A great night out

Rating: 9/10 (18 November 1998)

This is GREAT fun. The animation is just terrific, but this alone doesn't make a good film; what do the animators have to work with?
The plot is good and the screenwriters pull off some snappy dialogue, but the real plaudits have to go to Casting; the voices are perfect. For the first time in a film, I found myself warming to Woody Allen (Z) rather than wanting to smack him in the chops and tell him to get a grip. A little restraint means that he's winning rather than whinging.
The film also avoids two animation bogeys: 1) The human is only seen from about the knees down (Toy Story's whole make-believe world fell apart when they introduced the kids; they weren't REAL enough!) and 2) There weren't any `cute sidekicks'. These are starting to be a real pain in Disney films and, from the trailers I've seen, it looks like we'll have to endure them in `Bug's Life'.
I didn't notice any bad language, but I suppose all this might prove is how constant exposure inures us to it. Yes, there are some dark moments but, in the UK, Antz does have a Parental Guidance rating.
And, anyway, who says animated films have to be for kids?