1998, 1 hr 27 min., Rated PG for mild language and menacing action. Voices of: Woody Allen (Z), Sharon Stone (Princess Bala), Gene Hackman (General Mandible), Sylvester Stallone (Weaver), Christopher Walken (Colonel Cutter), Danny Glover (Barbados), Jennifer Lopez (Azteca), Dan Aykroyd (Chip), Jane Curtin (Muffy), Anne Bancroft (Queen).

I'll be forthcoming to start. Going into Antz I'd never seen a Woody Allen movie, and never planned on it, except for Annie Hall because it'z in the AFI Top 100. And ya gotta admit, Allen is a sleazy guy. But the topper to that is the fact that he's pretty normal for a Hollywood-type nowadays. God, please let no one look to current actors and actresses as a role model. (Unless it's Charlton Heston! Of course, the media has now pretty much made sure he'll always be seen as a gun-toting ultra-right-wing kook. *sigh*)

This also means that even though I'd heard numbers of wanna-be Woodyz, his Jewish anxiety-ridden schtick was relatively fresh. But Antz wasn't a great movie because of Woody. It was hilarious several timez, with different characters providing a lift.

What made the movie appealing was also in its style. An animated movie, it'z done with CGI as Toy Story broke open the genre a couple of yearz ago. But this isn't a Disney flick. This has adult humor written all over it, sort of like the television cartoon Animaniacs appealz to kidz with itz zaniness, but much of the one-linerz are only recognized by the older crowd.

The plot iz nothing new...overzealous military commander wantz to take control of the colony, so he constructz a plan to have the weaker antz die off, helping Darwinism along quicker. And along comez the most unanticipated (by the colony, not the audience) hero to save the day, a worker ant (Allen). But looking at it in a new light, from an antz perspective, makes it unique. That is, until Disney'z CGI A Bug's Life comez out for Thanksgiving.

Another of the little joyz of Antz is in looking for the popular Hollywood starz' voices. Allen seems to have the same stuff as every previous assignment ("I don't want to laugh at death. I just thought I could snicker at hit behind its back"), except this time he'z more adorable as an ant than real life.

Hackman, even though he'z not known as a stereotypical military General, workz well in the evil authoritarian role. Stallone iz the supportive soldier friend who allows Allen to switch places in order to see Princess Bala, who is voiced by Stone. Princess Bala was a great ant, but Stone didn't add anything to the character that the Wrigley Doublemint twins could have done.

Aykroyd and Curtin have great rolez az Upscale wasps (sort of like the Montgomerys on ABCz Dharma and Greg (which we later learned was on purpose, as WASPs-white anglo-saxon protestants). Those were the two most difficlt to pinpoint voicewise, learning the surprise during the credits. I also didn't guess Danny Glover'z voice az Barbados, the soldier who watches over Z going into battle.

Jennifer Lopez, as Z's friend and Stallone'z love interest, has a voice that could turn on a can-opener. She'z just sexy all around. And Stacy thought it was Lori Petty, a.k.a. "Tank Girl." No way she doez anything for me, so I held my ground on Lopez!

Other great themez included the idea of Insectopia that Allen and Stone discover, after hearing of it from a drunk old guy in a bar. While Z and Bala sit by the campfire with a ladybug and a humorous gnat, a stock character of a Hawaiian surfer/marijuana smoker, but deliverz the funniest line of the movie ("What if this isn't all there is? Didya ever think there was something more, something bigger out there? An entire universe?"). Other good scenez include the colony work stoppage where the workerz protest the caste system and their work environment (work all day, no benefits, all dancez are the same). Z becomes the leader through 5 minute word of mouth where he'z almost a god by the time the mumbles reachez the end of the line, and no one'z ever seen him.

The war segment looks great in CGI, and for a minute looks like Starship Troopers, with bugz five timez bigger and gunz wholly insufficient for the task. However brief, this scene could frighten small children.

Overall, there was little to detract from Antz. There were momentz where the movie seemed to drag, but thoze were quickly squashed. The animation is flawless, with novel ideas on how the tiny creatures conduct life. So this one is highly recommended. In the end, I was even sympathetic to the little creaturez, hoping no one would smoosh them once we saw where their anthill colony iz located. Then I walked outside and probably killed dozenz on the way to the car. Hey, they're small, don't get on my case!

The verdict: A lot of fun.

Postscript: I saw this Fri, Oct. 17 at midnight with Scott, Jenn, Stacy, Steph, Bill and Steven. In front of us, 800 black men and women all went to see Bride of Chucky. I've heard some people in the media and at work (does that count as media since I work at CNN?) that said Beloved starring Oprah Winfrey wouldn't succeed no matter how good because white people won't see such a film. Well, tell it to the hundreds of people in front of us at the theater who also didn't see Beloved.