 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Antz
- Review Date: May 2, 2004
- PG
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 1998
Common Sense Media says
Great effects and characters, but surprisingly violent.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Antz is an animated comedy that will have lots of appeal for teens and adults, especially for fans of Woody Allen's brand of humor -- ironic social commentary and perpetual worry. However, the action in this film is substantial. It's meant to be exaggerated and funny, but though the victims are ants and other insects, for young or sensitive kids they're relatable characters -- – living, breathing beings with human voices. There are many deaths: great battles occur along with the aftermath on fields covered with bodies (and include a sad deathbed scene of a well-liked ant soldier). The strutting villain tortures two heroes and threatens to drown the entire ant colony; the ants escape the rushing waters with no time to spare. Other characters are blown to smithereens or turned to ash. Two couples flirt, fall in love, and kiss. There's some potty language and swearing ("tight-ass," "hell," "damn," "anus," "crap") and the ants have a local pub in which they drink an intoxicating beverage.
What's the story?
In ANTZ, Woody Allen provides the voice of Z, the movie's hero, and we first see him on the analyst's couch, complaining about his feelings of inadequacy. A worker ant among millions of others, he longs for some individuality. When he meets the ant princess Bala (voice of Sharon Stone), he longs to see her again. So he persuades his friend Weaver (voice of Sylvester Stallone), a soldier ant, to switch places with him. Weaver enjoys being a worker, but Z finds to his horror that he is being sent into battle by the megalomaniacal General Mandible (voice of Gene Hackman). He is befriended by Barbados (voice of Danny Glover), who is killed, along with all of the other soldiers. Only Z escapes, and it is up to him to rescue the rest of the ant colony from Mandible.
Is it any good?
The visual effects are dazzling, and the vocal characterizations of Allen, Stallone, and Stone are superb. But there's more death and violence than might be expected in a kids' film. The deaths of two characters and the slaughter of thousands of animated "extras" make this too intense for younger kids. Some of the more sophisticated humor may be lost on kids, but they'll find other things to laugh at.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about when to question authority and how to balance individuality with the needs and norms of the community.
How do you think Antz compares with other movies that offer an about insect's point of view, such as A Bug's Life and Honey I Shrunk the Kids?
Is it fun to think of how different things look to an ant, like how our discarded trash is an exciting "Insectopia" to them?
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Adult
November 30, 2008
AGE
COMPLETELY disagree with the 8+ rating - this is a Big Kid movie
We previewed this movie in hopes we could show it to our 6 year old and 8 year old who are entranced by their ant farm these days. SO glad we previewed it. SUre, it's just animated, but it's still graphically violent - screen-for-screen shots of battle scenes depicted in countless rated-R movies. The guts were green instead of red, but does that make this violence ok? There's serious deception, political issues (trying to take over the colony through murder), really bad language (we backed up in SEVERAL places to make sure we were hearing what we THOUGHT we'd heard first time through).
Why do movie makers have to ruin films this way?
Not only won't I recommend it for children - there's nothing redeeming in this film for any age.
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Kid, 11 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
funny and highly entertaining film!!
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Kid, 11 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
good movie
a good movie have a few miled words and some vilence (burning ants with a magnifing glass)
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Teen, 16 years old
May 4, 2011
AGE
Not for young kids, buy maybe tweens.
While the site might say okay for 7+ Id say it's much higher. From what I remember, the violence was problematic and the langauge was pretty bad for a kids flick.
What other families should know:
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Adult
April 9, 2008
AGE
The language in this movie REALLY surprised me
There are a lot of things in this movie that make me shocked that it is a cartoon.
The worst is the language. Everything from Dam*, Cra*, He**, I believe they say A** too. It just blew me away. Then the movie itself:
Kidnapping, War (ok it's a bug war but the violence is still there), Fighting in general (there are I believe 2 fistfights one where a male ant hits a female ant), Oh yeah and of course the whole main idea of the movie which is the big bad army ant attempting or murder everyone in the entire colony that he doesn't think is WORTHWHILE. It's pretty much a cartoon version of Hitler. I literally threw this movie out. I DO NOT reccomend it to any child under 13.
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Parent of 5 and 8 year old
January 16, 2010
AGE
Good for older kids, not for elementary school aged.
I've seen this movie alone and with my kids several times, ages 8 and 5. The last time we watched it I caught several bad words and a couple of innuendos. I've decided to shelve it until they are older. My oldest realized the language and gave us the "did you hear that" look.
What other families should know:
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Adult
July 21, 2010
AGE
antz is good for younger kids the only problem is that it has cartoon violence.
What other families should know:
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Teen, 16 years old
July 27, 2010
AGE
I think all you parents are being a little too sensitive. Hell, is not a bad word. I'm sorry, but it isn't. Your kiddies hear it every Sunday, and I bet when they are at school, they are saying it as well. Language these days isn't as "adult" as it used to be. This is a good movie, yes it does have pretty intense fighting scenes, but nothing they haven't seen before in their lives. So, don't be so picky parents, it's not inappropriate movie by any means, and I think liberal parents will love the government messages it has under the kiddy stuff.
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| Topics: | adventures, bugs, friendship, great boy role models, misfits and underdogs, science and nature |
| Studio: | DreamWorks |
| Directors: | Eric Darnell, Lawrence Guterman, Tim Johnson |
| Cast: | Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone, Woody Allen |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 84 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | October 2, 1998 |
| DVD release date: | November 19, 2002 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
| MPAA explanation: | tension, cartoon violence, and some language |
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