Antz (1998)

Antz (1998)

Directed by Eric Darnell, Laurence Guterman, and Tim Johnson

Written by Todd Alcott, Chris Weitz, and Paul Weitz

With the voices of: Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Sylverster Stallone, Christopher Walken, Danny Glover, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Anne Bancroft, Jennifer Lopez, John Mahoney

As Reviewed by James Brundage

Some movies just aren’t what you suspected. They surprise you, go against their promos so much that you hate those boys on Madison Avenue (even more than I already do). One example is Antz, a movie that is advertised as a family fun adventure but turns out to be a social satire.

Take the first few seconds. Immature humor? An ant’s tiny fart here or there? No. Instead we find out that Woody Allen still has his shrink, even as an ant. It’s one of those movies with an adult audience and a child’s rating. In fact, even the eight-year-olds didn’t laugh at the dry humor encased in this anthill of gold.

I liked it, though. I mean, how many times do you get an intelligent movie that animated? How often does Gene Hackman play a villain astride Christopher Walken playing a hero. When does Sylvester Stallone say his lines right, Sharon Stone not look like she’s about to kill you with an ice pick, and Woody Allen … wait, he’s still nuts. But anyway, it was a change. And I guess I have one saying about movies that I hold dear: Change is good.

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