Anti-feminist nonsense

Rating: 1/10 (6 January 2004)

This story makes no sense. The story of the anthill has been completely perverted to suit the gender expectations of Hollywood generally, and in particular that of Pixar, a division of Lucasfilm. It's not especially surprising that Lucasfilm has all these gender hang-ups, it's just really annoying.	Antz is a very traditional story. The princess realizes the error of her ways, is threatened by the bad guy, is saved by the hero, and plays a small role in saving her people. But the movie isn't about her, it's about the underdog. He is the one who has an idea, leads the adventure, uncovers the evil plot, leads the ants to victory and saves the day. Oh yeah, and he gets the girl.	In a real anthill, there are no heroes. The collective is the hero. Individuals can't do anything. The anthill is a poor metaphor for the power of free will. It is the Queen who holds the power, such that it is, in an anthill. There are no generals, no husbands. The female leads the entire community. The worker ants are female, the soldiers are usually female. The male ants are the small drones or princes, whose sole job is to mate with a princess, and fly away with her to start a new colony. There is no way for a male to seize power; this is unheard of in the insect kingdom.
Why was the anthill even chosen for this story? Any truth about the anthill is immediately dispensed with. The communistic tenets of the collective are discredited. The power of the female is also tossed out the window. The only remaining fact in this movie is that an ant can lift many times its own bodyweight. Any kid that sees this film is going to get a very poor idea of what goes on in an anthill.	So would I recommend this movie for kids? No. It's one long cliché, first of all. It's also anti-feminist and the animation style is already dated, and not for the better. There is serious product placement in the form of Pepsi products. Basically, I couldn't find any redeeming qualities lurking in the shadows of this lame movie. Skip it and rent Chicken Run.