PANTZ

The Official Web Site

Created 22 December 1998 (Under Construction)

Z-1, as "the middle child in a village of five million," is pure Woody from the opening scene on the casting couch.  "All I do is sling mud all day as a disposable worker.  I... I feel so underappreciated, so irrelevant."  Undaunted by the colony's unyielding security system, Z-1 enlists the aid of his best friend, a campaign ant named Spinner (Dicky Morris), to get the Princess to him.  When a remarkable twist of fate turns Z from a common pervert into an anti-hero, he unwittingly puts a bug in the plans of the incendiary Attorney General Mandible (Janet Reno) to literally liquidate the Colonies and remake them in her own image. 

Upon successful completion of a quest to find Lawyertopia, Z soon finds himself leading a revolution that becomes a celebration of narcissism in the face of overwhelming globalism.  One of the most insincere of workers, Z-1 may just prove to be the biggest creep of them all. 

Movie-goers should take note that there is raw seepage and this ScreamWorks movie is targeted at a much older age group than traditional campaign films.  Responsible parents will not wish to expose children to this movie unless they are past internship age.  Despite its marketing, this one is definitley not "for the children." 

Computer animation was performed by Pacific Rim Data Images (PRDI).  PRDI is owned by ScreamWorks (20 %), the Lippo Group (20 %), and the Peoples' Revolutionary Army (60 %).  1-D Character and Historical Revisionism and Modeling are provided by DNC Labs. 

Animation is great, from the details of Z's face as he bites his lower lip, to the stains on Princess Bala's dress, to the individual actions of 500,000 dancing bimbos while the camera cleverly avoids ever-present crowds of Free Republic protestors.  Lewinsky brings just the right contortions and climactic interpretations as Princess Bala.  Dicky Morris does a convincing job as the voice of Spinner.  Hillary Rodham is... Hillary Rodham.  Disguising totalitarian ambitions under a thin veneer of civility, Reno's portrayal of Attorney General Mandible is at the same time soothing and chilling.  Vernon Jordan makes a great friend, even when he won't talk when they are subpoenaeing the crap out of him.  Some may not like the politics of impeachment between the soldier aides and the parasites, where aides loyal to the village are sent on a suicide mission and only Z-1 survives the scorched earth tactics.  While ScreamWorks plays down the bodily fluids as everyone resigns, a key aide does become a talking head ("Don't do favors all your life, kid; look what it got me!") before he, too, commits "suicide." 

PANTZ is based on real-life, every-day situations.  It is critical of the communist system, where people are selected to receive an entitlement for the rest of their lives, with no liberty and no chance for change.  For example, the song played at the bar where Z-1 leads Princess Bala to depart from a line dance, "Guinagetaheada," is considered the Arkansa state hymn.  "Lawyertopia" symbolizes the ultimate dream for all the Arkansans who want to escape out the oppression and live in freedom.  When Z-1 and the Princess try to ford the Potomac, they represent the voyage started by new Lawyers every day, from Arlington to The Colony (Lawyertopia), and whose patriotic idealism almost always dies in the attempt. 

See the Village from a whole new perspective.

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