Summary
The $386 million commercial hit and currently trending sci-fi comedyHomemarks an animation reunion forJennifer Lopeznearly two decades in the making.Homeis a colorful DreamWorks Animation adventure that finds an outcast but friendly Boov alien called Oh (Jim Parsons) teaming up with a teenage girl named Tip Tucci (Rihanna) to find her mother after they lose one another during the Boov invasion of Earth.Lopez voices Tip’s mother, Lucy, in a small but essential role inHome’sheartfelt, family-centered story.
Home’scast and fun premise make for major rewatch value, proven by the film’s current trending status on Netflix’s top ten movies in the U.S. Lopez is no stranger toNetflix’s Top 10, as her recentlytrending sci-fi action Atlas, 2023 action thrillerThe Mother, 2002 filmEnough, and a handful of others have all made the chart at one time or another. However, when it comes to animation, it’s much harder to find her represented. InLopez’s film career,she’s taken on only three animation roles, one in which she first worked closely with a notableHomefigure.
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Jennifer Lopez Voiced Azteca In Tim Johnson’s Antz
Home
Homeis directed by Tim Johnson, who is not only a DreamWorks director but an animator and producer for the animation studio as well. The well-known films that fall under Johnson’s direction includeSinbad: Legend of the Seven Seasand the Annie-award-winning heist comedyOver the Hedge,while for the critically-received and more recent animationsAbominableandHow to Train Your Dragon, Johnson served as executive producer. Well before all these endeavors,Johnson directed the 1998 DreamWorks classicAntz,which cast Lopez in her first-ever animated role.
Ultimately, critics revered theAntzmovie’s perceptive but fun story and beautiful visuals, which is more to say than Johnson and Lopez’s recent collaboration onHome.
Similarly toHome,Antzfeatured Lopez in a supporting role, playingthe worker ant known as Azteca.Antzprimarily follows Z (Woody Allen), an anxious ant who makes it his mission to help save the worker population from the tyrannical rule of General Mandible - but as one of Z’s most trusted friends, Lopez’s Azteca is also important toAntzstory, as she supports and, even, joins Z in sticking it to their totalitarian society. Ultimately, critics revered theAntzmovie’s perceptive but fun story and beautiful visuals, which is more to say than Johnson and Lopez’s recent collaboration onHome.
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Why Antz’s Reviews Are So Much Better Than Home
Antz Was A Groundbreaking Animation In The Late 90s
Homeis beautifully animated and has a perfectly heartfelt story that children, especially, delight in. However, compared toAntz,Home’scritical reception falls incredibly short. OnRotten Tomatoes,Homeholds an approval rating with critics of 53%, whileAntzearned a Certified Fresh score of 92%. For critics, theAntzmovie’s adult-leaning, unorthodox story, innovative visuals, and vocal performances, which comprised the likes of Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Christopher Walken, Sylvester Stallone, and more big-name celebrities, earned it such high regard.
Antz was nominated in four categories at the 27th Annie Awards.
Yet, theAntzmovie’s praises don’t sound too far off from whatHomehas to offer, which begs the question of why the two movies have that big of a disparity in critical scoring. Much of it may have to do with when the animations were released.In the late 90s,Antzproved groundbreaking, particularly in how it was animated, while in more current times,Homeapparently needed more to impress the critical eye. Interestingly enough, when judged by the general population,Jennifer Lopezand Tim Johnson’sHomeeclipsesAntzwith a 64% RT audience score to the latter’s 52%.
