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The ANTZ go marching one by one, and they take Father Geek with them

Antz & Uncles by Heff-Ra	Oct 1st, 1998 02:52:38 AM
This film seems to want to ride the hype wagon down to the very last stop. But considering it's a Dreamworks production with a Pepsi tie-in, resignation is probably in order. An adult themed animated film may work for a group of Austin kiddies, but I guarantee you, in the cultural void that I call home (San Antonio, TX) it'll fail to capture the hearts and minds of our stunted youth. But hey, I figure that simply means that those of us who suffer from acute Peter Pan syndrome will simply have to wait in shorter lines. I do so hope this film lives up to even a bit of the hyperbole piled upon it. Paix... Heff-Ra
music in cartoons. by fakefinn	Oct 1st, 1998 03:34:05 AM
I hate to see the music in animated film get bashed. I thought the music in LION KING helped move the story along and was itself a character of the story. Though I didn't like the silly songs in HUNCHBACK (gargoyles), I thought most of the songs were the best of any Disney show...they were VERY adult themed and worked to progress the story rather than just be a song for the sake of singing. Really amazing work. I think if the music devolops a character or a scene, it is wonderful. If it doesn't, it distracts. (I loved everything about TOY STORY except the music because I don't think it worked. Though it said what was going on, I think it took the obvious route.) And why bash the sickkicks? Some kids (young and old) empathize with the sidekick more than they can the hero. What is needed is just better, more character driven writing for the sidekicks so they aren't as out of place or annoying. They serve a purpose, but the purpose is watered down if they stop being a character and turn into a characature.
Stupid kids by Bud	Oct 1st, 1998 06:18:13 AM
Gee, I hope all the backward kids and adults here on the East Coast can "get it". Stop talking down to people, there are people in the world, other than the family Geek, who know about film.
Antz by robert	Oct 1st, 1998 09:30:16 AM
I caught a screening of Antz a couple of weeks ago and I have to disagree with all these reviews about how much more "mature" the film is than other animated films. I found the film to be very juvenile and preachy. The moral of the movie is "Do Your Own Thing." How lame. Mature adults don't need to be told that. The film doesn't even elaborate on that theme. A few characters just go around saying it every now and then. That didn't seem like a very mature or intellectual statement to me. "Beauty and the Beast", "Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Mulan" all had more mature and clever writing than this. The animation was OK. It doesn't come anywhere close to the brilliant quality of Pixar animation. If the movie had a better story and characters, I would not have minded the dull and dark animation so much. Another thing that bugged me were the celebrity voices used to voice the characters. They weren't anything more than celebrity voices with uninteresting dialogue. Woody Allen's was especially distracting. Woody does the whole Woody schtick, but to me it was just a bunch of misplaced, half clever one liners, not a fully realized character. As for the lack of a cutsie sidekick, I'm getting sick of them too, but in this film one would have helped. Nothing about this film really stood out to me. It was very generic, and I believe it will not do great business at the box office. It'll probably do ok, but not great. The music wasn't finished when I saw the film, so I can't say anything about that. I recognized some music from "Batman Returns."
Antz was OK. by Kathi	Oct 1st, 1998 10:15:09 AM
I saw "Antz" last week. I, too, found it to be a fun film, but not one I'd recommend, or even go see again myself. All the "professionl" reviews copy the press release statements saying how the animators had "a library of facial and body movements" which allowed them to "animate" at a faster pace. Much like Saturday Morning. Not to be cruel, but that's exactly what the animation felt like: it had NO CHARACTER. Everyone moved the same--the only thing distinguishing the characters was the voices. While this is the point of the film (individuality) it would have been nice to see the animation grow with the characters as they broke their molds. No such luck. Pixar's animation, however, is the definition of "Character Animation." Not complacent to use a library of stock movements, it appears from what I've seen (and I've seen ONLY the new trailer) that each character reads as an individual not ONLY because of their shape, but also because of their ACTING. Antz never approached this level of though. Hopefully they'll learn from this and build on it.
Antz was OK. by Kathi	Oct 1st, 1998 10:15:26 AM
I saw "Antz" last week. I, too, found it to be a fun film, but not one I'd recommend, or even go see again myself. All the "professionl" reviews copy the press release statements saying how the animators had "a library of facial and body movements" which allowed them to "animate" at a faster pace. Much like Saturday Morning. Not to be cruel, but that's exactly what the animation felt like: it had NO CHARACTER. Everyone moved the same--the only thing distinguishing the characters was the voices. While this is the point of the film (individuality) it would have been nice to see the animation grow with the characters as they broke their molds. No such luck. Pixar's animation, however, is the definition of "Character Animation." Not complacent to use a library of stock movements, it appears from what I've seen (and I've seen ONLY the new trailer) that each character reads as an individual not ONLY because of their shape, but also because of their ACTING. Antz never approached this level of though. Hopefully Dreamworks/PDI will learn from this and build on it.
ANTZ are ugly by Baked Spam	Oct 1st, 1998 12:26:38 PM
Yeah, yeah, yeah, enough about how "adult" the story for antz is, what about the look of the characters. The ants in ANTZ are BUTT UGLY!! I would much rather put a Flik or Princess Dot toy on my computer than a Z toy. Has everyone forgot who cartoons are made for...kids...and what do kids like? TOYS! Pixar did a great job in making almost every central character of A Bug's Life have their own look and personality to match their look. Unlike ANTZ where...based on what I've seen...all look the same...brown, fuzzy, SIX Legs, and most of all, BUTT UGLY. Oh, and heres another thought, why doesn't Katzenburg and the rest of Dreamworks make an ORGINAL movie, rather than copy their neighbor's (Disney)paper? In my opinion all Dreamworks is is a bunch of copycats "borrowing" someone elses idea, and then putting out a half assed product first. And I know for a fact that A Bug's Life was concieved long before TOY STORY even hit theatres back in 95. No pun intended but this whole ANTZ thing just Bugs me.
Cartoons are for kids? by aartvark	Oct 1st, 1998 01:04:49 PM
From the beginning, the best cartoons were made BY adults FOR adults. It's only really since television networks put them on Saturday mornings that they've been considered solely the province of children. And I think it's kinda silly to complain that the characters in a movie about ants all look similar. Go check out the ants in your lawn sometime and see how many differences you can spot... :)
Cheesy Poofs by cartman	Oct 1st, 1998 01:33:08 PM
Antz sucks. Why the hell is their a movie about a bunch of little asshole ants. Why cant me and my friends be in a movie. Why don't you assholes film a movie in South Park, where you can have all the cheesy poofs you want. Assholes!
ANTZ by david	Oct 1st, 1998 02:51:56 PM
Dis!!?!?
Antz by david	Oct 1st, 1998 02:56:25 PM
You know, my uneducated ebonics loving friend. It is 'brothers' like you that spout out cultural diversity and then not have the intellectual capacity to drive a point home because you cannot adapt to the environment present in your ignorant state of existance. This movie was good. I wouldn't label it a blockbuster. I doubt I would take my date to it. However the four year old would be going. Wide eyed and mouth agape at all the animation. My opinion is obsolete. It is this child's opinion and eager/hungering stare up at the big screen that makes or breaks this movie.
Homeboy? by GregBrady	Oct 1st, 1998 04:01:57 PM
Superfly you are so fake! Oh your a real brother! Damn, you look so white with your writing! And Cartman is it me or has South Park always sucked? Damn we are kids who swear yippity skip. Watch the damn Simpsons if you want good comedy.
Would the movie be better if it had the title "Disney's ANTZ"? by John Hammond	Oct 1st, 1998 04:47:45 PM
I have to write this letter again, because during the last sentence, freaking piece of crap HP 7285 crap machine had a brain fart and shut down Explorer: If ANTZ was the same movie, but was just made by Disney, would many of you be making the same comments? I personally believe that BOTH (A BUG'S LIFE & ANTZ) movies will turn out OK. You'll hear your negative or positive comments every now and then, but for the most part, both movies will turn out OK. However, character animation might be better for A Bug's Life, simply because Pixar has more experience AND they've done a full-length movie before. Not to mention they have a bigger budget and more resources. PDI . . . I haven't even heard of until this movie, but I would have preferred Dreamworks went with Rhythm & Hues. I hope however, ANTZ will reach the $100 million mark, not so much that there will be a sequel, but so Dreamworks doesn't abandon the 3D-movie market and can put more money into it. If they were smart they'd steal of Pixar's people as well (he he). Both stories are as simply as can be, one about individuality the other about an ant colony and a ban of misfits battling the grasshoppers. I would also like to disagree about the comment about how Dreamworks should get their own original stories. How original was Hercules? Hunchback of Notre Dame? Beauty & The Beast? You saying Disney came up with all those stories on their own? Most of Disney stuff come from books or short stories. Most recently a Chineese poem! I'd say the only originality comes from Pixar created stories . . . when it comes to animation. All the movies after The Little Mermaid have been rip-offs of something. Even the Lion King, ever hear of Jungle Taitei? Even some of the flicks from Walt's day were rip-offs. So I wouldn't point the finger at unoriginality at Dreamworks and PDI alone, as Disney has some of its own. I hope however, Dreamworks, or at least Katzenberg, reads sites and comments like these to better improve their movie quality. As for a start up movie company, Dreamworks is doing ok and a lot better than its competitors when they started out. One more thing, before you flame please don't take this letter as an offense to Disney or Pixar. Just a friendly letter with no harm intended what so ever. Rememeber, someone has to stick up for the small guy.
Exactly. by Grig	Oct 1st, 1998 05:30:43 PM
Amen. I like to see someone hit a nail on the head. Viva Dreamworks!
ANTZ look like little talking shits by Baked Spam	Oct 1st, 1998 05:49:50 PM
I agree with Walt Flannigan and his trusty dog (i loved the kevin smith refrence) DREAMWORKS has done nothing but copy...ANTZ and A BUG'S LIFE...DEEP IMPACT and ARMAGEDDON...SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and THE THIN RED LINE???? anyone else agree with me? oh and SMALL SOLDIERS seemed to be an evil version of TOY STORY...only live action!
JIVE T by me	Oct 1st, 1998 11:57:24 PM
is pathetic, every post you have posted hasn't been worthwhile, and is usually insulting and misinformed. I doubt you have even seen this movie. You need a life. And no not a fake aquired rap identity you aquired from MTV, a real educated life.
PDI by me	Oct 2nd, 1998 12:09:48 AM
I think the real congratulations go to PDI, Carl Rosendahl and the cool digital artists over there. I think the less Jefferey intervenes on these projects the more human and appealing they become. Congratulation on the beautiful matte paintings also. I'm looking forward to Shrek. I saw the original test JK rejected and to me it was superb...they should have done this... I even tried on Shreks mocap suit !! hehe !! but I guess they felt they couldn't so they bought PDI to help them. I think it is also nice to see others take the lead from PIXAR and ILM. There are great people at all these companies, putting in long, long hours and making beautiful work.... what a treat !
AntZ, Adults, Kids by me	Oct 2nd, 1998 12:24:49 AM
Give me a fricken break! A seven year old gets it? How PC of you... And for the tweedledee's and tweedledum's that think Toy Story had good graphics, was your first exposer to computers about 3 weeks ago? Gotta love the internet, every wannabe gets to post there opnion. And to the Aholes out there that will try to ridicule(whats the matter? the word getting to big for you?)my post. All I have to say is until you can identify and use KA9Q then get the f@#$ off the net... YOUR RUINING IT!
Why? by Euthanasia	Oct 5th, 1998 08:22:02 PM
Let me begin by saying that I saw Antz over the weekend with several friends, all of whom agreed that it was the best piece of animation they had seen in a long, long time. My question is, what does race have to do with this cartoon. It was a film about breaking the mold and seeing past stereotypes. The fact that there were few black voice actors isn't part of the message of the film. Maybe Denzel Washington would never associate with such a film, as one person mentioned? Maybe he wasn't asked? Maybe he was asked and couldn't due to prior commitments? Does it really matter? Does everything have to reduced to black and white? Yes, racism is a problem. Yes it should be stopped. However, anyone who says that a person is a racist simply because their skin is white is simply wrong, and just as much a bigot as those he or she is supposedly rallying against. I have as much disdain for a person who calls all whites racists as I do for each and every klan member or other bigot. Please don't reduce everything to a question of race. It belittles the fight for equality and only encourages more racism. Thank you for your time. If you haven't already, I highly recomend going to see Antz. Good night.
You shouldn't have poured syrup all over him. by Wolfpack	Jun 5th, 2006 07:15:22 AM

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The ANTZ go marching one by one, and they take Father Geek with them

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