AntZ

                         Z
               Who's the bigger idiot -- the idiot
               who gets kidnapped, or the idiot who
               lets herself get kidnapped by the
               idiot?

                         BALA
               How dare you speak to me like that?
               I'm the Princess!

     Z squares up with her.

                         Z
               Theoretically, yes.  But is the
               monarchical hierarchy applicable
               without the underlying social
               structure to support it?

                         BALA
               Of course!  It defines society!  To
               deny the precept is to say that order
               is an arbitrary distinction applied
               by the society itself!

                         Z
               But can there be a society composed
               of just two ants?

                         BALA
               No!  There's no such thing as "just
               two ants."  You never see just two
               ants -- you see a million ants!

                         Z
               Look around, sweetheart.

     She looks around.  She doesn't like what she sees.  She
     glowers at Z.

                         BALA
               I -- hate -- you.

                         Z
               Well I guess that makes us even.

                         BALA
               Ha!  Don't make me laugh.  You're
               crazy about me!  That's why you lied
               and cheated to get near me!

                         Z
               Oh come on, you're the one who came
               after me -- the swarthy, earthy,
               sensual worker!

                         BALA
                      (repulsed)
               I was slumming it!  I danced with you
               because you were the most pathetic
               specimen in the place!

                         Z
               Is that the same standard you used to
               choose General Formica?

                         BALA
               I didn't choose him.  What kind  of
               idiot would...
                      (unconvincingly)
               ...choose who she wanted to marry?

     She shakes herself out of it.

                         BALA
               Now, worker, you shall take me back
               to the colony, and have your head cut
               off and stuck on a sharp pole!

                         Z
               Well, that's an appealing offer,
               but...considering the options...
                      (he decides)
               You go back.  Me, I'm going to
               Insectopia.

                         BALA
               Insectopia?  You stupid worker,
               that's just a fairy tale!

                         Z
               Yeah, well I have it on a reliable
               source...
                      (he knows that was
                       maybe stretching it)
               that it exists.  Now you follow
               the yellow egg...
                      (looking around)
               That direction.

                         BALA
               Worker!  Come back here now!

                         Z
               I've got a name.  It's Z.

                         BALA
               That's not a name!  That's just a
               letter!

     Z, meanwhile, hits the road.  Bala has no idea of where to
     go.  Just then, the scariness of the outside world comes
     through to her.

     We start hearing NOISES -- the equivalent of scary jungle
     sounds in a Tarzan movie -- the HISSING, CROAKING,
     CHIRRUPING... Bala sees eyes looking out at her from all
     directions...and spots a colossal monster (a sparrow) fixing
     her with his beady gaze.

                         BALA
                      (clears her throat)
               Worker?
                      (no response...louder
                       now)
               Oh WORKER?  Where are you?
                      (getting desperate)
               Z?  Z?  Wait for me!!!

     Bala heads off after Z.

     INT. MEGA-TUNNEL - DAY

     The mass of worker ants are swinging pick-axes in the tunnel.
     The foreman moves up the line, BERATING the workers, yelling
     at them to dig faster.

                         AZTECA
               I tell ya, I'm gettin' sick of bein'
               yelled at.

                         WORKER #1
               What do you want, we're just workers.

                         WEAVER
               You know, you're not just workers --
               you can be whatever you want to be!
               Look at Z!  He started as a worker --
               then he became a soldier!

                         AZTECA
               That's right!  He slaughtered
               hundreds of termites single-handedly!

                         WORKER #2
               I heard about this guy.
                      (turning to the other
                       workers)
               He crashed a party at the palace.
               Then he took a hike with one of the
               royal babes!  And when they tried to
               stop him, he just looked at a
               couple'a guards, and they burst into
               flames!

                         WORKER ANT #1
               You're nuts, how could a worker do
               all that?

                         WEAVER
               Well, because he's more than a
               worker...he's a...what did he call
               it, Azteca...

                         AZTECA
               Invisible!

                         WEAVER
               No -- an individual!

                         WORKER #2
               What's that?

                         WEAVER
               Well, it's...someone with his own
               point of view...someone who does what
               he wants, not whatever he's told to
               do!

                         AZTECA
                      (eyes lit up,
                       watching Weaver)
               Someone who follows his heart!

                         WEAVER
                      (taking Azteca's hand)
               Right...because every ant's important!

                         WORKER #2
                      (scoffs)
               But that would mean I'm important.

                         WORKER #1
               I'm outta here, this sounds like
               trouble to me.

     But more ants are gathering 'round.

                         WEAVER
               We can all be individuals!  Just like
               Z!

     Weaver and Azteca hold hands.  More ants are gathering
     around, dropping their tools...

     EXT. BIKE PATH - DAY

     LONG SHOT.  A glimmering desert landscape (think of "The
     Sun's Anvil" in Lawrence of Arabia).  Two small figures can
     be seen, tiny dots moving across the arid whiteness.

     They're Bala and Z, who are crossing a concrete path in the
     park, which they perceive to be a "desert".

                         BALA
               Water...water...

                         Z
               Water...water -- oh, you already said
               that.

                         BALA
                      (walking along)
               My skin's dry, my exoskeleton is
               cracking...I wish I'd never met you,
               you ruined my life.

                         Z
               I ruined your life?  Look, I was
               perfectly happy until I met you --
               alright, I was miserable, but I was
               happily miserable.

     Over Z's line, we can see a GIGANTIC WHEEL, getting larger
     and larger and heading right towards them, a GIGANTIC WHEEL
     (the front wheel of a bicycle which is heading right towards
     them).

                         BALA
               Look out!

     Bala pushes Z out of the way just as the wheel rolls past
     with a cacophonous CRUNCHING, GRINDING noise -- like a
     gigantic millwheel.

                         BALA
               We're going to die!

                         Z
               Come on -- it's gone!  What are the
               chances of that happening again?

     No sooner has he said it than the rear wheel of the bike
     thunders past.

                         Z
               Well I'll be.

     Bala notices that they're clutching one another in fear; she
     pushes him away.

                         BALA
               Why didn't I listen to my mother
               ...why'd I have to go looking for
               trouble? Any ant would have given
               their left legs to be in my
               position...what's wrong with me?

                         Z
               Want a list?

                         BALA
                      (urgent)
               Wait, I hear something!

     We can, in fact, hear a low, musical PLUNK.. there's a pause
     and then we can hear it again...

     Z and Bala walk over a rocky "dune" (the soft shoulder of the
     path).  Beyond, the grass starts up again.  They have come to
     the end of the "desert" (i.e. the other side of the path)
     Through the blades of grass, we can see...

                         Z
               It's...it's...

                         BALA
               WATER!!!

     EXT. LAKE - DAY

     A LAKE (a puddle) stretches before them.  It is, in fact, the
     overflow of a drinking-fountain whose drain is jammed...as Z
     and Bala run to the lake, water dribbles from the fountain
     and into one edge of the pool (to the ants, it's a waterfall).

     Bala and Z run to the edge of the water and start slurping.
     They smile at each other, until they remember that they don't
     like each other.