Antz

This article is about the 1998 animated film. For the unrelated 1977 television film also known as "Ants", see It Happened at Lakewood Manor. For the video game, see Antz (video game).

Antz
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Screenplay by
Produced by
Starring
Edited byStan Webb
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byDreamWorks Pictures[1]
Release dates
  • September 19, 1998 (1998-09-19) (TIFF)
  • October 2, 1998 (1998-10-02) (United States)
Running time
83 minutes[4]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$42–105 million[5][6][7][8]
Box office$171.8 million[9]

Antz is a 1998 American animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation (as its debut film) and Pacific Data Images, and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. It was directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson (in their feature directorial debuts) from a screenplay written by Todd Alcott and the writing team of Chris and Paul Weitz. The film stars the voices of 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.[10] The film involves an anxious worker ant, Z (Allen), who falls in love with Princess Bala (Stone). When the arrogant General Mandible (Hackman) attempts to seize control of the ant colony, Z must combine his desire for purpose with his inner strength to save everyone.

Development began in 1988 when Walt Disney Feature Animation pitched a film called Army Ants, about a pacifist worker ant teaching lessons of independent thinking to his militaristic colony. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Katzenberg had left the company in a feud with CEO Michael Eisner over the vacant president position after the death of Frank Wells. Katzenberg would later go on to help co-found DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, and the three planned to rival Disney with the company's new animation division. Production began in May 1996, after production had already commenced on The Prince of Egypt (1998). DreamWorks had contracted Pacific Data Images (PDI) in Palo Alto, California, to begin working on computer-animated films to rival Pixar's features. Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell composed the music for the film, marking their first animated film. During its production, a controversial public feud erupted between Katzenberg of DreamWorks and Steve Jobs and John Lasseter of Pixar, due to the production of their similar film A Bug's Life, which was released a month later. The feud worsened when Disney refused to avoid competition with DreamWorks' intended first animated release, The Prince of Egypt.

Antz premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 19, 1998,[11] and was released theatrically in the United States on October 2, 1998. It grossed $171.8 million worldwide on a budget of $42–105 million and received positive reviews, with critics praising the voice cast, animation, humor, and its appeal towards adults.[12]

  1. ^ a b "Antz". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  2. ^ "Antz". The Numbers. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  3. ^ "D'Works, PDI trumpet 'Tusker'". Variety. December 4, 1998. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  4. ^ "Antz". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015. Approved Running time 83 m 7s
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYTPrinceNoKing was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference LATAfterRushHour was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Antz (1998) – Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  8. ^ August 23, le0pard13; Reply, 2013 at 10:03 am (August 23, 2013). "'Antz' & 'A Bug's Life'". Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Antz". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  10. ^ "Antz DVD – Review – Just a big kid". ciao!. January 30, 2001. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  11. ^ Neville, Ken (August 29, 1998). ""Antz" Crashing Toronto Film Fest". E! Online UK. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference rt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).