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DVD Review

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Antz

"Every ant has his day"

Reviewed by Cass Nunn

antz.jpg (8527 bytes)
Director
Eric Darnell,
Lawrence Guterman

Cast/Voices
Woody Allen,
Dan Aykroyd,
Anne Bancroft,
Jane Curtin,
Danny Glover,
Gene Hackman,
Jennifer Lopez,
John Mahoney,
Paul Mazursky,
Grant Shaud,
Sylverster Stallone,
Sharon Stone,
Christopher Walken

Music
Harry Gregson-Williams &
John Powell

Screen Format/s	1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio Track/s	DD5.1 English, French, German, Dutch
Subtitle/s	English, German, Dutch
Region Code	2,4
Chapters	26
Disc Format	DVD9
Running Time	80 minutes
Extras	- Featurette: Behind the Scenes - Featurette: Basics of Computer Animation - Featurette: Facial Animation - Featurette: Character Design - Theatrical Trailer - Audio Commentary
Classification	PG
Distributor	Universal
Release date	21st March 2001

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Another popular animated film which delves much deeper than children’s entertainment, especially for those of us that have a love of animation.

Z (Woody Allen) is a lonesome ant who is having a little of a personal crisis that he alone is not making a significant impact on the life of the ant colony. This all changes though when he meets princess Bala (Sharon Stone) and after her quick departure he does everything in his power to be able to see her again. Including swapping places with his friend Weaver (Sylvester Stallone) who is a dedicated soldier ant. When the soldiers head off to war Z isn’t aware that this is mearly a plan to kill off the colony so General Mandible (Gene Hackman) can overthrow the Queen (Anne Bancroft).

From here sees a tale of the love between Z and princess Bala develop and their combined efforts to save the rest of the colony.

While there are many underlying morals to the story the basic outside is quite effective in entertaining the kids and keeping the adults in tow as well.

So how does this transfer hold up?

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VIDEO
This 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is great. As one of the groundbreaking films in computer generated animation this is a job well done. Although I have to say that it does not match any of the more recently released Pixar computer generated efforts. The transfer is sharp and clear throughout and there is no grain to be seen anywhere. There are no MPEG artefacts, however film artefacts can be seen quite often and are the one main problem with this transfer.

The colour palette was quite limited but given that the majority of the scenes are underground this is understandable. There are a great number of browns and darker colours, which leave shadow detail a little less than I desired at times

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AUDIO
The Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio Transfer was fantastic, and in fact very close to reference quality. Dialogue is clear and sharp throughout and the voices used give an enormous amount of feeling to each character, as they are all very different.

The use of the surround channels was superb and never was there a quiet moment in the rear. There are a multitude of effects on offer here and the LFE channel give a good demo too. From a booming stomp of a human foot to the voice of the characters the sub was always doing it’s bit. This is really a fantastic constant use of the surround channels.

The score was well mixed with a basis of orchestral music mixed with good recognisable songs to some moody music as well. All fitted well with the on screen action

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EXTRAS

Featurette: Behind the Scenes: Basically another trailer really with little on offer to really learn much from it.
Featurette: Basics of Computer Animation: This is more interesting with some actual insight into the technical side of the animation stages.
Featurette: Facial Animation: very short look at the creation of facial expressions.
Featurette: Character Design: A good look at the design process for the main characters and how those designs were developed into the final product.
Theatrical Trailer
Audio Commentary (Directors): A good coverage of the film, which is quite entertaining without being focused on any one aspect for too long.

OVERALL
While I don’t think this is anywhere near the league of A Bugs Life or even Toy Story 2 this is still a great computer generated film and I highly recommend it for everyone.

PICTURE QUALITY	8/10 a spattering of film artefacts
SOUND - Quality - 5.1 WOW Factor	10/10 perfect 10/10 perfect again
EXTRAS	7.5/10 not terribly impressive really, quality not quantity
OVERALL	8/10 entertainment plus!

Review Equipment
TV: GE 68cm (16:9 selectable)
DVD: Pioneer 737
Receiver: Yamaha RX-V595a
Speakers:-
Fronts: Wharfedale Diamond R6 (on a pair of custom made stands you'd KILL for)
Centre: Venturi
Rears: Sony bookshelf
Sub: M&K v75

- Reviewed 3rd June 2001

* jpeg files for internet promotion use only. Copyright� exists on all aspects of these files by Universal Pictures Video