A wide-eyed Z and Bala discover "Insectopia." © DreamWorks LLC.

Back at the colony, rumors of Z's defiance and independence inspire the workers to revolt, but the General convinces them to keep digging his beloved tunnel. Meanwhile, Z and Bala soon find a picnic spread and believe this to be Insectopia. They meet two snooty upper-crust wasps, Chip and Buffy (Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin), who help them with a "force field" (plastic wrap) surrounding a sandwich. The ants then get trapped on some bubble gum stuck to a boy's sneaker and are tossed into a garbage heap -- this the real "Insectopia," a virtual Disneyland of rotting food. When one overfed stink bug complains that something tastes like crap, he's delighted to find out, "It IS crap!"

The General's chief lieutenant, Cutter (Christopher Walken) finds Bala at a campfire and kidnaps her, returning her to the colony. Z goes back to rescue her, just as the General begins the tunnel opening ceremonies. Z and Bala discover the General's true plot and warn the Queen. In short, Z saves the day and the ants survive. The camera pulls back to reveal the ants' location to be Central Park, the film ends on a shot of the real New York skyline, paralleling the film's opening shot.

General Mandible confronts Princess Bala. © DreamWorks LLC.

The Long and the Short of It
Antz fulfills all the requirements expected of a contemporary feature length animated film, thus no one will be particularly disappointed. But no one will be particularly surprised either. It's the same reaction I had to Fox's Anastasia, the film doesn't give us any more than it has to. Part of the success of Toy Story, and some of the other recent Disney cartoon features, is that with every new film they reach way beyond what we're used to -- they push the envelope. Toy Story was not only a groundbreaking computer generated feature, it had characters we could relate to and a strong story. Antz, compared to that, is just a novelty. It's fun to watch, but forgettable.

I do admire DreamWorks' adult approach to animated feature filmmaking. The first part of Antz plays more like a Woody Allen neurosis comedy than any comparable family film. When Z complains about his insignificance, or abstains from "drinking out of an insect's anus," these bits could have been easily excerpted from Allen's Manhattan or Annie Hall. The film goes on to echo moments from Animal Farm, Patton, even Sylvester Stallone's Rambo -- though the film's climax recalls Stallone's recent box office bomb, Daylight.

For all the stunt casting involved, only Allen, Gene Hackman and, surprisingly, Stallone's personas really connect with their characters. Can we really tell, or care, if Sharon Stone is Bala or Anne Bancroft is the Queen? No character here generates much sympathy. Computer animation has gotten so good, so slick, and so realistic that the main characters almost feel as if they were performed by live actors in grotesque insect make-up. It took a while for me to get used to looking into Z's realistic eyes, his E.T.-like facial features, and his near-perfect dental work.