Review #37
Pixar, 1998
Mov No. 36295
Genre: Animated Comedy
Rated G
Directed by: John Lasseter & Andrew Stanton
Starring: Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus,
Phyllis Diller, Richard Kind, David Hyde Pierce, Denis Leary, Madeline Kahn, Bonnie Hunt, John Ratzenberger, Brad Garrett
Oscars: 1 Nomination (Score)
AFI 100 years, 100 _____ tributes: None
Runtime: 1h 36min
Best quote: "It's the same every year, they come, they eat, they leave; that's our lot in life. It's not a lot, but it's our life." - Queen Ant
There lives, on a certain grassy outcropping (an "island,") a certain ant colony. These ants struggle to pick food for greedy black-mailing grasshoppers, lead by Hopper (Kevin Spacey). Each and every year, before they can pick their own food, they must leave an offering to the grasshoppers, or something bad will happen to the colony.
On such ant, Flick (Dave Foley) doesn't like this arrangment, and tries desperatly to help speed up the harvest. Unfortunatly, he only succeeds in destroying the offering left for the grasshoppers.
The grasshoppers are mad; they now want double the last offering in half the time or they will do more damage to the colony. Flick is ostracized by his peers and Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). He is sent to find help to stop the Grasshoppers.
Flick ventures to the big city, and comes across a gang of recently fired circus Bugs. Flick asks for their help, and they agree to go thinking that they are going to put on a show. Flick has no idea that they are circus bugs; he thinks they are great warriors. Together, they make it back to the colony, to the cheers of the other ants.
It isn't long before the circus bugs' secret is revealed by their old boss, the one who fires them. Flick is once again blamed for the screw-up. He is kicked out of the Colony, this time for good.
Meanwhile, the grasshoppers return to the ant colony to obtain their food. They wreak havok on the colony, and it becomes clear that Flick must be the one to save the day.
A Bugs Life is the second Pixar / Disney computer animated film. Is is a brilliantly made film. The dialogue is fresh, and the character designs are wonderful. The story concept is genius. Telling a story from the point of view of a bug... Amazing.
Perhaps the most genius feature of A Bugs Life is the bloopers at the end of the film. They show the bugs screwing up lines, falling over, hitting the "camara" lens, etc. Wonderful! extremely unique and well done. A great way to get the voice actors improvising.
This was an extremely well done movie. The only downside to the film was that it wasn't as "fresh" or "hip" as Toy Story. It's still an outstanding film.
Subtle, brilliant and yet hardly noticable, is one of the final lines in the credits: "Filmed entirely on location."
Plot: 
The plot of A Bugs Life wonderfully cleaver, funny, and fresh.
Animation:
The computer animation is outstanding and is a big step up from Toy Story.
Sound:
Every sound was created from other sounds, and by combining different sounds together to get unique sounds. Some of the ones in A Bugs Life are incredible, unique and funky!
The voice cast of A Bugs Life is superb. From Julia Louis-Dreyfuss to Roddy McDowall and many, many big names in between.
There is only one song in A Bugs Life, and it's at the end of the film. It is by Randy Newman, and it's a pretty good song. Nicely sung and composed.
Character Development: 
There is some change in most of the characters; not the circus bugs, but more Princess Atta, Flick, and Hopper.
Atmosphere:
It's easy to see why this film would attract people. It's all done on computer, and it's at the point of view of an insect. Some adults may not care for it, but there is a subtle "adult dialogue" prensent that only an adult could pick up on.
Realism:
How Disney is the movie?
It is Disney, and then again it's not.
Warren’s Rating:
Movies it was nominated with for Best Animated Feature:
This catagory did not exist in 1998.
8.00/10 Is the movie worth your time to watch?
23-08-03
