DreamWorks Pictures and Pacific Data Images' computer-animated feature film, "Antz" opens in U.S. theaters on Friday, October 2. The film's 78 minutes of animation (112,320 frames) took two and a half years and a staff of over 200 people to produce. Character voices featured in the film include Woody Allen, Dan Akroyd, Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone and Christopher Walken. DreamWorks took the animation world by surprise in June when they announced that they would release "Antz" six months earlier than its previously announced debut set for March 1999 [AF 6/30/98], a highly competitive move which placed the film in theaters nearly two months ahead of Disney's "A Bug's Life." However, in case there is still any confusion between this season's insect movies, "Antz" is clearly targeted at an older audience than "A Bug's Life." PDI's second CGI feature for DreamWorks, "Shrek" is in pre-production, and will get a head start on production shortly after the release of "Antz." DreamWorks' first, now second-to-be-released animated feature, "Prince of Egypt," produced in their Los Angeles facility, is slated for a December 18 debut.
