Product Details

• Actors: Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Sylvester Stallone, Dan Aykroyd
• Directors: Eric Darnell, Tim Johnson
• Writers: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, Todd Alcott
• Producers: Aron Warner, Brad Lewis, Carl Rosendahl
• Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Live, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Dubbed: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Dreamworks Animated
• DVD Release Date: March 23, 1999
• Run Time: 83 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (241 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783231474
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,706 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Antz" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Woody Allen as a worker ant with an inferiority complex? Sylvester Stallone as an affable soldier ant who discovers that digging tunnels is cool? The animation playground we all knew so well is turning into a theme park full of in-jokes for grownups. Antz explores age-old topics (one person--err, insect--can make a difference, individuality and social responsibility must exist side by side, war is hell) with comic asides and Woody Allen's funniest quips this side of PG (adults will chuckle at the socialist slogans bandied about as he campaigns for workers' rights). Sharon Stone voices the rebellious princess with a fun-loving streak that doesn't quite overcome her royal bearing and court training, but she can learn. Gene Hackman is all teeth (ants have teeth?) and menacing grins as the Army general plotting insect-icide. This bug's-eye view of life on Earth gives Allen's neurotic nonconformist an epic adventure of microscopic proportions: a devastating war with a termite colony, an odyssey to the fabled land of plenty (a picnic ground), and a race to save his fellow workers from certain death. Other voices include Anne Bancroft as the Queen, Christopher Walken, Jennifer Lopez, Danny Glover, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, and John Mahoney. The computer animation isn't exactly realistic but feels as solid and contoured as puppet animation with the smoothness and slickness of traditional cel cartoons, and the character designs and animation offer a marvelous range of expressions. The PG rating includes a gritty battle sequence that may frighten youngsters. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

In an anthill with millions of inhabitants, Z 4195 is a worker ant. Feeling insignificant in a conformity system, he accidentally meets beautiful Princess Bala, who has a similar problem on the other end of the social scale. In order to meet her again, Z switches sides with his soldier friend Weaver - only to become a hero in the course of events. By this he unwillingly crosses the sinister plans of ambitious General Mandible (Bala's fiancé, by the way), who wants to divide the ant society into a superior, strong race (soldiers) and an inferior, to-be-eliminated race (the workers). But Z and Bala, both unaware of the dangerous situation, try to leave the oppressive system by heading for Insectopia, a place where food paves the streets. --Written by Julian Reischl

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars First thing-this is not a kid's movie! October 19, 1999

By A Customer

Format:DVD

I'm a college student who happened to see this movie at a friends a few days before classes started, and I was quite surprised with the movie. The story isn't exceptoionally ingenious, but I laughed out-loud a few times. Some of the complaints about this movie would be expected: the language, the violence, and even a few sexual refrences. Like I said before, this is not a kid's movie. Also, the complaint about all the brown tones is annoying, the brown is ment to be drab because it is only seen in the scenes with the worker ants. It's symbolic, but anyone who thought a movie with Woody Allen would be a kid's movie wouldn't understand that either.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You won't find these Antz in yer Pantz! May 8, 2000

By P. Dua-Brown

Format:DVD

The Film: [Rating: 84%] Dreamworks challenger to the Disney ant favourite A Bug's Life arrives on a feature packed DVD complete with a truly sumptuous transfer. Ok, so it's a cartoon - but don't be put off since this one is loaded with far more wit and style than your average kiddie flick (isn't he in a A Bug's Life?) and features the vocal talents of Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Dan Aykroyd, Gene Hackman, Danny Glover, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Christopher Walken, Anne Bancroft and a shed load more fine actors. Imagine this many actors in a live-action film, the fees, the makeup, the trailer size contests - I guess doing animation must be a welcome bit of fun, allowing dress-down days too!

The story follows loner ant Z (pronounced zee, not zed!) who feels there should be more to life than his lot as a worker ant. Allen plays the lead, supported well be his best friend and soldier ant Weaver (Stallone). Z's path crosses that of the bored Princess Bala (Stone) whom he desperately wants to see again. Following a little persuasion, Z manages to trade places with Weaver for a place in the soldier's parade - held in front of the royalty! I don't want to give too much of the plot away since you're better off watching but Z's adventures to win the heart of the Princess, battle fierce termites Starship Troopers style, and his all round save-the-day antics are a treat for young and old alike. Kids will love this great cartoon but only adults will catch all of the humour and admire the truly stunning computer animation.

It's a pity this was released only one month before Disney's ant based film and the subsequent press scrutiny they both received in the 'Ant Wars'. They are very different films, just both animated and about ants.... Personally I rate Antz slightly higher but I also think that from a kid's point of view the adult nature of much of it's humour may put A Bug's Life out in front as a point decision winner. Take the easy route and give both pride of place in your DVD collection!

The Picture: [Rating: 93%] Gob smacking! Awesome! Breath-taking! What more can be said about this 1.85:1 original aspect ratio transfer from an all digital source. Colours are to die for - see the Trash-topia sequence to see what I mean, black levels are spot on, detail is truly amazing, and there's not a single imperfection noticeable anywhere. There was some reported moans that the film was based underground too much, resulting in a too dark, earthy look - maybe an issue with a VHS copy but not here. This is what DVD and widescreen were made for!

The Sound: [Rating: 82%] Again, absolutely awesome (do I have to add the word DUDE to truly convince?). Some have mentioned the drowning out of vocals during some of the terrifically loud action sequences but this didn't affect me, even on (or maybe because of) my 'pantz' audio set up.

The Extras: [Rating: 70%] Directors Tim Johnson and Eric Darnel feature on an informative full-length audio commentary. There's a production featurette running under 5 minutes that is more interview soundbites than anything else. Much more revealing is the 11 minutes on The Basics of Computer Animation - focusing on the dance sequence and the water droplet, showing build up from storyboards to the finished, lighted & shaded animation. Brief but nice is the one minute on the Antz Facial System. Last of the documentaries is 10 minutes 26 seconds worth of wonderful hand-drawn art work showing the development of the Antz Character Design. There are four TV spots, along with the theatrical trailer, but the usual filmo's are blown away by a simple cast list. Finally there's also eight pages worth of production notes. Packaging the whole thing together is a fantastic menu system, fully animated with great transitions from one selection to another and all fully scored. Selecting the scene index from the front page (by moving the giant magnifying class!) will drop the 'camera' through the earth, taking you down to the Antz homeworld before displaying the four individually animated clips that represent four of the twenty six scenes available - top stuff!

And Finally... [Overall Rating: 86%] Superb presentation - more meat on the extras would have been nice, but this is nit-picking since everything here is gold-plated! Read more ›

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Bug Flick Around November 8, 1999

By erugifog

Format:DVD

Of the two big insect movies going (Antz and A Bug's Life), I have to say that Antz has the more entertaining story. A Bug's Life takes the trophy for best animation. It's vibrant colors and textures are stunning. Particularly impressive are the grasshopper characters whose exoskeletons look amazingly lifelike. But the story in Antz is much more appealing from an adult's point of view. It is more sophisticated, and the movie, quite frankly, is a lot funnier. Woody Allen brings his distinctively neurotic style of humor to the lead role of Z. Allen fans will love his performance here. Both movies are excellent in their own right and deserve a place in your movie collection.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Bug's Life is for a younger audience.....Antz is for an older audience January 17, 2011

By Eric S. Kim

Format:DVD

If you're thinking of showing this movie to the kids, you better reconsider. This is a 3D-animated movie that is made for an older audience. Adult humor, mild profanity, intense action sequences, and characters that might not be interesting to little kids. Don't get carried away by the anthropomorphic ants in the film. It's not A Bug's Life (which I believe doesn't even come close to Antz). It's an animated ant film that has better dialogue, better humor, and better-looking animation. It's doesn't try to take itself too seriously, nor does it try to be too goofy, either. In a nutshell, this movie is fun, hilarious, creative, and very entertaining. Even though I still have a few problems with it (such as some questionable voice acting), I'd still recommend it to friends and family members.

Grade: 8.1/10

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Antz January 9, 2007

By C. Shaw

Format:DVD

Cute adult movie, not for kids! Language and theme not suited for little ones.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Still Solid Over a Decade Later September 30, 2010

By ONENEO TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

If you could go back to 1998 (something that I would give serious consideration to by the way), you would find that the computer generated animated feature film was in its infancy. All that existed prior was Pixar's Toy Story. Suddenly the powers-that-be had insects on their collective minds as the subject for best exploiting the new medium.

In fact a very strong argument could be made that it was these bug flicks of 1998 that firmly cemented a rivalry between DreamWorks and Pixar that is still going strong today some 12-years later.

Interestingly, while Disney/ Pixar's A Bug's Life followed the more traditional path of basically turning a classic family-oriented 2D feature into the 3D domain, Antz actually comes off as an animated incarnation of a classic Woody Allen picture, complete with all of the adult gags that make his work so endearing. Picture the insecurities, the esteem issues, the "what is the meaning of life" angles that make summarize the Woody Allen experience but coupled to a solid children's medium (complete with the nice clean character designs and a well-constructed user-friendly plot).

The story tells of one Z-4195 (Z for short), a neurotic worker ant amidst a family of 5-million strong.

Z is in therapy because he's an individual in a colony where conformity is not only desirable, but also mandatory for daily survival. One night, while at a bar, he dances with the incognito Princess Bala and immediately becomes obsessed with her.

After much scheming, he ends up presenting a plan to his soldier-class ant friend Weaver for a day. Things go terribly wrong, however, when the evil General Mandible declares war on a nearby termite colony and poor Z finds himself in the heat of battle....

Truth be told, Antz makes very valid use of the ideal that hindsight is often much clearer. Now that computer-generated features are no longer in their infancy, it's clear that Antz was actually grittier and more subtly mature than most of the animated films of recent years. The language is a little bit sharper (a few cusses), there are some intense visuals (a battle scene that looks as if it were transplanted directly from 1997's Starship Troopers, the dying decapitated head of one of Z's friends), and a little bit of nastiness that could make an adult squirm (a gondola ride through a rotting fish head, some bugs eating a chunk of feces and so on).

Make no mistake, these aren't deterrents to the "fun for all ages" aspect of the film so much as they are interesting little signs of the whole genre's evolution toward kid-friendliness. Many of these gags simply wouldn't fly today even in a DreamWorks picture, which, I typically consider to be the most adult of the current animation studios.

In all Antz is quite enjoyable on many levels and in my opinion, superior to the generally considered impeccable, A Bug's Life. There is enough cuteness and morality to keep the kiddies involved but the humor is such that adults may even enjoy it more than the youngsters. How often can that be said about an animated film, really? Read more ›