Antz [DVD]

This dazzling computer animated comedy uses with great comic effect the neurotic persona of Woody Allen in order to tell the story of Z (Allen), a down trodden worker ant struggling to assert his individuality amongst the conformity of the ant colony. Z’s transformation from faceless nobody to unwilling hero eventuates when he volunteers to swap places with his fearless soldier ant buddy Weaver (Sylvester Stallone), in order to get close to the feisty Princess Bala (Sharon Stone). This lands the nervous insect right in the middle of the brutal termite wars and a series of misadventures, accumulating in the search for the mythical “Insectopia”. Directors Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson have a lot of fun by visually suggesting a microscopic world not unlike New York city and by giving the animated ants the physical traits and mannerisms of their voice-over counterparts. Gene Hackman, Dan Aykroyd, Jennifer Lopez, Danny Glover, Christopher Walken and Ann Bancroft are among the many who contribute their voices.