antz
to see the quotes page, click here :
antz / quotes
.
antz isn' t as perfect and smooth as a disney film. great !
music to eric darnell & tim johnson' s animated film
antz
.
read jerry becks review of antz in the october 1998 issue of animation world magazine .
antz
making of (in english w. spanish subs .) part 1
man i seriously love me some antz. fuck you making me want to rewatch it .
the z in antz is slightly crooked, and its also the name of the title character .
release notes are located in the file antz _ release _ 2015 - 02 - 16. txt
looking for movie tickets? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing antz near you .
antz was released on vhs february 9, 1999, and dvd is released march 23, 1999 .
urltoken - books for what dreams may come and antz; music from a night at the roxbury .
to download the antz. exe app, just click the link below
source code (zip )
antoine
antz
l.' s profile - project manager (accounts, development, ... - urltoken
even though '` a bug' s life'' got a jump in production on '` antz,'' it was '` antz'' that was first to be completed, unexpectedly early, opening another chapter in the ant saga .
it may lack the novelty and broad humour of toy story, but antz still gives its rival a tough act to follow .
antz on the gbc is another platform game that will amuse those who find the genre enjoyable in small scale 8 - bit .
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z (woody allane, left) laments to his best friend weaver (sylvester stallone) about his lot in life in
antz .
` 'antz'' was initially slotted for march 1999, but dreamworks pushed it up to october, ensuring that '` antz'' would be the first computer - animated bug movie of the fall, beating '` a bug' s life'' by several weeks .
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siskel & ebert: what dreams may come / a night at the roxbury / snitch / antz (1998) (tv episode) reviewed .
antz is brief enough, clocking in at 83 minutes, but its story is too predictable to make an impact even in such a short space .
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movies: disney says it isn' t worried about confusion with dreamworks'' antz,' but the studio is doing a few unusual things .
a bug’s life ended up getting released the same year as antz and outgrossed it at the box - office substantially, coming it at no. 4 for the year. as knock - offs go, antz is nowhere near as embarrassing as previous forgotbuster subject a shark’s tale, another dreamworks animation project that gave the poochie treatment to pixar’s finding nemo. yet there’s very little that stands out about antz, either, for good or ill. and though antz won the race to the theaters and made a mint, it has, like most of the other forgotbusters i have written, faded in the cultural imagination, becoming an also - ran at the heady early days of feature - length computer animation. antz crossed the finish line first without actually winning the race .
movies: barbed comments are being exchanged as the' antz' - vs. -' bug' s' competition turns venomous in the animation arena .
feb1998: jeffery decides to pull a whammy on pixar / disney by releasing antz on oct 2 1998, 6 weeks ahead of
a bugz life .
if you' re wondering ,
what are the character' s names in antz ?
then this list will have what you' re looking for .
antz, dreamworks, $ 17. 2 million, 2, 449 locations, $ 7, 021 average, $ 17. 2 million, one week .
list of antz characters, with pictures when available. these characters from the movie antz are ordered by their prominence in the film, so the most recognizable roles are at the top of the list. from main characters to cameos and minor roles, these characters are a huge part of what made the movie so great. the names of the actors who played each character are listed below as well, so use this antz character list to find out who portrayed your favorite role .
isectopia scene from antz. this is my own mix of the song. warning, it is a bit loud so turn the volume down a bit headphone users !
all in all, the antz soundtrack runs a very solid 53 minutes long, and should be in everyone' s collection - especially if they saw the film .
as a harmonica player andy has recently worked with neil finn, playing on his version of
i can see clearly now
, featured in the film antz .
todd' s pop song reviews :
jealous
by nick jonas (2015) (tv episode) todd says that nick jonas looks like a character from antz .
jacobson brought the idea to katzenberg, who approved the project. by 1996, '` antz'' was in high gear, with johnson and darnell of pdi directing .
describing the film' s across - the - board appeal, jim tharp, head of distribution at dreamworks, reported that the opening weekend crowd for antz was split evenly between family and non - family moviegoers and that the male / female ratio was 50 / 50 as well. ticket sales for antz surged a mighty 80% on saturday compared to friday .
in the year 2007 antz media started it’s operations as a web and digital media company. we are proud to announce that our competitors range from a few national players and some international players .
the office: threat level midnight (2011) (tv episode) michael says ,
i am a huge woody allen fan, although i' ve only seen' antz.'
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so if there' s any confusion about the differences between
antz
and
a bug' s life
by nov. 25, it will definitely not be for lack of trying .
compared to projections, antz opened extremely close to my $ 17m forecast while what dreams may come and a night at the roxbury opened stronger than my projections of $ 12m and $ 6m respectively .
take this week' s new reader survey on star wars episode 1: the phantom menace. in last week' s survey, readers were asked whether antz or a bug' s life would gross more at the domestic box office. of 1, 456 responses, the voting was even with 50. 4% saying a bug' s life and 49. 6% choosing antz .
yesterday jeffery katzenberg announced to everyone on the antz film that we are releasing antz on october 2 1998, not march 1999. we all have been suspecting this for a while, but now its official. it was deliberately kept a secret to scoop the people at pixar and disney. i heard john lasseter and steve jobs were pretty steamed. and by the way, our movie kicks ass .
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the simpsons: love is a many splintered thing (2013) (tv episode) woody allen says ,
i played the ant in' antz' - the lesser known of the ant movies .
sourced from the 2006 fullscreen dvd of over the hedge (2006). (according to info on blu - ray. com, this reprint of antz on dvd was from 2004, not 2006. )
the year' s first of two computer - animated bug movies - disney' s a bug' s life comes out next month - antz topped the $ 16. 6 million debut by stargate in 1994. featuring the voices of woody allen, sharon stone, and gene hackman, antz also is the first of two animated projects this year for dreamworks, which will release the prince of egypt in december .
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 out grossed its predecessor. antz made almost $ 91 million domestically against a $ 105 million budget (with a worldwide haul of almost $ 172 million) while a bug’s life made almost $ 163 million domestically against a $ 120 million budget (with a worldwide haul of over $ 363 million). rip off or not, antz' s critical response has proven to be almost exactly as positive as what a bug’s life has enjoyed .
you' ve reached the
hub
for any and all dramatica analysis of antz. in addition to the storyform, you' ll also find any additional analysis or media related to the story in question .
it seems a modern trend of soundtracks is to have long, slow, depreesing, agonizing, slow pieces for strings... not so with antz. here we have music with real melody lines. .
the media lapped up the very public battle that followed, a bug’s life sucker punched antz at the box office and the public were left in the dark over the heights a katzenberg - lasseter bug flick could have reached .
i admit it, whenever i saw the cd of
antz
for the first time, i was so sure that it would be an awful score. but, this cd is single - handidly one of my favorites .
both films were a success with both audiences and critics, as well as financially, but a bugs life won by bringing in $ 200, 000, 000 more than antz thanks to appealing more to kids and better promotion .
dreamworks animated feature film, antz has grossed over $ 36 million in the past 10 days since its u. s. theatrical release, topping two weeks box office charts. reeling from this success, dreamworks is developing a direct - to - video sequel to antz. the film would, like its predecessor, be produced by computer animation studio pacific data images (pdi). it is also being considered for theatrical release. either way, a studio spokesperson confirmed that if the production is green lit, it would be 18 - 24 months before its release. however, after the surprise early release of antz, who knows what this crafty studio has up its sleeve... .
before antz began production, pixar was already deep into a project then known as bugs, a film that would eventually become a bug’s life. pixar, riding high on the success of toy story, smelled a rat. once friendly with jeffrey katzenberg, who resurrected disney’s animation wing during his time there before leaving acrimoniously to start dreamworks with fellow masters of the universe steven spielberg and david geffen, pixar’s john lasseter did not receive news of antz ’s production well. it was suspected that katzenberg had simply stolen the premise for bugs and encouraged his animators to work long hours so that antz would beat its inspiration to theaters, even though katzenberg traced the projects’ roots back to an older pitch .
dreamworks was able to save valuable time by skimping on quality. where pixar benefits from a well - honed perfectionism, early dreamworks productions like antz often just seem to aspire to be good enough. when antz hit theaters in 1998 and became the 21st top - grossing film of the year, the concept of a feature - length computer - animated film still held an element of novelty. there was still something revolutionary about the concept of making entire animated films with computers instead of hand - drawn cels. some 17 years and countless advancements in technology later, antz still retains a bit of the shock of the new, even if it looks less impressive than the pixar film to which it was destined to be compared .
title antz year 1998 distributor (s) u. i. p. (uk) classified date (s) 24 / 09 / 1998 main language english submitted run time 83m 7s approved footage 7481 + 9 bbfc reference aff154355 registration number cfj01501
our commitment to diversity and inclusion is reflected in our choice of partner to direct our responses to the duties we have here at antz junction and work alongside us as we formalize and evidence our compliance in this area. view: diversity & inclusion
and while
antz
focused on its title insects, disney' s campaign stresses multiple bugs - - in this case ladybugs, spiders, beetles, caterpillars, mosquitoes, and yes, even ants (particularly the lead character flik) .
eric darnell, one of the two directors of '` antz,'' said that katzenberg offered suggestions about story and character, but that the movie never wavered from its 7 - year - old premise about a little critter with big hopes .
the scheduling of '` antz'' was also seen by many in hollywood as retaliation against disney for slotting '` a bug' s life'' for november against dreamworks' animated feature, '` the prince of egypt.''
while disney' s similarly - themed a bug' s life, released within a few months of this, took the upper hand in light, child - friendly entertainment, visually antz was more compelling and, strangely, more adult. for antz, a dark tale destined to whiz right over the head of the average four - year - old, is simply breathtaking to look at, its seamless bug' s - eye view of the world easily compensating for any mild inconsistencies in the storyline .
you can sort this list of antz roles alphabetically by clicking on
name
at the top of the list. if one of your favorite characters is missing, then feel free to add them by typing in their name at the bottom of the list .
originally recorded by frank sinatra in 1969, day recorded the song for her 1964 album ,
with a smile and a song .
while it never appeared in one of her films, her version was included in the digitally animated 1998 movie
antz .
25. it was not a coincidence that dreamworks released antz around the same time as a bug' s life. reportedly former disney film chairman and dreamworks co - founder jeffrey katzenberg wanted to delay the release of a bug' s life so that it wouldn' t compete with dreamworks' release the prince of egypt (both scheduled to be released a few weeks apart). katzenberg called lasseter and told him he would stop production of antz if they moved a bug' s life release date – it didn' t work .
` 'we did know about' a bug' s life,''' said johnson in an interview at the toronto international film festival, where '` antz'' premiered last weekend. '` all we knew is that they had a film.''
the year 1998 proved to be a banner year for these strange filmic duopolies. the stories found in both dreamworks animation’s antz and disney / pixar’s a bug’s life revolve around a young misfit male drone ant who saves ant society and wins over the ant princess in so doing .
in 1998, disney and dreamworks both released animated films about an outcast ant who doesn' t quite fit into normal society. while a bug' s life (loosely based on aesop' s fable the ant and the grasshopper) grossed $ 363. 4 million, woody allen' s antz was a commercial failure. it' s widely speculated that the idea for antz was stolen by dreamworks founder ceo jeffrey katzenberg who left disney shortly after pixar become its major animation studio which lead to a public feud between katzenberg and pixar' s john lasseter and steve jobs .
dreamworks was able to get antz into theaters ahead of originally scheduled allowing it to hit consumers several weeks before disney' s computer - generated insect pic a bug' s life which opens at thanksgiving. the headstart gives antz a major advantage as it will have the family crowd all to itself for a full month before the end - of - year bloodbath that finds bugs, rugrats, babe ii, jack frost, i' ll be home for christmas, prince of egypt, mighty joe young and the wizard of oz reissue all attacking the same family audience in november and december .
high hopes
is a popular song first popularized by frank sinatra, with music written by jimmy van heusen and lyrics by sammy cahn. doris day recorded the song for the 1964 album with a smile and a song. her version was used in the 1998 film antz during the credits .
our flick of the week is
antz ,
which in addition to having one of the most distinctive designs of any animated film ever made, also boasts a smart and funny script that will appeal even more to adults than children. (that' s the start of a rave review. )
i have a suggestion for steve jobs:' think different,'
he said pointedly, mimicking the apple computer slogan. a lot is at stake besides personal reputations and pride. for dreamworks ,
antz
is the first foray into the lucrative arena of animation that' s been virtually controlled by disney for the past decade. katzenberg has said he hopes to release seven animated films by 2002, and the success or failure of
antz
and
prince of egypt
( opening dec. 18) is widely perceived to be an indicator for whether that dream will be achieved .
in dreamworks' first animated feature film, antz, woody allen voices
z
, an ant who wishes to be an individual. he falls for the beautiful princess bala (sharon stone), and uncovers a plot by the evil general mandible (gene hackman) to take over the ant colony .
antz is a 1998 american computer animated adventure comedy film produced by dreamworks animation and distributed by dreamworks pictures. it features the voices of woody allen, sharon stone, jennifer lopez, sylvester stallone, dan aykroyd, anne bancroft, gene hackman, christopher walken, and danny glover as various members of an ant society. some of the main characters share facial similarities with the actors who voice them. [ 2 ] antz is the first animated film, as well as the first cgi - animated film, by dreamworks animation and the second feature - length computer - animated film after disney · pixar' s toy story .
during the production of a bug' s life, a public feud erupted by dreamworks' jeffrey katzenberg and steve jobs & john lasseter of pixar. katzenberg, former chairman of disney' s film division, had left the company in a bitter feud with ceo michael eisner. in response, he formed dreamworks skg with steven spielberg and david geffen and planned to rival disney in animation. [ 14 ] after dreamworks' acquisition of pacific data images (pdi) —long pixar' s contemporary in computer animation— lasseter and others at pixar were dismayed to learn from the trade papers to learn that pdi' s first project at dreamworks would be another ant film, to be called antz. [ 15 ] by this time, pixar' s project was well - known within the animation community. [ 16 ] both antz and a bug' s life center on a young male, a drone with oddball tendencies who struggles to win a princess' s hand by saving their society. [ 17 ] whereas a bug' s life relied chiefly on visual gags, antz was more verbal and revolved more around satire. the script of antz was also heavy with adult references, whereas pixar' s film was more accessible to children. [ 17 ]
the plot thickens when one notes that deep impact was released by dreamworks, while armageddon was released by none other than disney. like antz and a bug’s life, deep impact and armageddon hold a similar critical response, but unlike the animated pair, the critical response to these disaster movies was really, really bad .
unlike
antz ,
which stressed the lead character voiced by woody allen, in the selling of
bug' s ,
flik is just part of a greater ensemble, roth says .
we definitely wanted to make sure that we conveyed this was a movie about a wide variety of colorful insects .
dreamworks' most ambitious dvd has been
antz ,
which includes featurettes, trailers and audio commentary from the directors .
being the very first full - length cgi [ computer generated image ] animated film ever released on dvd, we really wanted to make it a special deal. it has done very well .
allen stars as z, a worker ant first introduced on an analyst’s leaf complaining about how he didn’t get much attention being the middle child of 5 million. there’s a rich strain of vaudeville and the catskills in the way allen delivers his signature one - liners in a new form, but z isn’t just on hand to crack wise. at times antz resembles bananas remade as a kiddie cartoon, as both feature nebbishy woody allen characters who accidentally become revolutionaries while attempting to get the girl. but z has more on his mind than his own neuroses, and antz takes this timid insect on a hero’s journey that would do joseph campbell proud .
37 years later, ant is still king of the wild frontier so the other night i went to the theatre to see adam ant perform the entirety of his “kings of the wild frontier” album (recorded with his former band the ants, nee, antz), plus some greatest hitz and fan favez, ...
antz
rejoices in the fact that a cartoon can show us anything. it' s so free, it turns visual cartwheels. it enters into a microscopic world - - an ant colony beneath central park - - and makes it into a world so vast and threatening that comparisons with
star wars
are not unjustified .
this is one of those movies that fly over your head when you' re a child watching it. i remember disney' s pixar and dreamworks used to really clash in the past over the originality of premises .
a bug' s life
vs .
antz
, this is one of the ones i feel only a tie is fair .
antz
is an amazing animated film for one reason above all: awesome voice cast. gene hackman, christopher walken, danny glover and woody allen, there' s almost too much talent to bear. also, there' s so much subtle humor to appreciate. i originally saw the film ten years ago and laughed and now being an adult there' s so much i missed. only now do i get the adult - oriented jokes, truly making the movie timeless. and the film has a pretty good theme to it; the importance of individuality as opposed to the hordes of conformity .
antz
is great .
toronto — the world premiere here of
antz
- - a gala screening and party complete with red carpets and oversized martinis - - marked the grand finale of the 23rd toronto international film festival on saturday night. but it was just the start of what is shaping up to be a cutthroat and unusually personal battle of the cinematic bugs .
how much of these scheduling machinations are due to hurt feelings or just good business sense - or a little of both - is not clear. also, the fact that '` antz'' is coming out first doesn' t necessarily mean it will do any better than '` a bug' s life,'' as disney well knows .
'' antz,'' which cost an estimated $ 42 million and at the time of its release had the animation field to itself, opened to a respectable $ 7, 020 a screen. the film has long since broken into the black, grossing $ 87. 9 million as of last weekend and is likely to turn a good profit .
when you see one ant it' s understood that there are thousands more that you don' t see each working hard all for the same goal; that' s antz digital media! although not' thousands' yet, we all work as hard as an ant colony together to put your business in front of your customers everywhere they are online .
released 1 year after disney / pixar' s' a bugs life' and still during the early years of the computer generated genre, dreamworks released their second all cgi cartoon' antz' and despite the glaring resemblances between the 2 movies; all it not as it appears. antz still stands alone as the more adult movie in the genre, far more complexity in the character' s emotions and a far more sinister plot evolution separate this from rest. ok movies like' shrek',' finding nemo' and' toy story' have adult undertones beneath the humour, but antz doesn' t rely on such subtlety. please note this is not a criticism of either style! we follow the struggle of' z' (woody allen) as he tries to come to terms with his life as a worker, his neurosis, his love for princess bala and dream of something better. allen is excellently supported by an all star cast, including sharon stone, sylvester stallone, gene hackman, christopher walken, etc, and we are treated to a visually impressive rendition of a heart warming story about life as an ant. this movie can still be enjoyed as a family film, but much of it will be lost on younger kids. in summary antz is a fine film, but in truth it is difficult to compare with others in the genre, and for that; i salute it! 7 / 10
antz essentially has the same premise as a bug’s life: a misfit insect discovers his destiny is far greater than he ever could have imagined. but what antz lacks in technical sophistication and elegant animation, it makes up for in star power. the filmmakers lazily, if effectively, solve the problem of getting audiences to care about interchangeable insects by voice - casting actors whose personas are so well wrought that they can be easily translated to the insect kingdom. then to get the most out of their investment, they also animated the ants to look as much like the superstar actors voicing them. to embody the existential angst of the everyman insect, dreamworks turned to the neurotic comedy stylings of woody allen, a move that proved to be as winning as it is perverse. before and after antz, allen was nobody’s idea of a big box - office attraction. yet put that nasal voice and wimpy mock - aggression inside the digitally rendered body of a cartoon insect creepily conceived to look as much as the real - life allen as possible, and suddenly he became a bankable movie star .
it was in the recording studio where andy was first introduced to photoshop and swivel 3d on a mac ii. in 1994, andy was hired by mondo media to work on video games, broadcast and film projects. he’s also worked with xaos, inc. on a few imax films and at pdi on the peacemaker and research for the antz sequel which never happened .
just managed to get an idea of when and where the antz trailer will be showing across the nation. this an isn' t to be missed trailer, and is a good excuse to see a fantastic movie (according to everyone that has emailed me). so read all this and go see it, it' s there for a limited time only! ! !
i' d argue that they already outdid pixar in the antz / bug' s life duel. and at least some people think shrek beat monster' s inc as well. though yeah, the cars sequel is their best bet. what do they have lined up for next year, though? kung fu panda 2? not exactly a how to train your dragon there .
brilliant animated feature, antz is a fun, entertaining picture that is a must watch for viewers of all ages. what makes the film work so well is the varied cast of talented voice actors who bring great characters alive, and it is elevated with a great story and stunning animation. i heavily enjoyed the film, and though it was a worthy film to watch, and what' s great about the film, is that it wasn' t made by pixar, and it just goes to show that other studios have managed to get animated magic as well with their features. antz is a well made feature, a film that looks stunning, and is fun to look at and enjoy. the story is engaging as well, and the cast, like i stated is wonderful, and they each bring some terrific voice acting to the roles they portray, and it' s what makes the film really stand out among other animated features. if you' re a genre fan, you' ll surely love this one. the film may not be a pixar feature, but it nonetheless succeeds at capturing the viewer' s attention due to a fine story, terrific animation and enough humor to appeal to viewers of all ages or anyone looking for a fine animated comedy. antz works well on many levels, it' s a film that manages to succeed on nearly every level and with its cast of voice actors, and they manage to give much more depth to the film, as well as having an entertaining and humorous visual sense that make antz a film that is well worth your time, and it is a film that ranks among the finest computer animated features ever made. if you' re a fan of animated films, give antz a shot, it' s a visually striking feature with terrific storytelling, and effective voice performances to really make this an enjoyable and highly memorable feature .
it may seem extravagant for a film about a bunch of bugs, but soundtrack composers harry gregson - williams and john powell engaged an 85 - piece orchestra and 25 - member chorus to perform the music for antz. in the film, a worker ant with the voice of woody allen becomes a hero to his embattled colony and earns the affections of princess bala (the voice of sharon stone). appropriately, the music is a mix of dramatic swells, romantic interludes, and celebratory jaunts, scurrying from sprightly jazz to classical dirge to latin bounce - - there are even allusions to
when johnny comes marching home
and
guantanamera .
this surprising diversity makes the music from antz lively enough for children and sophisticated enough for adults. - - richard martin
in recent weeks, the off - the - record sniping among those involved in both movies has reached a background roar in hollywood. katzenberg has denied knowing about disney' s movie when he approved '` antz.'' executives for the producers of '` a bug' s life'' declined to comment. the directors of the two films expressed ignorance about the competition .
with a superstar cast and breakthrough visual effects, dreamworks' spectacular comedy adventure, antz, became
king of the hill
with audiences and movie critics alike. everyone digz antz! life is no picnic for z, a small worker ant with some very big ideas whose chances of landing the beautiful princess bala are literally one in a billion. but when z convinces his soldier ant buddy to switch places with him, his simple life takes a wild turn. from his battle in the termite war to his search for
insectopia
, z' s adventures land him in a final confrontation with the ruthless general mandible who has planned to liquidate the colony. once the most insignificant of workers, z may just turn out to be the biggest hero of them all !
kaztenberg moved the opening of antz from march 1999 to october 1998 to compete with pixar' s release. [ 16 ] [ 20 ] david price writes in his 2008 book the pixar touch that a rumor ,
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 .
[ 16 ] [ 19 ] steve jobs was furious and called katzenberg and began yelling. katzenberg made an offer: he would delay production of antz if jobs and disney would move a bug’s life so that it didn’t compete with prince of egypt. jobs believed it
a blatant extortion attempt
and would not go for it, explaining that there was nothing he could do to convince disney to change the date. [ 3 ] [ 19 ] katzenberg casually responded that jobs himself had taught him how to conduct similar business long ago, explaining that jobs had come to pixar' s rescue by making the deal for toy story, as pixar was near bankruptcy at that time. [ 10 ]
i was the one guy there for you back then, and now you’re allowing them to use you to screw me ,
katzenberg said. [ 19 ] he suggested that if jobs wanted to, he could simply slow down production on a bug’s life without telling disney. if he did, katzenberg said, he would put antz on hold. [ 3 ] lasseter also claimed katzenberg had phoned him with the proposition, but katzenberg denied these charges later. [ 11 ]
katzenberg says that' s bunk. so does nina jacobson, a formerdreamworks executive (now employed by disney), who says she pitched katzenberg the idea on her own. dreamworks' chief marketing executive, terry press, says pixar is just smarting because
antz
- - which originally was scheduled to debut in march 1999 - - has managed to beat
a bug' s life
into theaters .
- dreamworks signature selection - anamorphic widescreen (1. 85: 1) - dual - layered dvd - dolby digital 5. 1 audio - full - length director' s commentary - behind - the - scenes production featurette - the making of antz! - director' s inside look - the basics of cgi animation & early design process - production notes - cast & filmmaker bios - theatrical trailer - 4 tv spots
then after antz we did chicken run, and we couldn’t have messed those up too bad because they asked us to do shrek. after shrek we just called it a day because we wanted to branch off and see what the future holds individually but i had a lot of fun and we were very very lucky to do those three very unique movies. but that was all through the generosity of hans as our mentor .
that' s the strategy disney is following in trying to sell
a bug' s life ,
the studio' s animated insect tale that opens this month (friday at the el capitan; nov. 25 wide release). the idea is to ignore any similarities between its film and dreamworks' hit animated insect release ,
antz ,
and play up those differences in an aggressive ad and marketing campaign .
so if roth is going to compare
bug' s life
to any film at all it would be
toy story ,
the studio' s first venture with steve jobs' pixar computer - animation facility. like
toy story ,
bug' s life
is aimed squarely at a younger demographic and a general family audience, whereas
antz
was pitched at an adult, urbane crowd .
antz is littered with inspired gags, like a pair of wasps, voiced by saturday night live alum dan aykroyd and jane curtin, who embody all of the stereotypes of human wasps in insect form. the production design for the individual ants is more than a little creepy, but the animators do well with world - building and elaborate fights between overmatched ants and massive, almost prohibitively huge termites who spit acid at their foes .
says the film critic ,
that' s because we go one step up the food chain to a grasshopper population that' s really angry at its ant colony, which hasn' t come up with its usual supply of food. the voice of the lead hopper in the film is supplied by kevin spacey. a bug' s life is built more for kids than antz and may not be as entertaining for adults .
be sure to read the weekly rewind column which reviews the films of robin williams. wednesday' s new rewind column will examine the biggest october openings of this decade. for reviews of antz and what dreams may come visit chief' s movie review page. for a complete look at the summer box office, read the box office guru summer wrapup which analyzes the record - breaking season with projected final grosses and plenty of data .
in the next few weeks, two computer - animated movies about ants will be released. dreamworks' '` antz,'' led by the voice of woody allen, is out oct. 2, and the disney co.' s '` a bug' s life,'' featuring the voice of dave foley (` 'newsradio'') as the lead ant, is to be released nationwide nov. 25 .
oh, it was in a very similar way, there’s not much else to say other than that. it was in a very hans - ian way. he was very generous and the film that made all the difference for me and john powell was antz. we were both at hans’ studio assisting. i had done a few movies with him, john had done one by himself with his own credit, certainly by any stance we were both just starting off really and this movie antz came along. it was coming directly to hans from jeffery katzenberg with dreamworks. hans couldn’t do it which is when we got involved but i don’t think hans wanted to see it go to some other random composer, he’d like it to “stay at home” as he would put it. so i think he turned them on to me or john and then they settled on both * laughs *
none of this dampened the reception
antz
received saturday. at a spirited news conference, several of the actors whose voices are featured in the film talked good - naturedly about what it was like to see themselves in cartoon form .
the [ animators ] are wrong. i don' t move like that ,
said danny glover, whose character, a sweet - hearted soldier named barbatus, is clearly modeled on the likable actor .
_ antz _ is the latest in a misbegotten trend of trying to graft adult content onto animated family films. blame _ the lion king _ (and guiding hand for both films, jeffrey katzenberg) for doing it well and reaping the financial rewards, but successors reaching for the same brass ring (both within disney - - _ hunchback _, e. g. - - and without) go too far. not only is the language in _ antz _ a tad inappropriate (do you really want to explain
erotic fantasy
to your five - year - old ?), the use of woody allen as the voice of the hero along with battle and flood imagery reminiscent of other dreamworks films like _ saving private ryan _ and _ deep impact _ only reinforces the sense that _ antz _ is aspiring to be something perverse: a gritty, neurotic, philosophical disaster movie for the whole family. but the worst offense of all is that the film is boring. the script is as trite as they come, moving as it does from one movie cliche to the next without stopping for real character development. the dialogue is surprisingly witless and plodding, with every joke telegraphed well in advance. the songs - - admittedly a frequent bane of disney films as well - - are of even less interest here as they are
standards
tossed in for no apparent reason. and the film is visually dull as well - - all dark and dingy in the ant colony where most of the action takes place, but hardly more beautiful in the great outdoors. _ antz _ may represent another leap forward in the art of computer animation, but i found the short trailer i saw for _ a bug' s life _ to contain much more life, color, whimsy and invention than the entirety of this disappointing affair .
as the release dates for both films approached, disney executives concluded that pixar should keep silent on the dreamworks battle. regardless, lasseter publicly dismissed antz as a
schlock version
of a bug' s life. [ 13 ] lasseter, who claimed to have never seen antz, told others 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 go see it. [ 3 ] [ 17 ] katzenberg and jobs would not back down and the rivaling ant movies 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 .
[ 19 ] despite the successful box office performance of both antz and a bug' s life, tensions would still be high between jobs and katzenberg for many years. according to jobs, katzenberg came to jobs after the success of shrek (2001) and insisted 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. [ 21 ] although the contention left all parties estranged, pixar and pdi employees kept up the old friendships that had arisen from spending a long time together in computer animation. [ 11 ]
and now look at the panoramic overhead shots of the ant colony in
antz .
we could be looking at an alien life form, or the headquarters of one of james bond' s megalomaniac enemies. the scale and detail are astonishing. and consider the imagination involved in a sequence where most of the ants in the colony gather themselves into a giant ball, held by a string of other ants, so that millions of individuals can become one collective tool .
mirror mirror vs. snow white and the huntsman. deep impact vs. armageddon. studios releasing twin films is hardly front page news. however a bug' s life and antz were born out of more than friendly rivalry. in 1988 a project known as ‘army ants’ was being considered by disney. jeffrey katzenberg took the idea with him when leaving the house of mouse six years later to form dreamworks, but pixar heavyweight john lasseter had insecty ideas of his own .
apparently - - and wisely - - the filmmakers allowed allen to modify his own dialogue, and he has created some memorable exchanges within the outlines of his standard nebbish persona. lately, allen' s neurotic character has seemed tired; his role in
antz ,
however, is a sign of revival. maybe allen needed to take his character out of an urban setting to be stimulated. rated pg. (star) (star) (star) (star )
steve jobs should take a pill ,
she said .
he looks ridiculous .
the sniping does not end there. last week, new allegations arose that katzenberg had offered to scuttle
antz
if the pixar folks could only convince eisner not to release
a bug' s life
during the holiday 1998 season, the date that katzenberg' s favorite project, dreamworks' animated biblical epic
prince of egypt ,
is due to hit theaters .
dreamworks sources flatly denied the charges. moreover, their timing (just days before the
antz
premiere) and the fact that no one would make them on the record made more than one journalist steer clear of the story. but over the weekend, as katzenberg, press and dozens of other dreamworks honchos arrived in canada to unveil the young studio' s first animated feature, word came that both time and newsweek magazines were running the allegations in today' s editions .
maybe i was a victim of high expectations, but after all i had heard about it, i was disappointed in antz. the animation was interesting and enjoyable. but you have to be a fan of woody allen to enjoy the story. and i am not. i didn' t realize the plot was so similar to the typical woody allen movie - watching him deal with his neuroses. hear that a bug' s life is much better, looking forward to seeing it .
most scores seem to work well and be memorable when they are thematic. in antz we have a nice piano theme for z, and romantic theme for princess bala, a dark military theme for mandible, and a whimsical theme for the colony itself. variations on these themes permeate the cd, and it' s very easy to envision the scenes just by listening to the music. i really enjoyed the main theme for the colony - the use of whistling was a quirky yet appropriate move .
apart from the ants being protagonists, almost nothing else about the films was the same. a bugs life had a very cartoonish design, while antz had a more realistic design of the insects. antz had dark humor, dialogue and themes all around, while a bugs life was aimed at children. just the same, thanks to the ants, they were both considered to be ripping each other off. (fact is, jeffrey katzenberg, though responsible for getting toy story greenlit, had just been booted from disney, was furious at them, and knew about the next pixar project, which was ironically pitched to disney only hours after katzenberg was informed he was being
asked
to remove himself from the disney lot and cut ties with the mouse house; the competition was intentional .) this duel is the one that provides the page quote for the dueling works trope on tv tropes (courtesy of gene siskel, who, along with roger ebert, laughed at the whole mess. )
i would have never got to have worked on a nick park movie if i hadn’t had that luck with harry and antz. they used to say' if it flies, get ron goodwin.' (goodwin composed the battle of britain, 633 squadron and those magnificent men in their flying machine * * s). i am beginning to feel a bit like that myself now, now that i’ve done dragon, chicken run and rio. everything is flying .
- - - - - -
the story behind the scenes started four years earlier, when dreamworks skg co - founder jeffrey katzenberg was the chairman of disney’s motion picture division, which means he was around when pixar’s follow - up to the popular toy story (1994) was conceived and greenlit. after katzenberg’s feud with disney ceo michael eisner caused him to jump ship to form a new company with steven spielberg and david geffen, the first thing he rushed into production was antz. naturally pixar’s steve jobs and john lasseter were remarkably displeased.
antz is a 1998 american computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by eric darnell and tim johnson and written by paul weitz , chris weitz , and todd alcott . the film stars woody allen , sharon stone , jennifer lopez , sylvester stallone , dan aykroyd , anne bancroft , and gene hackman . some of the main characters share facial similarities with the actors who voice them . antz is dreamworks pictures ' first animated film , and the second feature-length computer-animated film after disney/pixar 's toy story . the film 's production resulted in a controversial public feud between dreamworks co-founder jeffrey katzenberg and steve jobs and john lasseter of pixar , concerning the parallel productions of this film and pixar 's a bug 's life . this only worsened when disney refused to avoid competition with dreamworks ' intended first animated release , the prince of egypt ( 1998 ) . antz premiered on september 19 , 1998 , at the toronto international film festival , and was released theatrically in the united states on october 2 , 1998 . it grossed $ 171.8 million worldwide on a budget of $ 42 – 60 million . 
antz is a 1998 american computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by eric darnell and tim johnson and written by paul weitz, chris weitz, and todd alcott. the film stars woody allen, sharon stone, jennifer lopez, sylvester stallone, dan aykroyd, anne bancroft, and gene hackman. some of the main characters share facial similarities with the actors who voice them. antz is dreamworks pictures' first animated film, and the second feature-length computer-animated film after disney/pixar's toy story. the film's production resulted in a controversial public feud between dreamworks co-founder jeffrey katzenberg and steve jobs and john lasseter of pixar, concerning the parallel productions of this film and pixar's a bug's life. this only worsened when disney refused to avoid competition with dreamworks' intended first animated release, the prince of egypt (1998). antz premiered on september 19, 1998, at the toronto international film festival, and was released theatrically in the united states on october 2, 1998. it grossed $ 171.8 million worldwide on a budget of $ 42 – 60 million.
antz is a 1998 american computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by eric darnell and tim johnson and written by paul weitz, chris weitz, and todd alcott. the film stars woody allen, sharon stone, jennifer lopez, sylvester stallone, dan aykroyd, anne bancroft, and gene hackman. some of the main characters share facial similarities with the actors who voice them. antz is dreamworks pictures' first animated film, and the second feature-length computer-animated film after disney/pixar's toy story. the film's production resulted in a controversial public feud between dreamworks co-founder jeffrey katzenberg and steve jobs and john lasseter of pixar, concerning the parallel productions of this film and pixar's a bug's life. this only worsened when disney refused to avoid competition with dreamworks' intended first animated release, the prince of egypt (1998). antz premiered on september 19, 1998, at the toronto international film festival, and was released theatrically in the united states on october 2, 1998. it grossed $ 171.8 million worldwide on a budget of $ 42 – 60 million.