The Antz are Back in Town

Rating: Null/10 (23 May 2000)

In the wake of Toy Story, computer animation had a new path open to explore, the only problem was, making a film better than Toy Story. The charm of the characters and the simplicity of the story made it a film that could not only be enjoyed by children but by adults too. This is where Antz comes in. While Toy Story only existed on the one level that could be enjoyed by all, Antz exists on two levels, one level that can be enjoyed by children, aswell as a completely different level that can be enjoyed by adults. While only one of these levels may be universally transcendent, it does not take away from the overall enjoyment of this film.
On the first level is a simple story. Hitchcockian simplicity placing an ordinary character in an extraordinary situation, sees ordinary Ant worker Z foiling General Mandible's evil plans to take over the ant colony and getting the girl, Princess Bala. On a more adult level are the subtle movie references that range from the dance sequence inspired by Pulp Fiction, to the war sequence inspired by both Starship Troopers and The Killing Fields. Perhaps the best way to read this movie, however, is as a self referential gag fest about Woody Allen. As it is Allen who voices the main character Z, one can only assume that he knows that his character Z is an utter send up of his on and off screen persona. Any opening scene that borrows from Manhattan but is actually a decent from silhouetted grass stems into a psychiatrists room, where Z is telling his psychiatrist of how he feels inadequate and a nobody is totally sublime. The fact that the reply from the psychiatrist that he is a nobody also makes you wonder if this is more than just a cartoon and more of a social commentary on communism and capitalism. By the end of the film we realise that the capitalist ideal has won over the communist ideal first seen in the opening sequence where every ant knows its place and is working for the colony. This contrast between capitalism and communism continues as a motif throughout the film.
Rarely does a film contain all the elements that one desires on a film but Antz is different, combining the politics of war, the cross class love affair, the down and out looking for inspiration and a reason to carry on and most importantly, a story about humanity and the human condition. Beneath the surface of Antz lies the struggle of an ordinary Ant who wants something more and fights, albeit quite humorously, for his place and fights to be a better ant (read person). One touching scene has Z and his new friend Barbados meeting for a final time after the battle. Barbados, now being only a head, asks Z how bad it is. Touching and charming this is what the film is all about.
Another welcome idea in the film is the casting of two former A-list stars who have 0more or less become B-list stars, in the form of Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone. Both give underestimated performances as Z's buddy Weaver and Princess Bala respectively. Gene Hackman mirrors his tights and ruthless performance in Crimson Tide as General Mandabal and Christopher Walken is also at his usual best as Cutter. It is however Woody Allen who makes this film his own. The send up of himself as the neurotic ant who is trying to find a better place and a better life until he realises that he already has it has a knowing warmth and charm to it.
Comparisons with Toy Story, A Bugs Life and even Toy Story 2 will always detract from just how good a film this is and in fact is probably the only criticism one can find with the film. Toy Story had the novelty of being the first, A Bugs Life had the plain simplicity of story and entertainment, Toy Story 2 had a previous fan base, already known characters and a better story than its predecessor. Antz however has everything, drawing together, aside from the familiarity of the sequel, all of the different elements that made the others good, aswell as adding a few elements to a fastly growing genre of digitally animated, clever, cartoons.