A Bug's Life (1998)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Directors:

John Lasseter
Andrew Stanton (co-director)

Writers:

John Lasseter (story) &
Andrew Stanton (story) ...

Release Date:

25 November 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Animation | Comedy | Adventure

Tagline:

An epic of miniature proportions.

Plot:

A misfit ant, looking for warriors to save his colony from grasshoppers, recruits a group of bugs that turn out to be an inept circus troup.

Plot Keywords:

Ant | Grasshopper | Bug | Circus | Misfit

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 11 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Dave Foley	...	Flik (voice)
Kevin Spacey	...	Hopper (voice)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Atta (voice)
Hayden Panettiere	...	Dot (voice)
Phyllis Diller	...	Queen (voice)
Richard Kind	...	Molt (voice)
David Hyde Pierce	...	Slim (voice)
Joe Ranft	...	Heimlich (voice)
Denis Leary	...	Francis (voice)
Jonathan Harris	...	Manny (voice)
Madeline Kahn	...	Gypsy Moth (voice)
Bonnie Hunt	...	Rosie (voice)
Michael McShane	...	Tuck / Roll (voice)
John Ratzenberger	...	P.T. Flea (voice)
Brad Garrett	...	Dim (voice)

Also Known As:

Bugs (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Brazil:Livre | Portugal:M/4 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Belgium:KT | Canada:G (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Finland:K-8/5 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. (w) | Hong Kong:I | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:G | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | USA:G (certificate #36295)

Company:

Pixar Animation Studios

Trivia:

When Hopper tells the ants why they should gather food for the grasshoppers, he mentions that it is a "circle of life thing". This is a reference to The Lion King (1994).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Many of the characters have fewer legs than their real counterparts. Francis, Gypsy Moth, Manny, PT Flea, the mosquitoes, fireflies, and all the ants have four legs instead of six. Tuck and Roll have eight legs instead of fourteen. Heimlich has four thoracic legs instead of six. (The number of caterpillar prolegs can vary by species.)

Quotes:

[Hopper is about to feed Dot to Thumper]
Flik: Leave her alone!
Hopper: [pause, Hopper walks towards Flik, still holding Dot] You want her?
[Holds out Dot]
Hopper: Go ahead, take her.
[Flik just stands where he is, terrified]
Hopper: No? Then get back in line!
[Flik slowly walks backwards back to where he was before]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Cars (2006)

Wow.

There is great detail in A Bug's Life. Everything is covered. The film looks great and the animation is sometimes jaw-dropping. The film isn't too terribly orignal, it's basically a modern take on Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, only with bugs. I enjoyed the character interaction however and the bad guys in this film actually seemed bad. It seems that Disney usually makes their bad guys carbon copy cut-outs. The grasshoppers are menacing and Hopper, the lead bad guy, was a brillant creation. Check this one out.