A Bug's Life

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT MOVIE...BUT HAVEN'T WE SEEN THIS BEFORE?
Review: "A Bug's Life" is a fantastic movie, full of comedy, drama, and charm. You feel for those poor ants and you can't help but cheer them on. But, wait a minute...the Disney plagiarism machine is at work yet again! After all the flak that Disney endured because its movie "The Lion King" was so similar to the Japanese animation classic "Leo The Lion", you'd think they'd have learned their lesson. Well, they haven't.

This time, Disney & Friends have decided to rip off ANOTHER Japanese classic movie, albeit a rather obscure one to the average modern American movie audience. Their plagiaristic target? The 1957 classic "Seven Samurai" --later remade into the American film "The Magnificent Seven". In this movie, a village of farmers (Disney's ants) is under threat of pillage from the countryside-roaming bandits (Disney's grasshoppers). So the village dispatches a few of its residents (Disney's Flik) to the nearest town to enlist the help of brave samurai (Disney's big bugs). Although there are a few plot changes, probably just so Disney can stay one step ahead of a copyright infringement lawsuit, the big bugs eventually help defend the village from the attackers and all ends well.

Despite all the story-stealing, Disney has managed to produce a visually stunning movie. The DVD image is unbelievably clear, crisp, and super sharp. With a large screen TV, you will swear you're there with the ants sharing in their adventure. The audio is excellent, with neither the dialog nor the music being too soft nor too loud (DVD producers, take note: there's nothing more irritating than having to crank up the volume because the dialog's barely audible, only to have the house rattle when the music or sound effects kick in!). I have the standard edition of the DVD, so there aren't many extras. There is an alternate French audio track. AND there are the much-loved outtakes during the end credits, both sets in fact! These are hilarious and, in my opinion, are actually funnier than the movie. I'd pay to watch a whole DVD of such outtakes. If there's ever the possibility of a DVD wearing out, mine will be at the outtakes, for I often pop the DVD in the player just to watch those. They are truly funny.

So, despite my beef about the plagiarism, I must give Disney kudos for cranking out a top-quality product. But you still owe it to yourself to check out the original film from which this was taken, the Japanese classic "Seven Samurai". It's a wonderful movie that's suitable for the whole family.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Movie
Review: "A Bug's Life" is a simple plotted movie about the ant who always seems to invent a "better way to do things," but for some reason the inventions go wrong. The anthill where he lives, must collect food for grasshoppers annually for "protection" from other bugs. One of his inventions eliminates the annual "gift" to the grasshoppers, and the story is off and running. Our hero, Flik, as "punishment," it sent to the "Big City" to find some bigger bugs to fight and hopefully chase away the grasshoppers. Like Flik, the "bigger bugs" he finds are a misfit (flea) circus troupe that are trying to fit it. However, Flik mistakes them for warrior bugs, and they mistake him as a talent scout.

A sub-plot focuses on Dot, a young little queen ant who's wings are too small for her to fly. Dot, being cute and adorable, will steal a scene or two from the main story.

One lesson taught in this movie is that "the gift you treasure is within you." You just have to look deep enough to find and cultivate it. Within every tiny seed (or rock--you have to see the film), a mighty oak is inside. I have mentioned this lesson taught in the film several times when doing motivational presentations or team-building exercises.

Although the pre-teen group might not understand all the jokes in the movie, they should enjoy it nonetheless. Teens and adults should be able to catch the pokes at Disney and few other well-known companies in the jokes. And who knows, maybe learn a thing or two about themselves in the process.

If watching the movie for the first time, watch the "outtakes" at the end of the movie. When "A Bug's Life" was in movie theaters, there were two versions of the outtakes. On the DVD, you can view the both versions of the "outtakes"--both have very funny spoofs of various scenes throughout the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Not Pixar's best, but still fun
Review: "A Bug's Life" is actually my least favorite movie from Pixar. However, Pixar's worst is (at least so far) better than the best many other studios can produce, and "Bug's Life" is still a fun movie to watch.

The story of "A Bug's Life" is mainly about an ant named Flik, who is trying to save his ant colony from the bullying rule of a group of grasshoppers. He enlists the aid of a few circus bugs to help the ants fight the grasshoppers, but eventually, it is Flik's ideas which provide the main inspiration for the colony, and the strongest possibility for their liberation.

There's lots of funny jokes and lots of drama in "A Bug's Life." It's a clever film, but in the end, not a very moving one. When I compare it to the "Toy Story" movies or "Finding Nemo" or (especially) "Monsters Inc," I find that all of those films made me laugh and cry, and most importantly, they made me feel for these digital characters they create. The characters in "A Bug's Life" seem not quite so well developed -- they seem clever, but shallow.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this movie. It's a fun film for my kids and I to watch together, and technically, the animation is pretty amazing. For me, it simply lacked some of the emotional depth of the other movies Pixar made, and so is a slight disappointment when compared to those other movies.

Make sure to watch through the end credits... the bloopers are priceless!

Rating:
Summary: CGI Bug Story Extraordinaire!
Review: "The Battle of the Bugs" is what the media labeled Dreamworks SKG's successful attempt to get their 3-D animated bug story released in theaters before Disney did, although the former began production several weeks after the latter. Whose film would be released first: The Company of Michael Eisner, or that of his former disgruntled employee Jeffrey Katzenberg? In retrospect, this behind-the-scenes drama seems more than a bit silly, because: 1) That a similarly-themed movie is released first does not necessarily guarantee bigger box office than its competition, and 2) The solidly-PG-rated ANTZ has less in common with the indisputably-G-rated A BUG'S LIFE than one might think, and 3) Therefore, each film attracted a different audience. As it turned out, both films were smash hits: ANTZ garnered better reviews; however, A BUG'S LIFE made a lot more money (as I'm sure it was destined to do).

Walt Disney Pictures' A BUG'S LIFE, co-directed by Andrew Stanton and John Lasseter, and released in October of 1998 (a full month after Dreamworks SKG's ANTZ), tells the very cute story of a not-so-bright worker ant simply named Flik, voiced by Canadian comedian Dave Foley. His constant bumbling attempts to help the ant colony drive the others to distraction, and to loathe him. I love the opening scene with Flik accidentally losing the yearly "offering" of food meant for the grasshoppers, who regularly exploit the ants for their own purposes. This leads to a very funny scene in which the grasshoppers angrily confront the ants, and demand satisfaction.

My advice is to see this film with an open mind; forget about "The Battle of the Bugs" as A BUG'S LIFE has really nothing whatsoever to do with ANTZ, with the only exception being that both films star a nerdy ant who attempts to win the affection of the ant colony princess. That's the only similarity! Otherwise, A BUG'S LIFE is a rather light story dealing with Flik's attempt to woo Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, brilliantly expressive in a superb comedic role) while he attempts to fix the aforementioned mess he made. Unfortunately for Flik, he is sent out of the ant colony all alone, and into the vast unknown, supposedly populated by big, scary bugs and other creatures. In his search for fierce warrior bugs to fight the grasshoppers, Flik unknowingly comes across a "bug circus" in which he is convinced that he has found the muscle that the ant colony needs. In what is one of the funniest scenes, Flik is welcomed back as the unlikely hero of the ant colony, impresses Princess Atta and then proceeds to find out the truth about these circus-performer bugs he has brought back with him. These bugs are hilarious, by the way. With Slim the walking stick (David Hyde Pierce), Heimlich the big fat German-accented caterpillar (Joe Ranft), the tough-talking male ladybug (Denis Leary), and Manny the old British-accented 'thespian bug' (Jonathan Harris--yep, Dr. Smith himself!), this is truly a motley crew of bugs if there ever was one. But the bug that really steals the show is the villain; the evil grasshopper leader Hopper (Kevin Spacey). Spacey's vocal performance is brilliant; so much so, in fact, that I had no idea it was Kevin Spacey until the first time I saw the end credits!

Spacey is hilariously deadpan while delivering lines like: "Do I look stupid to you? Do I? Do I...look...STUPID...to YOU? Let's just think about the logic for a second, shall we? If it [the offering] was UP THERE, why would I be DOWN HERE, LOOKING FOR IT??" Of course, as a typically self-referential Disney film, the screenwriters couldn't resist having fun with another Hopper line: "It's one of those Circle-of-Life things." Unfortunately, they gave some of the film's worst lines to The Queen (Phyllis Diller); for example, "It's our lot in life. It's not a lot, but it's our life! Ahahahaha!!" I'm sure Phyllis was paid enough to not care so much about the corniness of her lines, but still!

A BUG'S LIFE is an absolute triumph of 3-D CGI animation. It is a beautiful film to look at. The images are bright, sharp and colorful. This film offers a much better viewing experience than ANTZ, which has a more engaging storyline, but has mostly sepia-toned imagery that is neither as sharp or realistic-looking. Again, these are completely two different films: ANTS, with its mildly adult language, themes and occasional violence, is definitely PG-rated. Its humor is appreciated more by adults than kids. A BUG'S LIFE, however, is deservedly G-rated. You can let your 4-year-old watch it, and even though they probably won't be able to follow the storyline (as meager as it is), they will certainly be entertained by both the imagery and the funny voices over and over again. There may be a scene or two that may scare them a little; however, it says a lot that the scariest character in the film is a red robin.

The final verdict in my review: A BUG'S LIFE is a very entertaining combination of 3-D animation and excellent voice-over acting by excellent (and very well-cast) actors such as all who were previously named, plus Madeline Kahn, Bonnie Hunt, Michael McShane, John Ratzenberger and Brad Garrett. It is true that ANTZ has a better story; however, A BUG'S LIFE has superior animation. In addition, this was the Disney film that originated the idea of creating fake 'outtakes' to show over the end credits. Originally, I found this practice to be quite odd, but now I kind of like it. This Collector's Edition has even more bonus features than the original DVD. Now a two-DVD set, A BUG'S LIFE is really loaded; besides the behind-the-scenes featurette, there are interactive games that are sure to provide additional entertainment for your little ones, and maybe even for yourself.

RECOMMENDED
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR DISNEY/PIXAR FANS

Rating:
Summary: Toy Story Broke Ground, A Bug's Life Cracked You Up
Review: "Toy Story" will always be considered one of modern cinema's greatest achievements. Unfortunately, movies like "A Bug's Life" and "Monsters, Inc." will always be brushed by the wayside for the fact that they weren't first. That's a shame, because both movies had better plots and performances. "A Bug's Life" is funny. It has a great cast of characters that are more memorable than "Woody" or "Buzz" and the villain, "Hopper," is one of the best villains in Disney history. His fate is also right up there with greats like "Scar" from "Lion King" and "Hades" from "Hercules."

Dave Foley is fun as "Flik." He's kind of a geeky lookin' guy in real life, so that made this character more believable. As state before, "Hopper" is the ultimate bad guy, and Kevin Spacey plays him perfectly. Denis Leary is outstanding as "Francis" the ladybug. Overall, this is an ensemble cast that is rounded out by great support from actors like John Ratzenberger and Phyllis Diller.

The animation is wonderful. It is bright, bold, and downright terrifying when need be(ref. the bird attacking "Hopper.") The music is good, though not as utilized as in "Toy Story." That is beside the point since the story of "Bug's" is so much better than "Toy Story."

Why is it that a Disney flick that is seriously funny always seems to get lost behind dramas such as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?" In Disney's storied history I've always felt that movies like "A Bug's Life" were overlooked because they don't have some great moral story to them. Granted, "Flik" realizing that he must never give up and the rest of the ants learning about strength in numbers is good, but these lessons just don't stick like in other films.

Watch this movie because it is funny. I used to give it a less than stellar rap until I watched it again. It really is funny and deserves to go down as one of Disney/Pixar's best films ever.

The DVD provides some great extras. There is literally something for everyone. For the kiddies there are games, for producer/director wannabes there are documentaries on the creation of the film. The best extras are the entire group of "bloopers" from the film, with personal favorites listed by members of the production team and, of course, "Geri's Game." This made me laugh out loud in the theater and at home.

If you want a funny, memorable movie that doesn't receive the attention it should, buy "A Bug's Life."

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT MOVIE...BUT HAVEN'T WE SEEN THIS BEFORE?
Review: "A Bug's Life" is a fantastic movie, full of comedy, drama, and charm. You feel for those poor ants and you can't help but cheer them on. But, wait a minute...the Disney plagiarism machine is at work yet again! After all the flak that Disney endured because its movie "The Lion King" was so similar to the Japanese animation classic "Leo The Lion", you'd think they'd have learned their lesson. Well, they haven't.

This time, Disney & Friends have decided to rip off ANOTHER Japanese classic movie, albeit a rather obscure one to the average modern American movie audience. Their plagiaristic target? The 1957 classic "Seven Samurai" --later remade into the American film "The Magnificent Seven". In this movie, a village of farmers (Disney's ants) is under threat of pillage from the countryside-roaming bandits (Disney's grasshoppers). So the village dispatches a few of its residents (Disney's Flik) to the nearest town to enlist the help of brave samurai (Disney's big bugs). Although there are a few plot changes, probably just so Disney can stay one step ahead of a copyright infringement lawsuit, the big bugs eventually help defend the village from the attackers and all ends well.

Despite all the story-stealing, Disney has managed to produce a visually stunning movie. The DVD image is unbelievably clear, crisp, and super sharp. With a large screen TV, you will swear you're there with the ants sharing in their adventure. The audio is excellent, with neither the dialog nor the music being too soft nor too loud (DVD producers, take note: there's nothing more irritating than having to crank up the volume because the dialog's barely audible, only to have the house rattle when the music or sound effects kick in!). I have the standard edition of the DVD, so there aren't many extras. There is an alternate French audio track. AND there are the much-loved outtakes during the end credits, both sets in fact! These are hilarious and, in my opinion, are actually funnier than the movie. I'd pay to watch a whole DVD of such outtakes. If there's ever the possibility of a DVD wearing out, mine will be at the outtakes, for I often pop the DVD in the player just to watch those. They are truly funny.

So, despite my beef about the plagiarism, I must give Disney kudos for cranking out a top-quality product. But you still owe it to yourself to check out the original film from which this was taken, the Japanese classic "Seven Samurai". It's a wonderful movie that's suitable for the whole family.

Rating:
Summary: Not Pixar's best, but still fun
Review: "A Bug's Life" is actually my least favorite movie from Pixar. However, Pixar's worst is (at least so far) better than the best many other studios can produce, and "Bug's Life" is still a fun movie to watch.

The story of "A Bug's Life" is mainly about an ant named Flik, who is trying to save his ant colony from the bullying rule of a group of grasshoppers. He enlists the aid of a few circus bugs to help the ants fight the grasshoppers, but eventually, it is Flik's ideas which provide the main inspiration for the colony, and the strongest possibility for their liberation.

There's lots of funny jokes and lots of drama in "A Bug's Life." It's a clever film, but in the end, not a very moving one. When I compare it to the "Toy Story" movies or "Finding Nemo" or (especially) "Monsters Inc," I find that all of those films made me laugh and cry, and most importantly, they made me feel for these digital characters they create. The characters in "A Bug's Life" seem not quite so well developed -- they seem clever, but shallow.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this movie. It's a fun film for my kids and I to watch together, and technically, the animation is pretty amazing. For me, it simply lacked some of the emotional depth of the other movies Pixar made, and so is a slight disappointment when compared to those other movies.

Make sure to watch through the end credits... the bloopers are priceless!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Animation, But Okay Plot
Review: "A Bug's Life" was not a disappointment. The graphics and animation were great no doubt. The plot sort of reminded me of the plot of "Three Amigos," in that the circus insects come to the anthill thinking that they're just there to act and entertain. The plot could have been better I think. But other than that this is not a bad movie. The outtakes in the end credits are pretty funny.

Rating:
Summary: CGI Bug Story Extraordinaire!
Review: "The Battle of the Bugs" is what the media labeled Dreamworks SKG's successful attempt to get their 3-D animated bug story released in theaters before Disney did, although the former began production several weeks after the latter. Whose film would be released first: The Company of Michael Eisner, or that of his former disgruntled employee Jeffrey Katzenberg? In retrospect, this behind-the-scenes drama seems more than a bit silly, because: 1) That a similarly-themed movie is released first does not necessarily guarantee bigger box office than its competition, and 2) The solidly-PG-rated ANTZ has less in common with the indisputably-G-rated A BUG'S LIFE than one might think, and 3) Therefore, each film attracted a different audience. As it turned out, both films were smash hits: ANTZ garnered better reviews; however, A BUG'S LIFE made a lot more money (as I'm sure it was destined to do).

Walt Disney Pictures' A BUG'S LIFE, co-directed by Andrew Stanton and John Lasseter, and released in October of 1998 (a full month after Dreamworks SKG's ANTZ), tells the very cute story of a not-so-bright worker ant simply named Flik, voiced by Canadian comedian Dave Foley. His constant bumbling attempts to help the ant colony drive the others to distraction, and to loathe him. I love the opening scene with Flik accidentally losing the yearly "offering" of food meant for the grasshoppers, who regularly exploit the ants for their own purposes. This leads to a very funny scene in which the grasshoppers angrily confront the ants, and demand satisfaction.

My advice is to see this film with an open mind; forget about "The Battle of the Bugs" as A BUG'S LIFE has really nothing whatsoever to do with ANTZ, with the only exception being that both films star a nerdy ant who attempts to win the affection of the ant colony princess. That's the only similarity! Otherwise, A BUG'S LIFE is a rather light story dealing with Flik's attempt to woo Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, brilliantly expressive in a superb comedic role) while he attempts to fix the aforementioned mess he made. Unfortunately for Flik, he is sent out of the ant colony all alone, and into the vast unknown, supposedly populated by big, scary bugs and other creatures. In his search for fierce warrior bugs to fight the grasshoppers, Flik unknowingly comes across a "bug circus" in which he is convinced that he has found the muscle that the ant colony needs. In what is one of the funniest scenes, Flik is welcomed back as the unlikely hero of the ant colony, impresses Princess Atta and then proceeds to find out the truth about these circus-performer bugs he has brought back with him. These bugs are hilarious, by the way. With Slim the walking stick (David Hyde Pierce), Heimlich the big fat German-accented caterpillar (Joe Ranft), the tough-talking male ladybug (Denis Leary), and Manny the old British-accented 'thespian bug' (Jonathan Harris--yep, Dr. Smith himself!), this is truly a motley crew of bugs if there ever was one. But the bug that really steals the show is the villain; the evil grasshopper leader Hopper (Kevin Spacey). Spacey's vocal performance is brilliant; so much so, in fact, that I had no idea it was Kevin Spacey until the first time I saw the end credits!

Spacey is hilariously deadpan while delivering lines like: "Do I look stupid to you? Do I? Do I...look...STUPID...to YOU? Let's just think about the logic for a second, shall we? If it [the offering] was UP THERE, why would I be DOWN HERE, LOOKING FOR IT??" Of course, as a typically self-referential Disney film, the screenwriters couldn't resist having fun with another Hopper line: "It's one of those Circle-of-Life things." Unfortunately, they gave some of the film's worst lines to The Queen (Phyllis Diller); for example, "It's our lot in life. It's not a lot, but it's our life! Ahahahaha!!" I'm sure Phyllis was paid enough to not care so much about the corniness of her lines, but still!

A BUG'S LIFE is an absolute triumph of 3-D CGI animation. It is a beautiful film to look at. The images are bright, sharp and colorful. This film offers a much better viewing experience than ANTZ, which has a more engaging storyline, but has mostly sepia-toned imagery that is neither as sharp or realistic-looking. Again, these are completely two different films: ANTS, with its mildly adult language, themes and occasional violence, is definitely PG-rated. Its humor is appreciated more by adults than kids. A BUG'S LIFE, however, is deservedly G-rated. You can let your 4-year-old watch it, and even though they probably won't be able to follow the storyline (as meager as it is), they will certainly be entertained by both the imagery and the funny voices over and over again. There may be a scene or two that may scare them a little; however, it says a lot that the scariest character in the film is a red robin.

The final verdict in my review: A BUG'S LIFE is a very entertaining combination of 3-D animation and excellent voice-over acting by excellent (and very well-cast) actors such as all who were previously named, plus Madeline Kahn, Bonnie Hunt, Michael McShane, John Ratzenberger and Brad Garrett. It is true that ANTZ has a better story; however, A BUG'S LIFE has superior animation. In addition, this was the Disney film that originated the idea of creating fake 'outtakes' to show over the end credits. Originally, I found this practice to be quite odd, but now I kind of like it. This Collector's Edition has even more bonus features than the original DVD. Now a two-DVD set, A BUG'S LIFE is really loaded; besides the behind-the-scenes featurette, there are interactive games that are sure to provide additional entertainment for your little ones, and maybe even for yourself.

RECOMMENDED
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR DISNEY/PIXAR FANS

Rating:
Summary: Toy Story Broke Ground, A Bug's Life Cracked You Up
Review: "Toy Story" will always be considered one of modern cinema's greatest achievements. Unfortunately, movies like "A Bug's Life" and "Monsters, Inc." will always be brushed by the wayside for the fact that they weren't first. That's a shame, because both movies had better plots and performances. "A Bug's Life" is funny. It has a great cast of characters that are more memorable than "Woody" or "Buzz" and the villain, "Hopper," is one of the best villains in Disney history. His fate is also right up there with greats like "Scar" from "Lion King" and "Hades" from "Hercules."

Dave Foley is fun as "Flik." He's kind of a geeky lookin' guy in real life, so that made this character more believable. As state before, "Hopper" is the ultimate bad guy, and Kevin Spacey plays him perfectly. Denis Leary is outstanding as "Francis" the ladybug. Overall, this is an ensemble cast that is rounded out by great support from actors like John Ratzenberger and Phyllis Diller.

The animation is wonderful. It is bright, bold, and downright terrifying when need be(ref. the bird attacking "Hopper.") The music is good, though not as utilized as in "Toy Story." That is beside the point since the story of "Bug's" is so much better than "Toy Story."

Why is it that a Disney flick that is seriously funny always seems to get lost behind dramas such as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?" In Disney's storied history I've always felt that movies like "A Bug's Life" were overlooked because they don't have some great moral story to them. Granted, "Flik" realizing that he must never give up and the rest of the ants learning about strength in numbers is good, but these lessons just don't stick like in other films.

Watch this movie because it is funny. I used to give it a less than stellar rap until I watched it again. It really is funny and deserves to go down as one of Disney/Pixar's best films ever.

The DVD provides some great extras. There is literally something for everyone. For the kiddies there are games, for producer/director wannabes there are documentaries on the creation of the film. The best extras are the entire group of "bloopers" from the film, with personal favorites listed by members of the production team and, of course, "Geri's Game." This made me laugh out loud in the theater and at home.

If you want a funny, memorable movie that doesn't receive the attention it should, buy "A Bug's Life."