Antz

Theatrical release poster

***Antz*** is a 1998 American computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson (in their feature directorial debuts) and written by Todd Alcott, Chris Weitz, and Paul Weitz. The film features Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Christopher Walken, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Danny Glover and Gene Hackman. Some of the main characters share facial similarities with the actors who voice them. *Antz* was the first film from DreamWorks Animation and the second feature-length computer-animated film after Disney and Pixar's *Toy Story* (1995).

During its production, a public feud erupted between DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steve Jobs and John Lasseter of Pixar, due to *Antz* being similar to *A Bug's Life*, which was released a month later. This feud only worsened when Disney refused to avoid competition with DreamWorks' intended first animated release, *The Prince of Egypt* (1998).

*On* September 19, 1998, *Antz* premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released theatrically in the United States on October 2, 1998, by DreamWorks Pictures. It grossed $171.8 million worldwide on a budget of $42–105 million. The film received positive reviews, with critics praising the voice cast, animation, humour, and appeal towards adults.

## Plot

Z Marion-4195, or "Z" for short, is a neurotic and pessimistic worker ant who longs to express himself. While at a bar one night, Z falls in love with the ant colony's princess, Bala, when she visits the bar to escape her suffocating royal life.

The ant colony declares war on an encroaching termite colony, and they mobilize a large force of soldier ants for an attack. Z exchanges place with his soldier friend Weaver and join the army to see Bala again, where he befriends staff sergeant Barbatus. Z is unaware that the army's leader and Bala's fiancé General Mandible is secretly sending the soldiers loyal to the Queen Ant to die so he can stage a coup d'état. At the base of a tree near nightfall, Z realizes he is marching into battle. Acid-shooting termite defenders kill everyone except Z. Before dying, Barbatus tells Z to think for himself instead of following orders. Meanwhile, while filling in for Z, Weaver meets and falls in love with Z's co-worker and friend Azteca.

Z returns home, and the colony hailed him as a war hero (despite not doing anything and left traumatized). Secretly irate, Mandible congratulates him and introduces him to the Queen. There he meets Bala, who eventually recognizes him as a worker. Z panics and pretends to take Bala hostage, causing him and Bala to fall out of the anthill via a garbage chute. Z decides to search for Insectopia, a legendary insect paradise. Bala attempts to return to the colony but quickly rejoins Z after encountering a praying mantis.

News of the incident spreads through the colony, and Z's act of individuality inspires the workers and some soldier ants, halting productivity. To gain control, Mandible publicly portrays Z as a self-centred war criminal, promotes the glory of conformity, and promises them a better life through the reward of completing a "Mega Tunnel" planned by himself. However, Mandible's second-in-command Colonel Cutter becomes concerned about Mandible's plans.

Z and Bala come upon a human picnic laid out on a cloth, which they take for Insectopia, but they are baffled by the food's wrappings. A married couple of liberal wasps, named Chip and Muffy, befriend them, though with much condescension, and they all start to break into the food; but they are disrupted by being trampled by giant sneakers and swatted with a fly swatter. Z rescues Bala from the sneaker treads, but Muffy is killed by the swatter, leaving Chip heartbroken. He encourages the ants to move on.

At last, they find Insectopia, a human waste bin overfilled with decaying food, where Bala begins to reciprocate Z's feelings. After interrogating Weaver, Mandible learns that Z is looking for Insectopia and sends Cutter to retrieve Bala and kill Z. That night, Cutter arrives in Insectopia and forcibly flies Bala back to the colony. Z finds them gone; seeing his desperation, a grieving Chip generously flies him back to the colony.

When Z arrives, he encounters soldiers who forcibly direct him toward the Mega Tunnel. Along the way, he finds Bala held captive in Mandible's office. After he frees her, they both discover that Mandible's "Mega Tunnel" leads straight to the puddle next to Insectopia, which Mandible will use to drown the Queen Ant and workers at the opening ceremony. Bala warns the ants at the ceremony, while Z goes to the tunnel exit to stop the workers but fails, and the water leaks in. Z and Bala unify the workers into building a tall ladder towards the surface as the water rises.

Meanwhile, Mandible and his soldiers gather at the surface, explaining his vision of a new colony with none of the "weak elements." When the workers breakthrough, Mandible tries to kill Z, but Cutter rebels against Mandible and instead helps Z and the worker ants. Enraged, Mandible tries to lunge at Cutter, but Z pushes Cutter out of the way to save him and is accidentally tackled into the flooded colony with Mandible, who lands upon a root, dying on impact. Cutter orders the soldiers to help the workers and the Queen Ant up to the surface while he goes after Z. Although Z has seemingly drowned, Bala resuscitates him.

Z is praised for his heroism and marries Bala, and Weaver marries Azteca. Together they rebuild the colony, transforming it from a military state into a community that values all of its members. As Z narrates how he now feels content about his place globally, the camera zooms out to reveal that the whole story took place in a small part of Central Park in New York City.

## Cast

* Woody Allen as Z Marion-4195 "Z", an idealistic but anxious worker ant.
* Gene Hackman as General Mandible, the mean-spirited and arrogant general officer of the ant military. He is also the fiancée of Princess Bala.
* Sharon Stone as Princess Bala, the Queen Ant's daughter, Mandible's fiancée, and Z's love interest.
* Sylvester Stallone as Corporal Weaver, a brave soldier ant and Z's best friend who becomes Azteca's boyfriend.
* Jennifer Lopez as Azteca, another friend of Z's and a worker ant who becomes Weaver's girlfriend.
* Christopher Walken as Colonel Cutter, a flying ant that serves as Mandible's patient and empathetic adviser who becomes disillusioned by the general's actions.
* Danny Glover as Staff Sergeant Barbatus, a soldier ant who befriends Z during the fight against the termites.
* Anne Bancroft as Queen Ant, Princess Bala's mother and the ruler of the ants.
* Dan Aykroyd as Chip the Wasp, a wasp whom Z befriends.
* Grant Shaud as The Foreman, the head of the worker ants.
* John Mahoney as Grebs, a drunk ant scout who talked about Insectopia.
* Jane Curtin as Muffin "Muffy" the Wasp, Chip's wife.
* Paul Mazursky as Z's Psychiatrist
* Jerry Sroka as the Bartender, the unnamed bartender of the bar that Z and Weaver frequent.

The cast features several actors from movies Allen wrote, starred in and directed, including Stone (*Stardust Memories*), Stallone (*Bananas*), Hackman (*Another Woman*), and Walken (*Annie Hall*). Aykroyd later co-starred in Allen's *The Curse of the Jade Scorpion*.

## Production

### Development and writing

In 1988, someone pitched Walt Disney Feature Animation a movie called *Army Ants*, about a pacifist worker ant teaching independent thinking lessons to his militaristic colony. Years later, Jeffrey Katzenberg, then chairman of Disney's film division, left the company in a feud with CEO Michael Eisner over the vacant president position after Frank Wells' death. Katzenberg would later help co-found DreamWorks Pictures with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, and the three planned to rival Disney with the company's new animation division. Katzenberg at DreamWorks began developing projects he tried to pursue or suggested while at Disney, including *The Prince of Egypt*, a collaboration with Aardman Animations, which resulted in *Chicken Run*, *Sinbad*, and *Army Ants*.

Production began in May 1996, after production had already commenced on *The Prince of Egypt*. DreamWorks had contracted Pacific Data Images (PDI) in Palo Alto, California, to begin working on computer-animated films to rival Pixar's features. DreamWorks cast Woody Allen in the lead role of Z, and much of Allen's trademark humour is present within the film. Allen himself made some uncredited rewrites to the script to make the dialogue better fit his style of comedic timing. An altered line from one of his early directed films, *Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex\* (\*But Were Afraid to Ask)* was included – "I was going to include you in my most erotic fantasies..."

### Feud between DreamWorks and Pixar

After DreamWorks acquired PDI, Pixar director John Lasseter, Steve Jobs, and others at Pixar were dismayed to learn from the trade papers that PDI's first project at DreamWorks would be another ant film, to be called *Antz*. By this time, Pixar's project, then similarly called *Bugs*, was well known within the animation community. In general, both *Antz* and *A Bug's Life* center on a young male ant, a drone with oddball tendencies, struggles to win a princess's hand by saving their society. Lasseter and Jobs believed that Katzenberg stole the idea. Katzenberg had stayed in touch with Lasseter after the acrimonious Disney split, often calling to check up. In October 1995, when Lasseter was overseeing postproduction work on *Toy Story* at the Universal Studios Lot, where DreamWorks makes movies, Lasseter and Andrew Stanton visited Katzenberg and discussed their plans for *Bugs* in detail. Lasseter had high hopes for *Toy Story*, and he was telling friends throughout the tight-knit computer-animation business to get cracking on their films. "If this hits, it's going to be like space movies after *Star Wars*" for computer-animation studios, he told various friends. "I should have been wary," Lasseter later recalled. "Jeffrey kept asking questions about when it would be released."

When the trades indicated production on *Antz*, Lasseter, feeling betrayed, called Katzenberg and asked him bluntly if it were true, Katzenberg confirming it. Katzenberg recalled *Antz* came from a 1991 story pitch by Tim Johnson related to Katzenberg in October 1994. Another source gives Nina Jacobson, one of Katzenberg's executives, as the *Antz* pitch person. Lasseter refused to believe Katzenberg's story. Lasseter recalled that Katzenberg was under the impression that Disney was "out to get him" and that he realized that he was just cannon fodder in Katzenberg's fight with Disney. Eisner had decided not to pay Katzenberg his contract-required bonus, convincing Disney's board not to give him anything. Lasseter grimly relayed the news of *Antz* to Pixar employees but kept morale high. Privately, Lasseter told other executives that he and Stanton felt let down.

### Competition with Disney

At the time, the current Disney studio executives started a bitter competitive rivalry with Jeffrey Katzenberg and his new DreamWorks films. In 1995, Katzenberg announced *The Prince of Egypt* to debut in November 1998 as DreamWorks' first animated release. A year later, Disney scheduled *Bugs* to open on the same weekend, which infuriated Katzenberg. Katzenberg invited Disney executives to DreamWorks to negotiate a release date change for *Bugs*, but the company refused to budge. DreamWorks pushed *Prince of Egypt* to the Christmas season, and the studio had decided not to begin full marketing for *Antz* until after *Prince of Egypt* was released. Disney afterward announced release dates for films that were going to compete with *The Prince of Egypt*, and both studios had to contend with Paramount Pictures, which was releasing *The Rugrats Movie* in November, based on the hugely-popular Nickelodeon cartoon. Katzenberg suddenly moved the opening of *Antz* from March 1999 to October 1998 to successfully beat *A Bug's Life* into cinemas.

In his 2008 book *The Pixar Touch*, David Price writes that a rumour, "never confirmed," was that Katzenberg had given PDI "rich financial incentives to induce them to whatever it would take to have *Antz* ready first, despite Pixar's head start." Jobs furiously called Katzenberg to explain nothing he could do to convince Disney to change the date. Katzenberg said to him that Jobs himself had taught him how to conduct similar business long ago, explaining that Jobs had come to Pixar's rescue from near-bankruptcy by making the deal for *Toy Story* with Disney. He flat-out told Jobs that he had enough power with Disney to convince them to change their films' specific plans. Lasseter also claimed Katzenberg had phoned him with a final proposition to delay *Antz* if Disney and Pixar altered the date of *A Bug's Life*, but Katzenberg vehemently denied this. Jobs believed it was "a blatant extortion attempt."

### Release fallout and comparisons

As the release dates for both films approached, Disney executives concluded that Pixar should keep quiet on *Antz* and the feud concerning DreamWorks. Regardless, Lasseter publicly dismissed *Antz* as a "schlock version" of *A Bug's Life*; however, Lasseter later admitted that he never saw the film. Lasseter claimed that if DreamWorks and PDI had made the film about anything other than insects, he would have closed Pixar for the day so the entire company could see it. Jobs and Katzenberg would not back down, and the rivalling ant films provoked a press frenzy. "The bad guys rarely win," Jobs told the *Los Angeles Times*. In response, DreamWorks' head of marketing Terry Press suggested, "Steve Jobs should take a pill." Tensions would remain high between Jobs and Katzenberg for many years after the release of both films. According to Jobs, years later, Katzenberg approached him after the opening of *Shrek* and insisted that he had never heard the pitch for *A Bug's Life*, reasoning that his settlement with Disney would have given him a share of the profits if that were so. In the end, Pixar and PDI employees kept up the old friendships that had arisen from working in computer animation for years before feature films.

Both films' final product is generally perceived to contrast one another in tone and specific plot points. In the end, *Antz* seemed to be more geared towards older audiences, featuring moderate violence, mild sexual innuendoes, and profanity, as well as social and political satire. *A Bug's Life* was more family-friendly and lighthearted in tone and story. The two films mainly differ in their artistic look: *Antz* played off more realistic aspects of ants and how they relate to other bugs, like termites and wasps, while *A Bug's Life* offered a more fanciful look at insects to suit its story better. *PopMatters* journalist J.C. Maçek III compared the two films and wrote, "The feud deepened with both teams making accusations and excuses, and a release date war ensued. While *Antz* beat *A Bug's Life* to the big screen by two months, the latter film significantly outgrossed its predecessor. Rip off or not, *Antz's* critical response has proven to be almost exactly as positive as what *A Bug's Life* has enjoyed."

## Release

### Theatrical

On December 23, 1997, a teaser trailer for *Antz*, depicting the opening scene with Z in an ant psychiatrist's office, first played in theatres in front of select prints of *As Good as It Gets*. Anticipation was generally high with adult moviegoers rather than families and children.

### Home media

DreamWorks released *Antz* on VHS and DIVX on February 9, 1999, and to DVD on March 23, 1999, becoming the first feature-length CGI-animated film available on DVD. This release used a 35mm print of the film rather than an encoded version from the original files. DreamWorks released a Special Edition on February 14, 2003, while Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released *Antz* on Blu-ray on October 16, 2018, for its 20th anniversary.

## Reception

### Box office

The film topped the box office in its opening weekend, earning $17,195,160 for a $7,021 average from 2,449 theatres. The film held the top spot again in its second weekend, with slippage of only 14% to $14.7 million for a $5,230 average and expanding to 2,813 sites. It held well also in its third weekend, slipping only 24% to $11.2 million and finishing in third place, for a $3,863 average from 2,903 theatres. DreamWorks released the film in a maximum of 2,929 theatres and closed on February 18, 1999. The movie altogether picked up $90,757,863 domestically but failed to outgross the competition with *A Bug's Life*. The film picked up an additional $81 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $171.8 million.

According to DreamWorks, the film's budget was about $42 million, while many reported the numbers $60 million and $105 million. According to *The Los Angeles Times*, the first figure was doubted by the film industry, considering that other computer-animated films cost twice of that amount and that the budget did not include start-up costs of PDI.

### Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 93 reviews and an average rating of 7.61/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Featuring a stellar voice cast, technically dazzling animation, and loads of good humor, *Antz* should delight both children and adults." Metacritic gave the film a score of 72 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert praised the film, saying that it is "sharp and funny." The variety of themes, exciting visuals, and voice acting were all aspects of the praised film. Ebert's partner, Gene Siskel, much enjoyed the movie and preferred it over *A Bug's Life*. Siskel later ranked it No. 7 on his picks of the Best Films of 1998.

## Other media

### Cancelled sequel

A direct-to-video sequel was in development at DreamWorks at the time of the release of *Antz*. Like the first film, Pacific Data Images planned to produce it, and they also considered it for theatrical release. By early 1999, when DreamWorks closed its television animation unit and merged the direct-to-video company with the feature animation, the sequel was still planned, but eventually, DreamWorks cancelled the project.