Dreamworks Animation Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The Termites are minor antagonists in the DreamWorks film, Antz.

Background[]

Physical Appearance[]

The Termites are huge (when compared to the ants), and green insects. They have large tubes on their foreheads to squirt acid. They have large eyes, but these eyes are almost the same color as the heads, as termites are blind. Their pincers and legs are purple and they can stand on all of their legs or just their hind legs. on each of their two front pairs of legs they have 3 fingered hands, while the back pair looks more like feet.

They are stronger and better armored than the ants, and even though they appear to be outnumbered 3/1, they still kill all the ants in the war except Z. Barbatus mentions that the principal advantage the ants have over the termites is sheer numbers.

They must also be sufficiently heavier than the ants, as even though ants can lift a giant wrecking ball made out of ants, they were never seen lifting termites. And the termites used their weight to crush several ants to death, as seen when one was killed it toppled on its murderer and sprayed acid over several others, crushing the former.

Powers and Abilities[]

  • The Termites appear to be very cunning, since one of them ambushed an Ant Soldier and killed him.
  • The Termites use large mandibles to seize and crush ants, even with their armour and exoskeletons.
  • Termites are Larger than the ants, and can be seen falling on top of ants upon death to crush and suffocate them.
  • The Termites can use their claws to punch, claw and backhand opponents.
  • The Termites can use acid from nozzles in their foreheads to melt opponents. They surprisingly accurate with these nozzles, despite being naturally blind.

Appearances[]

Antz[]

The Termites were first mentioned by General Mandible and Colonel Cutter. The General and Colonel mentioned that the Termites were desperate for foraging grounds (despite the fact that they lived in a wooden stump), and the colonel had gathered up a list of all platoons loyal to the queen (as opposed to General Mandible). The General declared war on the termite mound, in order to kill off both the Queen's loyalists, and the termites, both of whom could have posed a threat after the rebellion. The Queen was reluctant to approve the attack, preferring to send an emissary, but Mandible was able to convince her that the Termites were a danger to the colony (This is unlikely to have been true, as it is ants that are known to invade termite colonies, not the other way around).

At the Termite's colony, the ant soldiers (including Z) attempted a siege. They marched for several minutes, an hour or even possibly several hours. When the ants finally reached the termite colony, a large piece of wood, they yelled battlecries and charged in. Everything was quiet inside and everyone wondered where their termite adversaries were.

Termitez

A termite engaging ants in combat.

A termite appeared out of nowhere, killing one of the ant soldiers. Then a huge army of termites charged out from the walls of the stump and the battle started. The Ants began hacking and stabbing, while the Termite warriors were biting, shooting acid and slashing the ant soldiers in an attempt to repel the invaders. One termite begins to squirt slimy acid at the ant soldiers, causing them to melt, and the flying ants battle the termites from above. Z saw a termite trying to assist one of its comrades by sneaking up on some ant soldiers not looking. When the termite tried to kill Z, then Barbatus stabbed the termite in its belly using its spear before running off with an axe. Barbatus jumped on a termite and hit it with his axe. Three ant soldiers fought a termite when another appears to assist its sibling, Z warns the soldiers but the 2nd termite hears him. The Second Termite charges him, shooting acid from its forehead nozzle. Z fell into a hole and the termite tripped and collapsed on the ground, impaled by a sharp piece of wood. After the war, Z wakes up and somehow gets out of the hole, he finds the dead bodies of both the Ant and Termite Soldiers.

All the termites were presumably killed, though the Termite queen was never shown to be killed, and all the ants except Z were killed. It is however stated later that the enemy was eliminated, and seeing as a survived queen would have meant that the termites could have rebuilt their colony, this probably means that the queen was killed along with the rest of her colony.

Gallery[]

Wiki
DreamWorks Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Termites.

Trivia[]

  • When one of the termites noticed Z, it began to squirt acid at him and Z's feet are seen touching the acid. This is possibly an error in the film.
  • General Mandible, Colonel Cutter (formerly), The Termites and The Human are the only antagonists of the movie.
  • They were voiced by Frank Welker, who only did them growling.

Notes[]

  • Some people think that the termites ate the ants due to the biting the ants with their mandibles, but in fact, termites eat only wood, grass and mushrooms (and the products of such things, like paper and cardboard). Termites can however bite in order to defend their colony. Anyway, given the different nature of their diet, in real life termites would never have a reason to attack an ant colony. On the contrary, many ant species' diet includes meat so to attack a termite colony is a possibility.
  • Termite's designs look closer to a Termite worker than a Termite soldier.
  • Despite being able to lift a wrecking ball full of ants, no ant is seen able to lift a termite.
  • Termites appear to have only one caste in the film, when in reality they typically have 3 (soldier, worker and reproductive), but this can be partially explained by the fact that maybe they do have 3 castes and the only one to appear are the soldiers who face the ants.
  • The Termite queen is never seen being killed, and her death is never confirmed.
  • Termites in the film were possibly based off a mixture of real-life termite castes and species, The body shape of a worker, jaws and size of a soldier, visible eyes only possessed by reproductives and the acid shooting ability of the Nasute termite soldier, but the latter does not squirt acid, but a glue-like substance that either kills the target by gluing to the ground, or by killing it in 24-48h thanks to the chemical substances it contains.
  • In reality, ants are among the greatest threats posed to termites. While termites are never particularly aggressive towards ant colonies, ants will often invade and destroy nearby termite colonies in order to use the larger insects as food and/or appropriate their tunnels. Moreover, many of the ant soldiers of the spieces of ant that usually invades termite colonies are bigger than termite soldiers.

Navigation[]

v - e - d
Dreamworks Animation logo
Franchise Villains
Shrek: Lord FarquaadTheloniousMonsieur HoodMerry MenFairy GodmotherPrince CharmingRumpelstiltskinFifiJack & JillHumpty DumptyRapunzelCaptain HookEvil QueenHeadless HorsemanCyclopsPied Piper"Big" Jack HornerDeathGoldilocksPapa BearMama BearBaby BearSerpent Sisters

Spirit: ColonelHendricks
Madagascar: FossasNanaMakungaTeetsiSharkChantel DuBoisChantel DuBois' menDaveOctopusesBlowholeKarlChauncey
Kung Fu Panda: Tai LungLord ShenBoss WolfWolf ArmyWu SistersScorpionKe-PaKaiThe Chameleon
How to Train Your Dragon: The Red DeathDrago BludvistGrimmel the GrislyAlvin the TreacherousDagur the DerangedMildewViggo GrimbornRyker GrimbornDragon HuntersKroganTrader JohannDrago's Enslaved BewilderbeastScreaming DeathLead StingerSpeed StingersDeathgrippersWarlordsIvar the Witless
The Croods: BearowlTurkeyfishSpiny MandrillaPunch Monkeys
Trolls: ChefCreekKing Gristle Sr.Queen BarbRiffKing ThrashVelvetVeneerCrimp
The Boss Baby: Francis E. FrancisEugene FrancisDr. Erwin Armstrong

Films Villains
Antz: MandibleCutterTermitesRidgeway

The Prince of Egypt: Rameses IIHotep & HuyAmunSeti IBakaKahmaZuleikaWolves
The Road to El Dorado: Tzekel-KanHernán Cortés
Chicken Run: Mrs. TweedyMr. TweedyDogs
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas: ErisCetusScorpioMuscaLeoLacertaRocDraco
Shark Tale: Don LinoLolaSykesErnie and BernieFrankieLucaDon FeinbergGreat White Sharks
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit: Victor QuartermainePhilip the Dog
Over the Hedge: VincentGladys SharpDwayne LaFontant
Flushed Away: The ToadLe FrogSpikeWhiteyFat BarryLadykillerThimblenose TedBlonde HenchratHenchfrogsMarcel Marceau the Frog Mime
Bee Movie: Layton T. MontgomeryKen
Monsters vs. Aliens: GallaxharAlien ProbeDerek Dietl
Megamind: Tighten
Rise of the Guardians: Pitch Black
Turbo: Guy Gagne
Mr. Peabody & Sherman: Ms. GrunionRobespierreAy
Home: Captain SmekKyleGorg Commander
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie: Professor PoopypantsMelvin SneedlyTurbo Toilet 2000
Abominable: Dr. ZaraBurnishGoon Leader
Rocky & Bullwinkle: Fearless LeaderBoris BadenovNatasha Fatale
The Bad Guys: Professor MarmaladeCuddles
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken: NerissaGordon LighthouseDavey

Television Villains
VeggieTales: ScallionsNebby K. NezzerGoliathWally P. NezzerPenguinsFibDefenders of JerichoRumor WeedsMother WeedHamanPeaoni BrothersVikingsOlafAwful AlvinLampyAngry EyebrowsAlchemistMother PearlAlter EgoGreta Von GruesomeCrazy Clay MonsterApollo GourdOtis the ElevatedProfessor RattanLord ScarymanSporksBad AppleCurly the WormMayor of Dodgeball CityChesterWizard of Ha'sMr. DooleyWicker RattanGustavMirrorMiss MinchinDr. FlurryGiantPrince JohnPompous MaximusBruce OnionScalliniThe Emperor of EnvyButtons Crimini

3-2-1 Penguins!: The Lizard KingThe Koala TwinsUncle BlobbBaron Von CavitusBaron Von Cavitus' MinionsGnat-botPiranha PlantGreen-Eyed MonstersGiant AntsGopher GusGopher Gus' GangWorm Guards
Where's Waldo?: OdluluFritzChinese Guardian LionsStone DragonFritzesMr. GrouchyCyclopsMega Noodle MonsterLeopard SealsVinesBanana TreesPitcher PlantsShadowsShadow OdluluShadow PeopleShadow AnimalsKnights of EnglandKnight CaptainTarbosaurusHalloween DecorationsDraculaFrankieMumsFinnySkeletonsPumpkinsBatsGhostsWitchesScarecrowsBig TurnipSnow QueenHelka and OliverOctopuses


v - e - d
Antz Logo2
Media
Films: Antz

Video Games: AntzAntz RacingAntz Extreme Racing

Characters
Main Characters: ZWeaverAztecaBalaBarbatusChipCutter

Support Characters: Flying AntsForemanGrebsMandibleMuffyQueen AntRidgewayTermite QueenTermites

See also
Locations: New York CityCentral Park
Advertisement