NOT for adults; TOLERABLE for adults with children

Rating: 5/10 (13 November 2005)

Whoever originally spread the myth that ANTZ is a film that can be enjoyed by adults as well as children must have been an adult with children. And that much is true: If you've got kids under 10, this is good "family entertainment." It is a notch above almost anything Disney has ever produced, and it is not likely to cause the parents to wish immediately that they were somewhere else -- any place else. If, however, adults seeing it without children in tow are not likely to be impressed. The story line is typical of almost every feature length cartoon you've ever seen and a good many fairy tales: high born/low born romance, an arch-villain, heroine (and hero, in this case) tied metaphorically to the railroad tracks, creature solidarity, last minute rescue from disaster, comeuppance for the villain. The best thing that ANTZ has doing for it is Woody Allen's voice and an insect variation on his persona as a neurotic, love-struck little sh nook. Surprisingly (to me at least), I did not really recognize the voices of the other well-known stars who also spoke the dialog of other characters in this animated film. Without their faces and bodies, Sharon Stone, Anne Bancroft, Sylvester Stallone, Gene Hackman, Jennifer Lopez and Christopher Walken could easily have been replaced by other actors, and I wouldn't have known the difference. If you've got kids the right age, this is a very tolerable film. If you're not watching it with little kids, watch something else.