Sophisticated, funny, and joyously subversive animated bug epic, complete with the cute ants themselves voiced by the ultrafamous, Woody Allen providing the voice of the formicary lead. It's a healthy balance of individual initiative and cooperative teamwork on one level. On anot...( read more)her level, the movie is a healthy dose of perspective busting, in one fantastic sequence, the ants on their outdoor jaunt fall into the sugary vastness of a doughnut and get stuck on acres of chewing gum wadded to the bottom of a sneaker; only to have to climb a skyscraper-like shoelace to escape. A dazzling delight, with deadpan witticisms, heart-stopping shifts of perspective, it's completely entertaining, a kids' movie that will leave grown-ups quoting the lines to one another, sharp and funny, that's not exactly a children's movie, but one of those hybrids that works on different levels for different ages.
  • November 7, 2009
    Watched this years ago and didn't like it at all.
  • November 7, 2009
    Good animated movie for everybody!
  • November 4, 2009
    I really enjoyed this movie, don't ask me why.....

Critic Reviews


April 12, 2002
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

It's a perfect picnic, without the pesky human interference. full review

May 11, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Antz is refreshingly naughty and nice. full review

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It enters into a microscopic world and makes it into a world so vast and threatening that comparisons with Star Wars are not unjustified! full review

View more Antz reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • gloriabrandenberger
    November 25, 2008
    This is real Wonderful movie, and Cute so cute hugs
  • dcs1978
    October 15, 2006
    While both movies focus on an ant trying to step out of the crowd and be different, they take this concept on with very different methods, so to say they're both this same is to say Lassie and Rin Tin Tin are as well. There is a difference. Shame you didn't notice.
  • lioo
    June 13, 2006
    Antz...a movie about ants...interesting....concept was done already..you know....the life of a bug...it is getting kinda old...if yeah know what I mean

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Antz Trivia


  • Which of the following is NOT a Disney film?  Answer »
  • Which of the following is not a Disney film?  Answer »
  • ***THIS ANIMATED MOVIE TELLS THE TALE OF A NEBBISH WORKER ANT CAUSING SOCIETAL REVOLUTION***  Answer »
  • I was Weaver in Antz, Gabe Walker up a mountain and drove a car in a dangerous race under the title Machine Gun Joe Viterbo. Who am i?  Answer »

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