There's more that meets the eye, but Disney it isn't.

Rating: 6/10 (14 February 1999)

What a terrible long wait this has been following TOY STORY! Even with more than three years worth, I was truly astonished by a few mixed emotions in observing this jewel of "family" funfare. In a world where rich colorful 3-D animation surrounds the imagination, ANTZ is marvelous at this surrealistic reality. This may be the next step in animated movies. Nevertheless, the water bubble and the boy's gum-shoe are two reasons to go see this. The celebrity voices including Woody Allen and Sharon Stone add the sparkles, giving this the splendor of Hollywood magic. Unfortunately, young kids may not take ANTZ too seriously, and with the unexpected mild language and violence, they're better off watching TOY STORY and A BUG'S LIFE for some light-hearted fun. Your kids will be bored and sleepy-headed because this aims at a much older crowd, which took me by surprise. The brilliant wonder of computer animation should be attractive fun for virtually everyone, and until we notice the movie feeling so casual and hard-heavy, it's too far away from being a "G"-rated show. It's not what it should be, and it lacks the magically spirited punch of Disney, but ANTZ is fine testimony in transforming hand-drawn art to polygons. The competition between this one and A BUG'S LIFE is going to be very stiff. Expect Disney / Pixar to win the title, or at least they have already. That film I'll comment on later.