Antz

Overview

Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson's CGI release Antz gets a fantastic DVD release from Dreamworks. The disc contains a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. A closed-captioned English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1. There are no subtitles on this release. The educational supplemental materials include an audio commentary track by the two directors, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a documentary look at the creation of CGI images, and a theatrical trailer. This superb disc will please every member of the family and illuminate modern animation techniques for those interested in learning how this particular kind of movie magic is made.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/23/1999
UPC:	0667068419924
Original Release:	1998
Rating:	PG
Source:	Dreamworks Animated
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:23:00

Special Features

Audio commentary with directors Tim Johnson and Eric Darnell; Production featurette; Basics of computer animation; ANTZ facial system; ANTZ character design; Production notes; Cast list & director bios; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Woody Allen	Z
Sharon Stone	Princess Bala
Gene Hackman	Gen. Mandible
Sylvester Stallone	Weaver
Dan Aykroyd	Chip
Jennifer Lopez	Azteca
Danny Glover	Barbatus
Jane Curtin	Muffy
Anne Bancroft	Queen
John Mahoney	Drunk Scout
Paul Mazursky	Psychologist
Grant Shaud	Foreman
Christopher Walken	Col. Cutter,Actor
Eric Darnell	Additional Voices
Gary Schwartz	Additional Voices
Jim Cummings	Voices
Jerry Sroka	Voices
April Winchell	Voices
Bret Haaland	Additional Voices
Marty Sixkiller	Voices
Mickie McGowan	Voices
Phil Proctor	Voices
Harry Gregson-Williams	Composer
John Powell	Composer

Technical Credits

Todd Alcott

Chris Weitz

Catherine Dingman

Eric Darnell	Director
Tim Johnson	Director
Todd Alcott	Screenwriter
Chris Weitz	Screenwriter,Screenwriter
Brad Lewis	Producer
Aron Warner	Producer
Patty Wooton	Producer
Ken Bielenberg	Special Effects
Leslee Feldman	Casting
Penney Finkelman Cox	Executive Producer
Sandra Rabins	Executive Producer
Carl Rosendahl	Executive Producer
Catherine Dingman	Screenwriter
Steven Albert	Special Effects
Richard L. Anderson	Sound Effects
Kenneth Nakada	Producer
Nick Foster	Special Effects
Steve Maslow	Sound/Sound Designer
Gregg Landaker	Sound/Sound Designer

Scene Index

Side #1 --
0. Scene Index
1. Insignificantz (Main Titles) [6:21]
2. The General's Plan [2:23]
3. Princess Bala [2:07]
4. A Better Place [3:00]
5. Invitation to the Dantz [3:26]
6. Like Being in Love [2:56]
7. The New Soldier [3:54]
8. Termites! [2:07]
9. The New Worker [2:20]
10. One Survivor [2:49]
11. A War Hero? [4:08]
12. A Little Near-Death Experience [4:51]
13. Z the Legend [1:47]
14. This Desert Thing [3:02]
15. The Workers' Rebellion [1:28]
16. The Plastic-Wrapped Paradise [1:12]
17. Terror from Above [3:10]
18. Where's Z? [:09]
19. Insectopia! [2:18]
20. Kidnapped by Cutter [2:02]
21. Bala's Hero [4:54]
22. A Colony in Crisis [3:55]
23. The Flood [2:46]
24. Cutter's Way [3:35]
25. Z Revival [3:14]
26. End Titles [1:40]

Menu

Side #1 --
   Play Movie
   Special Features
      Director's Commentary
         Director's Commentary On
         Director's Commentary Off
      Production Featurette
      Basics of Computer Animation
      Antz Facial Animation
      Character Design
      TV Spots
      Cast & Crew
      Production Notes
      Theatrical Trailer

Editorial Reviews

What a masterstroke to graft Woody Allen's neurotic schtick onto a creature with great allegorical cause for feeling insignificant: an ant born into a colony of millions, indistinguishable from his neighbors. The opening scene of Antz, in which Allen's Z reports his psychological malaise to a therapist, sets audiences up for the way the film will work on multiple levels. Only the second film to be entirely digital, after Toy Story (1995), the film is not content to be merely an odyssey of visual stimuli -- it also has the wry intelligence to exist as a loving lampoon of Allen's work. Allen is just one of many who do assured vocal work on the project, with Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone also offering mild riffs on their familiar personas. Inevitably compared and contrasted with its CGI insect competition, A Bug's Life, released by Disney and Pixar later that year, A Bug's Life may be the more cuddly and kid-friendly movie (the battle scene in Antz is not really appropriate for younger viewers), but Antz boasts a superior script. Plus, it earns points for the risky artistic decision to make the ants look realistic -- in other words, brown, rather than their plastic blue color in Pixar's film. Pacific Data Images knew it had a dynamic story and slick visuals, and it didn't need to enhance this essentially earth-toned world with pastels. Viewers aching for color will get a good enough dose when the ants go in search of Insectopia -- at which point it assumes thematic resonance, a symbol of the quest for a better world.

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