ANTZ

Genre: Comedy, Satire

Studio: DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks Animation

Release Date: Oct. 2, 1998

Individualism versus the souless hive mind. Most would say the former is clearly superior to the latter, but in the world of Antz, collectivism is the rule. The colony, not the ant, is the reason for being. The “one” is nothing when compared to the whole. Which makes sense, perhaps, when you’re an insect living in a literal hive.

But Z-4195, or “Z” for short, is not like his comrades. He’s tired of shifting dirt as a “soil relocation engineer.” He wants more from life. Autonomy! Self-actualization! Yet no one, not even his best friends, can understand why he’s so miserable.

Obviously, despite being about bugs, this is a movie about ideas. What it lacks, perhaps, in pure artistic panache (compared to, say, the more commercial A Bug’s Life), it fixes with an impressive script that spans political corruption, coups, and even genocide, all to deliver a still (somehow) amusing fairy tale about an ant finding happiness. Indeed, despite looking like an early-CGI production, the film’s pro-freedom and independence themes—coupled with a respect for communal responsibility—imbues it with a timeless sophistication many films, no matter the era, fail to embody.

Like giving a copy of Animal Farm to a kindergartner, not every child will enjoy Antz or understand its satirical significance. Even those “cultured” folk, after years of watching flaxen princesses and goofy minions and talking ponies, might struggle to appreciate the film’s darker humor and garish characters. And yet, for those willing to see the irony, Antz remains a tiny triumph.

A bug rising above them all.--D