Antz
DreamWorks Distribution | Release Date: October 2, 1998 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Washington PostRita Kempley
Sorry, Antz has no show-stopping song and dance numbers, no catchy melodies and no love songs either. The score, made up of old standards, does, however, enhance one of the movie's wittier episodes. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It's sharp and funny--not a children's movie, but one of those hybrids that works on different levels for different ages. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Antz works best just showing off its prodigious voice talent. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Visually, it's more impressive than Disney's “Toy Story.” Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Refreshingly naughty and nice. Read full review
70
SalonJanelle Brown
Katzenberg may or may not have stolen his idea from Pixar, but it's obvious in the film that he spent significant time at Disney. The plot of Antz is pure Disney pastiche: Read full review
80
Village VoiceDennis Lim
Matching their superbly expressive computer-generated counterparts, the actors are all enjoyably hammy, but the real star of Antz is the art direction, a marvel of teeming detail wittier and more sophisticated than the script. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Without a doubt, the animation is vibrant and electrifying; it's only the story that lacks. Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Pure fun. Read full review
60
Film ThreatChris Gore
Succeeds at pushing the technology as well as and offering intelligent family fare that won't leave adults bored. Great fun. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
This witty, star-packed and visually splendid kids' movie provides a small-is-beautiful message served on a parodoxically epic scale. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Stack
A humongous animation event that ratchets up the level of the computer art that Hollywood is swooning over these days. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerWalter Addiego
That's not to say the entertaining Antz" was made by Woody, just that it's full of his personality. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
I suspect an account of all the complex business transactions would be more fun than anything in the movie, where you can't see a blue sky that isn't made up to resemble the Dreamworks logo. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Sophisticated, funny, and joyously subversive animated bug epic. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
A charmer, complete with cute critters voiced by the ultrafamous. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Brief enough, clocking in at 83 minutes, but its story is too predictable to make an impact even in such a short space. Unlike "Toy Story," the dialogue here, written by Todd Alcott and Chris & Paul Weitz, is pro forma all the way. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Denby
Antz, with its deadpan witticisms, its heart-stopping shifts of perspective, is completely entertaining, a kids' movie that will leave grown-ups quoting the best lines to one another. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
The story is well-told, but so familiar that it renders the surrounding film a bright, shiny, dispensible bauble, an amusing diversion but not much more. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Schickel
Kids may be puzzled by rebellious worker ants chanting Marxist slogans, but their parental guides may welcome the relief from the prevailing blandness of family films. [Oct 12, 1998 v152 n15 p116]
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Adults also are more likely than kids to snicker at jokes. Read full review
90
VarietyTodd McCarthy
A dazzling delight. Read full review
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Sorry, stinging fire ants couldn't make me reveal the outcome of this witty and, yes, surprisingly suspenseful adventure. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
The latest showpiece for computer animation, with all the contoured, suspiciously gleaming perfection that this entails. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsDavid Kehr
A bug-eyed marvel. [2 October 1998, p. 56]
75
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
Think "Animal Farm" redone as Ant Farm. [2 October 1998, p. 11E]
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