Walken plays: Colonel Cutter - flying ant, regimented clock watcher, redemptive dissident
Synopsis: Antz is fundamentally a product of its time - if only for the reason that no one would ever let Woody Allen within a hundred miles of a kids film again. Here, in the film that butted mandibles with Disney's A Bug's Life (also 1998) for the late-90s anthropomorphized ants market, he's able to meld his neurotic intellectual schlub persona well into a clever little tale that sneaks subversive themes of individualism and Marxist anti-authoritarian revolt into a children's animation. It's one of the first animated features to play off celebrity voice casting, and it holds up: the humour still bristles, the pace is perfectly bouncy, and the animation is still excellent, particularly the fun with size perspective in the world above ground and the termite massacre, which is still one of the most horrifying sequences ever to make its way into a kid's movie.
Allen's Z is a worker ant who, after trading places with his behemoth soldier friend (Sylvester Stallone) to flirt with the colony's Princess Bala (Sharon Stone), is swept up into a military campaign on the "war on termites" by the corrupt General Mandible (Gene Hackman) who is making a political coup for leadership of the colony. Instead, Z survives, is championed as a war hero, accidentally absconds with the princess, and sets out for the mysterious sanctuary of Insectopia.
Walken's Colonel Cutter, second-in-command to Mandible, doesn't factor in hugely. He's largely distinguishable as 'the one with the wings' (although it is eerie how Walken's distinctive gaunt cheekbones are replicated by Cutter's facial animation), and his character function is largely providing sinister support for Hackman's evil barking. It's commendable how much Walken disappears into a character who would recognize the power in quiet, calculated string-pulling from the background, but it's ultimately a bit of a thankless role for an actor of his talents. But hey - at least he gets a character arc this time around, as Cutter recognizes how Mandible's genocide of the mutineering is not, after all, "for the good of the colony," and decks him during the climax.
Wacky Walken Dialogue: Cutter doesn't really say much period, but there are a couple that stand out. When Mandible asks Cutter to clear room in his schedule for a conversation with Princess Bala, Cutter dutifully replies, "In fact, sir, there is time right now for a personal moment. We're a few seconds ahead of schedule," only to quickly interrupt the ensuing interaction with "Time stands still for no ant." Later, when he arrives at Insectopia - a hippie colony in a garbage dump - he derisively sniffs "This is... bohemian," which is also pretty good.
DOES HE DANCE: Not even a little bit. He flies, which is something, but doesn't really scratch the Walken itch.
Overall Walken-o-meter: 2/10 cowbells. Antz is a quality and thoroughly entertaining animated feature that stands the test of time, but it's not a film to watch for Christopher Walken, plain and simple. This is not to say that Walken detracts at all, as his sinister hiss here is perfect for Cutter. Still, for an actor who has legendarily embodied a cat and gigantic ape, his turn as an ant is one of his least distinctive and memorable in terms of star identity.
No comments:
Post a Comment