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Z-4195
- Voiced By: Woody Allen Other voice actors
The main protagonist of the film. Z is a neurotic, meek and pessimistic worker ant who wants to be more than just a nobody who digs dirt 24/7.
After hitting it off with Princess Bala at the worker bar, Z decides to go against the ant colony's system by switching places with his friend, Weaver, to pose as a soldier ant in order to see her again. This eventually leads to Z and Bala going on a life-changing surface adventure to "Insectopia." Overall, Z's actions starts a chain reaction that turns everything about the ant colony on its head.
- All-Loving Hero:
- Sort of grows into one regarding the soldiers. Z gains a slight sense of empathy for them after watching his comrades-in-arms slaughtered during the Termite Colony attack. He takes Barbados' dying words to heart and goes off to find Insectopia to live the life he always wanted, but when he learns what Mandible is planning, he stays with Bala to save the colony without question.
- A smaller example, but Z doesn't hesitate to push Cutter out of the way when Mandible charges toward them in a rage. While he didn't know Cutter had previously been ordered to kill them, he at least had to know Cutter had been party to seal them into the Megatunnel by virtue of his being on the surface with the other soldiers.
- Attention Whore: When he tries to get attention from Bala. Also in a later scene, after he becomes a (false) war hero and enjoys the audience cheering for him.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: The little guy to Weaver, his large and muscular best friend.
- Career Not Taken: Having been assigned since birth to "worker", he wishes he could be a soldier instead because they "get all the glory" and they get to "meet interesting insects" (even if they do kill them afterwards). Unfortunately, in ant society, people are given jobs the moment they're born and can't switch.
- Character Development: In the end of the film, he realizes the colony is able to survive because while individually insignificant, the ants are mighty when they all work together.
- Deadpan Snarker: Deconstructed with Z, who only snarks when he is nervous.Z: How can I possibly be nervous being a piece of construction equipment?
- Disney Death: After the climax of the movie, Z appears to have drowned. Bala manages to revive him with CPR.
- The Eeyore: Before meeting Bala, he was depressed and pessimistic with his life.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: He and Weaver have known each other a long time. They're brothers — one was born a second before the other. (Of course, they're one of a million siblings.)
- I Just Want to Be Special: Z runs away from the colony because he hates being an insignificant part of some huge thing. Subverted in that he realizes he can be both — since he chose to be.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's rather selfish for most of the film, but he will eventually go through Character Development and do the right thing for the colony.
- Love at First Sight: Falls for Bala instantly.
- Motor Mouth: He has a tendency to go into neurotic rants. Understandable considering who voices him.
- Nervous Wreck: Naturally portrayed by Woody Allen as the constantly anxious, insecure and nebbish whiner.
- Non-Action Snarker: During the battle with the termites he does absolutely nothing besides complaining. He only survives through pure luck.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The meek, scrawny Sensitive Guy to his best friend Weaver, a big and manly soldier.
- Spanner in the Works: As far as General Mandible is concerned.
- Speech Impediment: Z stutters and has a lisp.
- Took a Level in Badass: During the Sneaker scene. According to Word of God, Z had been a Neutral Male too much of the film and had to become more heroic.
General Mandible
- Voiced By: Gene Hackman Other voice actors
The main villain of the film. Mandible is the general of the ant colony who dislikes how it's overflowing with "weak" worker ants.
He wants to rebuild the colony to his own liking by killing those he deems weak and disloyal to his cause.Thus, his plan comes in two objectives: to have the soldier ants disloyal to him killed off on a suicide mission to dispose of the nearby termite colony, and to drown the worker ants by having them dig a massive tunnel up to the nearby lake.
- Arranged Marriage: Between him and Princess Bala, not that she's happy about it.
- Big Bad: He's the main villain of the film whose political machinations involve assassinating the queen, murdering the worker class, and constructing a new colony with his loyal soldiers as the only caste.
- Corrupt Politician: No kidding! He wants to take over the colony and destroy its "weak elements".
- Disney Villain Death: He falls to his death on an upturned root, killing him on impact. Subverted, as unlike most Disney villain deaths, they do show the aftermath (although it's from a fair distance).
- Evil Counterpart: To the Queen Ant.
- Faux Affably Evil: He always presents himself as polite and well-spoken. However, it becomes clear later on that he is not a nice guy in the slightest.
- Final Solution: By drowning all the worker ants into a flood.
- Freudian Slip: He mutters "Damn" after hearing a soldier ant survived the termite war, but then quickly adds "Good, damn good" when he realizes he's giving away his true feelings and intention behind the war.
- General Ripper: He deliberately sends thousands of soldiers loyal to the queen to their deaths in a suicidal attack on the termites, so that he can then wipe out the rest of the colony unopposed, and start his own colony that consists of nothing but his loyal soldiers.
- Hypocrite: For all his preaching about one ant's life being insignificant and that the colony is what matters, he's later revealed to have an inflated sense of self-importance to the point he believes he's the only one that matters.
- I Am the Noun: "I am the colony!"
- I Have Your Wife: Invoked with Weaver. Unable to break Weaver through torture, he has his men capture and bring in Azteca, threatening to torture her instead if Weaver doesn't tell him where Z is.
- In Their Own Image: His plan as a whole. He planned on making a new, more militant colony made from his and Bala's offspring once she becomes queen, but only after sending all the soldiers loyal to the current queen on a suicide mission to raid the neighboring termite nest and then drowning all the workers and the queen herself by having the Mega Tunnel flooded.
- It's All About Me: His "I am the colony" line reveals his plans are ultimately self-serving.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: It seems at first glance that despite his plan, he has a soft spot for Princess Bala. However, it's later obvious that he only wants to use her in his goal to start a new colony as his queen and doesn't care at all that she hates him nor that he's depriving her of her mother.
- Knight of Cerebus: Compared to most DreamWorks Animation villains, there isn't much to lighten the mood about him.
- Knight Templar: He wishes to purge the colony of "weaker elements" (i.e. the Queen and all of the workers) and set up a new colony with his loyal soldiers and Bala as his Queen. Subverted when it turns out his motivations are far more selfish.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: His name is a reference to the arthopod's mouthparts used for cutting and gripping onto food.
- A Nazi by Any Other Name: Due to Mandible's dark pursuits of eliminating whoever he considers weak and unworthy to be a part of his new world.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: He is a military leader who sends his army into a wasteful war against a far greater power, tries to remove one monarch from power so he can keep his successor a figurehead and wanting to exterminate those he considers inferior. This pretty much makes him an ant version of Ion Antonescu.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Claims what he does is for the good of the colony, but Z quickly points out he aims to drown the colony. When Cutter calls him out, he exclaims that HE is the colony.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He seemed somewhat reluctant to have to send all the soldier ants loyal to the queen, but only because there are some fine officers among them rather than because of their well being.
- Self-Disposing Villain: His attempt to attack Cutter (which he appears to make with no forethought whatsoever) ends up sending him plummeting to his Disney Villain Death.
- The Social Darwinist: He justifies his plans for mass murder by saying he's getting rid of the colony's "weaker elements".
- Sociopathic Soldier: He's a high-ranking general of the soldier class within the colony, as well as a genocidal madman willing to exterminate anyone who doesn't fit his image of the perfect ant.
- Uriah Gambit: He sends soldier ants loyal to the Queen on a suicide war against the termites in the hopes of getting them all killed with plausibly deniability. When he hears the news that one soldier ant survived, his response is a disappointed damn... with a hastily added good to cover his true feelings.
- Villainous Breakdown:Cutter: THIS is for the good of the colony, sir. (extends hand to Z)General Mandible: You useless, ungrateful maggot! I am the colony!
- Villain with Good Publicity: General Mandible is excellent at Rousing Speeches that inflate his reputation at the cost of his foes.
- Would Hit a Girl: He threatens to harm Azteca if Weaver doesn't reveal any useful information on Z's whereabouts. That, and she's a worker ant.
- Would Hurt a Child: Mandible also planned to drown the larvae. Given none of his soldiers took any larvae with them, it seems that he didn't even bother to check which of them are soldier material. This was foreshadowed a bit when he cuddles a larva during his conversation with the queen, and then just hand it to a surprised Cutter. He may have planned to start fresh with Bala.
Princess Bala
- Voiced By: Sharon Stone Other voice actors
The deuteragonist of the film. Bala is the ant colony's princess who remains bored of her suffocating royal life.
One day, Bala decides to sneak out of the palace for a moment of fun at the worker bar, which is where she first meets Z, and leaves a major impact on his life. Her meeting with Z eventually leads Bala to having a surface adventure with him to "Insectopia" that completely changes her life, along with developing feelings for him romantically.
- Arranged Marriage: With General Mandible. She's not happy about it.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She doesn't like Z at first, but eventually warms up to him.
- Rebellious Princess: She is bored with being a member of the royalty and uses a bar to escape her suffocating life.
- Rich Bitch: Initially. She becomes less snooty and bitchy over the course of the film.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly Girl (being a princess) to Azteca's Tomboy (a female worker).
- Tsundere: The Harsh type towards Z, initially.
- Uptown Girl: A princess who is paired with a lowly worker ant.
Weaver
- Voiced By: Sylvester Stallone Other voice actors
Weaver is a soldier ant who is good friends with Z since early childhood. He goes along with Z's plan to switch places under the promise that Weaver would get a chance to hit it off with some "worker girls," which leads to him romancing Z's worker friend, Azteca.
- Beta Couple: With Azteca. He asks her out and they get together.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: Weaver is the large and muscular best friend of the scrawny Z.
- Category Traitor: He might be considered to be one to General Mandible and other like-minded soldiers for his dislike of the way they treat workers, as well as falling in love with one.
- Heroic Build: He has burly arms and broad shoulders, befitting his status as soldier.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Z. Well, they're actually brothers, since Weaver was born 2 seconds after Z.
- Lantern Jaw of Justice: He's a heroic soldier ant with a prominent chin.
- Love at First Sight: With Azteca (and vice-versa?).
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Weaver is utterly crushed and blames himself when he thinks that Z got killed during a suicide attack on the neighboring termite colony because Weaver allowed Z to switch places with him for a day.
- Goes through a second one when Mandible breaks Weaver in interrogation by threatening Azteca. When Mandible orders Cutter to kill Z, Weaver is despondent and miserable, believing that caving into Mandible has killed Z for real this time.
- Odd Friendship: With Z who is a worker while Weaver is a soldier.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Manly soldier to Z's scrawny and neurotic Sensitive Guy.
- Torture Is Ineffective: Subverted. Beat him to an inch of his life and all you'll get is "I ain't tellin' you nothin'." But threaten his new girlfriend and he'll tell you anything you want to know, even if he didn't know it yet.Weaver: Wait! (Pauses to think) Insectopia!
- You Said You Would Let Them Go: One of the reasons Weaver broke and told Mandible where Z was going was that Mandible said Z wasn't important enough to hurt. Mandible then orders Cutter to kill Z when he finds him and the Princess.Weaver: But you said he didn't matter!Mandible: It's for the good of the Colony. You made the right decision. (Weaver lowers his head, heartbroken)
Azteca
- Voiced By: Jennifer Lopez Other voice actors
Azteca is a worker ant who is Z's partner for construction. Unlike Z, Azteca loves her work as a digger for the colony. She also starts a relationship with Weaver after the latter swapped places with Z to become a worker.
- Beta Couple: With Weaver. After Weaver took Z's place as a worker, he asks her out and they get together.
- Damsel in Distress: Mandible has her captured and threatens to torture her if Weaver doesn't tell him where Z has taken Bala.
- Leg Focus: When she and Weaver first meet, Weaver’s eyes trail down to her legs. She redirects his attention back up to her eyes.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Tomboy worker "obsessed with digging" to Bala's Girly princess.
- Women Prefer Strong Men: She is quickly impressed by Weaver's muscles.
Colonel Cutter
- Voiced By: Christopher Walken Other voice actors
Cutter serves as the second-in-command colonel of General Mandible. However, he doesn't really trust Mandible, such as questioning if it's really necessary to dispose of the "weak" worker ants.
- Affably Evil: Despite working for the Big Bad, Cutter himself is cordial enough and even respects the workers for their place in the colony, which is where he and Mandible don't see eye to eye.
- The Dragon: For Mandible.
- The Dreaded: Subverted. Cutter is initially presented as this by Mandible, with the latter suggesting that Cutter is even more ruthless than he is. He turns out to be affable and decent, growing more and more disapproving of Mandible's extremism until his Heel–Face Turn.
- Everyone Has Standards: Towards the end of the film, Cutter begins to doubt General Mandible's plans of mass genocide as he's come to respect the workers for their role in maintaining the colony. He eventually gets fed up with Mandible and pulls a Heel–Face Turn to help save the colony.
- Heel–Face Turn: At the end, he finally turns against Mandible and decides to help Z.
- Meaningful Name: His name is derived from leafcutter ants.
- Minion with an F in Evil: Despite being The Dragon, he's actually a pretty decent guy who comes to respect the workers for their role in the colony.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Colonel Cutter.
- Punch-Clock Villain: The only villainous thing about him is that he's in league with Mandible, but is otherwise affable to those he interacts with. He eventually turns on Mandible as he begins having doubts about his plan.
- Talk to the Fist: He punches an Insectopia resident that tries to greet him.
- Token Flyer: Colonel Cutter is the only ant shown in the movie with wings.
Barbatus
- Voiced By: Danny Glover Other voice actors
Barbatus was a soldier ant who met the soldier-posing Z as they're sent off to battle the termite colony. However, like the rest of the soldier ants who were loyal to the Queen, Barbatus was killed during the slaughter.
- Big Damn Heroes: Saves Z by single-handily killing a termite.
- Losing Your Head: At the end of the battle ends up as just a head. Thanks to the oddities of ant anatomy, his head survives long enough to speak some last words to Z before dying.
- Nice Guy: From what we have seen of his interactions with Z, he's a friendly, affable guy.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He's only around for the termite battle, but his last words really inspired Z to live against General Mandible's philosophy. He was later brought up by Z to Bala, making her realize the mistake of putting Mandible in charge of everything.Barbatus: Don't make my mistake kid. Don't follow orders your whole life. Think for yourself...
- War Is Glorious: Has this type of view when going into battle against the termites. But soon realize that War Is Hell.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He's killed in the battle with the termites, along with all the other soldiers.
Queen Ant
- Voiced By: Anne Bancroft Other voice actors
Princess Bala's mother and the ruler of the ants.
- Adipose Rex: Although her head and torso have similar proportions to worker ants, her abdomen is massive. Justified, as she's an Insect Queen.
- Horrible Judge of Character: She thinks Mandible will be a good husband to her daughter. Though ironically, the Queen herself doesn't really think highly of Mandible any more than her daughter does; and it shows when Bala's been "kidnapped" by Z and she scolds Mandible for his failure to retrieve her.
- Insect Queen: She is both royalty and the literal mother of the colony.
- No Name Given: She's only known as the queen, or Bala calls her mom.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Which is probably the reason why Mandible wants her killed too.
The "Foreman"
- Voiced By: Grant Shaud Other voice actors
The ant worker foreman who supervises the diggers. He makes sure that Mandible's digging project completes without any hitches.
- Bad Boss: Punishes Azteca by removing her rations just because she stood up for Weaver. It seems it's not the first time he punishes her whenever she talks back.
- Dirty Coward: When the Foreman ends up triggering the flood, runs for his life just like the others. When all seems lost, he is quick to state that the situation is hopeless.
- A Father to His Men: A brief moment early on. The foreman tries to verbally defend the workers to Mandible when the general calls the worker ants "weak" for dropping the wrecking ball. However, the foreman backs off due to how fearsome Mandible is.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He may be somewhat demanding and harsh at times, but he is just as horrified when the flooding occurs.
- Just Following Orders: So much so that the foreman actually stops for a brief moment to think about Z's question if the foreman would go through with someone ordering him to "jump off a bridge."
- No Name Given: His given name is never revealed and he is only credited as Foreman.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Due to being the foreman, it makes him feel superior among the workers.
Drunk Scout
- Voiced By: John Mahoney Other voice actors
A soldier ant scout who sat next to Z and Weaver during a break at the worker bar. He overhears Z discussing with Weaver if there's a better place than the ant colony, which the scout informs them of "Insectopia."
- The Alcoholic: Basically comes off as a drunk old ant to Z and Weaver.
- Army Scout: Worked as a soldier ant scout in a long-range recon squad that explores around the surface.
- Drowning My Sorrows: He really regrets leaving "Insectopia" after stumbling across the place when he got separated from his surface recon unit. Thus, he's found drinking at the worker bar, which it's implied that he's drinking away his regrets.
- Getting the Boot: He's dragged out of the worker bar by a fellow soldier ant for making a scene by going off on a speech about "Insectopia" to the surrounding workers.
- My Greatest Failure: He regrets leaving "Insectopia."
- No Name Given: Goes unnamed in the movie. In the credits, he's only known as the "Drunk Scout."
- One-Scene Wonder: He's only around for the worker bar scene, but John Mahoney makes quite an impression for the little he was given for what is basically a drunk raving old ant.
- Sanity Slippage: His fellow ants view him to be an insane old man. In the end though, his claims of "Insectopia" being real turned out to be right.
- Scars Are Forever: He's got a scar underneath his right eye.
- Small Role, Big Impact: His only purpose in the story was to inform Z about the existence of "Insectopia," which leads to Z going on a surface adventure with Bala to reach it.
Chip and Muffy
A wasp couple who Z and Bala meet during their adventure on the surface. The wasps provide the bad news to Z and Bala that the picnic set-up they came across isn't the "Insectopia" they're searching for.
- Condescending Compassion: Muffy takes incredible pity on the "poor, dirty, smelly" Z and Bala when they ask a simple question of how to get to the food wrapped in plastic at a picnic. She couldn't be more condescending if she tried.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: Muffy, when a fly swatter suddenly hits the floor when she was kissing Chip, killing her.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Chip goes to living in a bottle (literally) after Muffy dies. He spends the rest of the film quite drunk.
- Edible Theme Naming: They seem to be named after chocolate chips and muffins respectively.
- Gentle Giant: They are giant from an ant's point of view. Muffy more so than Chip, who mildly admonishes her for her charity towards "lowly" crawling insects like ants when they first met Z and Bala.
- Happily Married: Despite having different points of view they genuine love each other. That makes the fact that Muffy dies almost immediately even more sadder.
- The Lost Lenore: Muffy becomes this for Chip after a fly swatter squashes her.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Muffy is this in a Rich Bitch way; while Chip doesn't want to so much as stick out a leg to help Z and Bala, Muffy takes it upon herself to help them, albeit out of a sense of pure Condescending Compassion.
- Sickeningly Sweethearts: From mild bantering to "Cuddly Widdles" and "my big, strong pheromone factory". It made Z and Bala lose their appetite.
- Stealth Pun: They are wasps that have the snobbish, condescending mannerisms of stereotypical White Anglo-Saxon Protestant people.
