Amazon.co.uk Review
As with an increasing number of ventures from Hans Zimmer's collective studio Media Ventures, the double composer credit blends two creative influences together. "Mandible and Cutter Plot" bears a resemblance to Powell's
Face/Off score, but otherwise there's no telling who did what. The CGI Woody Allen kid flick has the malcontent Z bucking the system and saving the day. "Opening Titles--Z's Theme" is a searching piano line with a little harmonica to express his humble simplicity. Equally distracted is "Princess Bala", who likewise gets the wistful treatment. Surprisingly, so does "General Mandible" on a wispy flute solo. His misguided bad guy takes his theme from the latter battle music, which is in the crashing style of
The Rock and
Crimson Tide. A very cheesy sample ensemble strike up "Guantanamera", but thankfully it explodes into a full dance number for the first sign of romance. It's a good example of the general light-hearted approach--whoever's idea it was.
--Paul Tonks
From Amazon.com
It may seem extravagant for a film about a bunch of bugs, but soundtrack composers Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell engaged an 85-piece orchestra and 25-member chorus to perform the music for
Antz. In the film, a worker ant with the voice of Woody Allen becomes a hero to his embattled colony and earns the affections of Princess Bala (the voice of Sharon Stone). Appropriately, the music is a mix of dramatic swells, romantic interludes, and celebratory jaunts, scurrying from sprightly jazz to classical dirge to Latin bounce--there are even allusions to "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" and "Guantanamera." This surprising diversity makes the music from
Antz lively enough for children and sophisticated enough for adults.
--Richard Martin