Antz

1 Pages 275 Words

Apoorva is the lead animator, special effects at PDI and Poorvi art director and web site designer of www.antz.com. Unlike most Walt Disney Productions, Antz is in 3D animation, a computer animated feature film. Apoorva says, "Usually we deal in special effects where for action the scenes are recreated on computer, like the helicopter scene in Batman Forever. If five years back anyone had suggested making a 90-minute animated feature film, Hollywood would have doubled up in laughter. But now this has become a reality. In fact it's cheaper than employing megastars and making a movie. The price paid to Arnold Schwarzenegger in Batman Forever for his 15-minute appearance is more than enough to make a whole animated feature film."

Apoorva finds a change in the animation trend: "Walt Disney made cartoon movies for kids but Antz is different. The story revolves around Z (Woody Allen) who falls in love with Princess Bala (Sharon Stone). Undaunted by the colony’s unyielding caste system, Z enlists the aid of his best friend Weaver (Sylverster Stallone) to get the Princess." Heavy stuff for little ones but something adults understand.

"In France and Japan comic books for adults are a big hit unlike in the US and India. But the success of Antz is proof enough that the times are changing," Apoorva points out. However, like parallel cinema in India, 3D animation is yet to enter the main stream, asserts poorvi.

According to production supervisor Ken Bielenberg, PDI, Apoorva did a brilliant job for the climax by creating a visual that suggests real water. In reality, millions of digital water particles that exist only on the computer were used for each frame....