A Bug's Life
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| A Bug's Life | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | John Lasseter |
| Produced by | Darla K. Anderson John Lasseter |
| Written by | Story: Joe Ranft Additional Story: Gefwee Boedoe Jason Katz Jorgen Klubien Robert Lence David Reynolds Screenplay: |
| Starring | Hayden Panettiere Dave Foley Kevin Spacey Julia Louis-Dreyfus Denis Leary Phyllis Diller Joe Ranft David Hyde Pierce Brad Garrett Richard Kind Bonnie Hunt Jonathan Harris Madeline Kahn Roddy McDowall Michael McShane John Ratzenberger Ashley Tisdale |
| Music by | Randy Newman |
| Cinematography | Sharon Calahan |
| Editing by | Lee Unkrich |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 25, 1998 (U.S.) December 26, 1998 (AUS) February 5, 1999 (UK) |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $45 million |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
A Bug's Life is a computer animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Buena Vista Distribution in the United States on November 25, 1998, in Australia on December, 1998 and in the United Kingdom on February 5, 1999. A Bug's Life was the second Disney / Pixar feature film. It tells the tale of an oddball individualist ant who hires what he thinks are "warrior bugs" (actually circus performers) to fight off greedy grasshoppers. The film was directed by John Lasseter.
The story of A Bug's Life is a parody of Aesop's fable of The Ant and the Grasshopper. It is similar to the comedy ¡Three Amigos!, which is about out-of-work actors defending a town while thinking they're merely giving a performance. It also gives an obvious nod to Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (as well as its Hollywood remake, The Magnificent Seven), which is about Japanese villagers hiring a rag-tag group of swordsmen to fight off rampaging bandits.
Reviews for A Bug's Life were overwhelmingly positive at the time of the film's release, and it has remained popular since.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Flik is an oddball, an individualist, and a would-be inventor among a colony of ants that is being oppressed by a Mafia-like gang of grasshoppers. The grasshoppers arrive once a season to extort food from the ants, supposedly in return for protection from "bigger bugs". While working with an invention by which to pick grain more efficiently, Flik accidentally destroys the annual offering that the ants were collecting to appease the grasshoppers. In exchange for a temporary reprieve from the grasshoppers, the ants are given until the end of autumn to produce an offering of twice the usual amount. Later, while he is being admonished by the royal council of the colony, Flik proposes a plan to recruit "warrior bugs" to fight off the grasshoppers. When the council agrees to his proposal, Flik actually believes they have accepted the merits of his plan, whereas the council actually sees it as a convenient way of simply keeping Flik from wreaking any more havoc on their food-gathering activities.
Flik finds his way to the "city"; an insects' metropolis built of discarded boxes and vessels, where he mistakes a group of recently-fired circus performers, whose act had collapsed into chaos, for the warrior bugs he seeks. The bug troupe, meanwhile, mistakes Flik for a talent agent who wants to book their act, and agrees to travel with him back to Ant Island.
Both Flik and the circus troupe soon become aware of their respective mistakes. However, the rest of the ant colony had become convinced that these newcomers are indeed the warriors for which they had hoped when the circus bugs help Flik pull off a daring rescue of Dot (a young "princess" ant of the colony, who idolizes Flik) and a wounded Francis (a ladybug performer of the circus bug troupe) from a hungry bird.
Caught between the opportunity to change his fortunes within the colony and the knowledge that the bug troupe are not who they appeared to be, Flik advocates building a fake bird to scare away Hopper, the leader of the grasshoppers, who is deeply afraid of bug-eating birds. The ants unite behind Flik's plan until the circus' ringmaster, P.T. Flea, arrives to retrieve his performers, thereby blowing Flik's cover. As punishment for deceiving the colony, Atta (the older sister of Dot and soon-to-be queen of the colony) banishes Flik, who sadly joins the circus.
Having spent an enormous amount of time pursuing Flik's plan, the ants try desperately to gather enough food for a new offering, but due to the rapidly-approaching winter season, they cannot find enough food to meet the quota. When the grasshoppers return, they are angered by the meager offering. Dot overhears Hopper's plan to kill the queen after receiving the full offering. She therefore goes after Flik; having found him, she convinces him and the circus bugs to return and put the bird plan into action. It nearly works; when a confused P.T. inadvertently incinerates the bird, Hopper realizes he has been tricked and takes out his anger on Flik. After absorbing a beating from Hopper's dog-like thug Thumper, Flik declares, in response to Hopper's claims of species superiority, "Ants don't serve grasshoppers! It's you who need us! We're a lot stronger than you say we are ... and you know it, don't you?"
Because Hopper knows, and fears, the ants' superior strength — the suppression of any cause of this fear being the true reason for his return — he threatens to squish Flik. However, the ant colony collectively realizes that they vastly outnumber the grasshoppers; therefore the ants all rise up in a wave of fury and chase the grasshoppers out forever. Hopper, alone and reduced to a bare minimum of rational thought, desperately tries to take revenge on Flik. A pursuit scene follows, where Hopper attempts to steal Flik and kill him while Atta and the circus performers try to retrieve him. The performers are left behind, claiming only one of Hopper's antennae as a prize, while Atta rescues Flik. Moments later, Flik lures Hopper into the nest of the bird from whom Dot was rescued, whereupon the bird feeds Hopper to her chicks.
Later, the colony adopts Flik's harvesting machine and bids farewell to the circus performers, who depart from the island.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Flik
Flik is an inventive ant who is desperate to make a difference to his colony's way of life, but tends to make things worse in the process. His inventions include a telescope created by wrapping a blade of grass around a dewdrop; an automatic harvester; several items of traveller's gear; and the bird-shaped aircraft used to terrify the grasshoppers. He is suggested to have a soft spot for Princess Atta, as he has a growing crush on her throughout the movie. He is voiced by Dave Foley.
[edit] Hopper
The main antagonist in A Bug's Life. Hopper is a feared grasshopper who is blind in one eye due to a scratch caused by a recent encounter with a blue jay. He leads a large gang of grasshoppers, who hold a Mafia-like control over the ants. Hopper is cunning, bad-tempered, and tyrannical. Whereas most of the grasshoppers consider the ants harmless, Hopper is aware that the ants outnumber them, and therefore plots to kill the queen ant to frighten them into submission. His catchphrase "Let's ride!" is uttered when the grasshoppers are about to take flight en masse. He is voiced by Kevin Spacey.
[edit] Slim
Slim is a walking stick insect and a clown in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. It appears that he is unhappy with his position at the circus troupe, as his boss constantly casts him as a prop instead of a character, with such castings such as a broom, a pole, a stick, and a splinter. He is shown to be best friends with Heimlich and Francis, and often treats other bugs with respect in contrast to Francis' aggressive nature. It's also seen that he could share a friendship with Rosie as they seem to stand next to each other a lot and often look to each other for help. Unlike most stick insects, Slim does not have wings and cannot fly. Because of this, Francis usually carries him from location to location. He is voiced by David Hyde Pierce.
[edit] Heimlich
Heimlich is a green caterpillar with a German accent and a clown in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. He is gluttonous and always seems to be eating. During a performance, he even offers to help finish a spectator's 'candy corn'. He later calls the flies 'Poo-Poo Heads', when Francis is arguing with them. At one point, he remarks that he dreams of being a beautiful butterfly. At the end of the film, he sprouts a pair of tiny wings, but remains flightless due to his obesity. Whilst a caterpillar, Heimlich is carried by the rhinoceros beetle, Dim, for transport. He is voiced by Joe Ranft.
[edit] Francis
Francis is an aggressive ladybug and a clown in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. Francis is frustrated by constantly being mistaken for a female; an obvious pun on the name of his species. Francis' aggressive nature makes others cry, particularly maggots, and later, little ants, when he becomes 'den-mother' to the scout-like organization of young ants called the "Blueberry Troop". As counselor to this organization, Francis becomes very fond of his charges. Francis seems to have a strong friendship with Slim and Heimlich. While transporting over long distances, Francis has to carry Slim, being a stick insect, does not have wings and cannot fly. He is voiced by Denis Leary.
[edit] Manny
Manny is a praying mantis with an English accent and the magician of P.T. Flea's circus troupe. Manny is Gypsy's husband. His magic act involves the 'Chinese Cabinet of Metamorphosis', which is really the packaging of a Chinese Takeaway. His magic act is not appreciated well by the flies in the usual audience, but the grasshoppers take it seriously. Manny is aggressive towards Flik at the beginning of their acquaintance, but grows to like him. During this rescue, Manny does his magic act and is almost strangled by Hopper when he refuses to give up the Queen's location. His personality is very melodramatic and dignified. He is voiced by Jonathan Harris.
[edit] Gypsy
Gypsy is a gypsy moth who has beautiful patterns on either side of her wings. She is Manny's wife as well as his 'lovely assistant' during his magic act. She gives the signal for Flik's fake bird plan to commence when the plan to rescue the Queen is in session. During this, Manny does his magic act, and Gypsy takes the place of the Queen as if to be a transformation in his Chinese Cabinet. She is voiced by Madeline Kahn.
[edit] Rosie
Rosie is a black widow spider who is maternal toward the rhinoceros beetle, Dim, and the younger ants of the colony. She has apparently had twelve husbands. She will sometimes be involved in whatever Slim, Francis and Heimlich are doing. She seems to share a friendship with Slim as she sounded very stern when asking Flik to drop him. Also they seem to stand next to each other a lot and look to each other for help. She is voiced by Bonnie Hunt.
[edit] Tuck and Roll
Tuck and Roll are twin pill bugs who speak a language other than English. It is unknown what this language is, but it is presumed to be Russian, as they are prone to a dance that is similar to a Russian dance. Tuck and Roll occasionally argue, but are usually the best of friends. They act as cannonballs in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. They like the sound of the phrase "You fired!" (of whose meaning they have no idea), and continuously repeat it throughout the film. They are both voiced by Michael McShane.
[edit] Dim
Dim is a rhinoceros beetle who has a childlike, impressionable, but clear-sighted character. He is usually mothered by the black widow spider, Rosie. He is the largest insect of the circus troupe, and also the transport to Heimlich, Tuck, Roll, and Rosie. It is he who provokes the performers to revive Flik's belief in himself, when this has waned. He is voiced by Brad Garrett. See also: Dim Effect
[edit] Dot
Dot is the younger princess ant of the royal family. She idolises Flik and hates being small. She starts the movie unable to fly, but gradually learns to by the end. Dot acts as Flik's moral support, and he as hers. Dot fears the demented grasshopper Thumper, exposure to whom Hopper uses as a punishment. Dot ultimately terrifies Thumper with the help of the rhinoceros beetle Dim. She is voiced by Hayden Panettiere.
[edit] Princess Atta
Princess Atta is the older princess ant of the royal family and heir to the throne. She is nervous about her new responsibilities and fears what the rest of the colony might think about her. During the film, it is shown that she has a small crush on Flik, although initially she does not show much appreciation for him. Her appreciation changes for the better after the ants build the bird. She kisses Flik at the end of the film. The Queen eventually gives up her crown at the end of the film to Atta, whereupon Atta gives up her own crown to her younger sister Dot. She is voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
[edit] The Queen
The Queen of the ant colony. She is an ancient ant, who is due to give up her crown to her eldest daughter Atta. She admonishes her younger daughter, Dot, for trying to fly before her time. She has a pet aphid called Aphy, whom she adores. She is also shown to have a possibly romantic relationship with another elder ant, Cornelius. She is voiced by Phyllis Diller.
[edit] Molt
Molt is Hopper's brother and self-proclaimed Vice President of the grasshopper gang. He is named 'Molt' through his skin's tendency to peel off. He is a loudmouth and provides a great deal of comic relief. Hopper detests his brothers' antics and is shown remarking that he promised their mother on her deathbed that he would not kill Molt, and would do so if he had not promised. At the end, Molt joins P.T. Flea's circus troupe, under the new name of Tiny. He is voiced by Richard Kind.
[edit] P.T. Flea
P.T. Flea is the ringmaster of the circus troupe, who is unwilling to give refunds after his show has lasted two minutes. His finale consists of an act called 'Flaming Death', in which he was almost incinerated. This caused him to fire his entire troupe, until a foot-long line of flies lined up outside the circus tent, wanting to see the 'Flaming Death' act again. He loves money. His name is based on the initials of circus owner Phineas Taylor Barnum. He is voiced by John Ratzenberger.
[edit] Bird
The bird is a very rarely seen character throughout the movie. She is a mother chaffinch, living on the outskirts of Ant Island. The bird poses a threat to all insects, as shown in the scene wherein she relentlessly pursues Dot and Francis. She becomes the instrument of Hopper's demise when Flik tricks Hopper into catching the chaffinch's attention. The false bird used to frighten Hopper (and accidentally disarm him to the possibility of being eaten) is based on her.
[edit] Voice cast
| Actor | Role | Bug Type |
|---|---|---|
| Dave Foley | Flik | Ant |
| Hayden Panettiere | Dot | Ant |
| Kevin Spacey | Hopper | Grasshopper |
| Julia Louis-Dreyfus | Princess Atta | Ant |
| Phyllis Diller | Queen | Ant |
| Richard Kind | Molt | Grasshopper |
| David Hyde Pierce | Slim | Stick Insect |
| Joe Ranft | Heimlich | Caterpillar |
| Denis Leary | Francis | Ladybug |
| Madeline Kahn | Gypsy | Emperor Moth/Gypsy moth |
| Michael McShane | Tuck & Roll | Pillbug |
| Bonnie Hunt | Rosie | Black Widow Spider |
| John Ratzenberger | P.T. Flea | Flea |
| Jonathan Harris | Manny | Praying Mantis |
| Brad Garrett | Dim | Rhinoceros beetle |
| Roddy McDowall | Mr. Soil | Ant |
| Alex Rocco | Thorny | Ant |
| Edie McClurg | Dr. Flora | Ant |
| David Ossman | Cornelius | Ant |
| Ashley Tisdale | Lead Blueberry Scout / Additional Voices |
[edit] Box office
A Bug's Life made approximately $162.7 million in its U.S. theatrical run, easily covering its estimated production costs of $45 million. The film made $200,600,000 in foreign countries. The film made a worldwide gross of $363.3 million surpassing the competition from DreamWorks's Antz.
[edit] Video release
The DVD of the film is the first wholly-digital transfer of a feature film to a digital playback medium. No analog processes came between the creation of the computer images and their representation on the DVD.
As well, the pan and scan or 'full screen' version of the video (on the DVD as well as VHS releases) has been reframed and restaged; rather than sacrifice image in some parts of the film, the frame has been extended or objects moved to fit the narrower aspect ratio. Pixar continued this process on its later video releases. Also, the different characters (Flik, Dot, Francis, etc.) were on one (by themselves) cover of the video cover, considered a collectible in many cases.
A laserdisc version was also released in Japan by Pioneer, one of the last.
The widescreen version of the film preserves its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. A Bug's Life is the first fully computer animated feature to be filmed in this ratio.
A set of "fluffs" and "outtakes" was included, in which various (animated!) characters "blew" their dialog, or broke up laughing inappropriately. In one, Flik yells the line "To infinity, and beyond!", quoting Buzz Lightyear from an earlier Pixar film, Toy Story.
[edit] Trailers
One Pixar tradition is to create one trailer for each of their films that contains no footage from the actual unreleased film. The trailers for this film:
- Flik and all the insects from the circus troupe gather onto a leaf right before Heimlich bites the end of it off, causing them to fall.
[edit] Attached short film
Theatrical and video releases of this film include Geri's Game, a Pixar short made in 1997, a year before this film was released.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Information at Pixar's site
- A Bug's Life at the Internet Movie Database
- A Bug's Life at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- A Bug's Life at Rotten Tomatoes
- A Bug's Life at Metacritic
- A Bug's Life at Box Office Mojo
[edit] References
| Preceded by Geri's Game |
Pixar Animation Studios animated films 1998 |
Succeeded by Toy Story 2 |
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