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A Bug's Life [1999]
from Walt Disney Home Video
starring Kevin Spacey, Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hayden Panettiere, Phyllis Diller
directed by Andrew Stanton, John Lasseter

Features:

• Full Screen
• PAL
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

There was a rare magic on the big screen in 1995, when the people at Pixar came up with the first fully computer-animated film, Toy Story, and their second feature film, A Bug's Life, may miss the bull's-eye but Pixar's target is so lofty that it's hard to find the film anything less than irresistible. Brighter and more colourful than the other animated insect movie of 1998 (Antz), A Bug's Life is the sweetly told story of Flik (voiced by David Foley), an ant searching for better ways to be a bug. His colony unfortunately revolves around feeding and fearing the local grasshoppers (lead by Hopper, voiced with gleeful menace by Kevin Spacey). When Flik accidentally destroys the seasonal food supply for the grasshoppers he decides to look for help ("We need bigger bugs!"). The ants, led by Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), are eager to dispose of the troublesome Flik. Yet he finds help--a hearty bunch of bug warriors--and brings them back to the colony. Unfortunately they are just travelling performers, afraid of conflict. As with Toy Story, the ensemble of creatures and voices is remarkable and often inspired. Highlights include wiseacre comedian Denis Leary as an un-ladylike ladybird, Joe Ranft as the German-accented caterpillar, David Hyde Pierce as a stick insect and Michael McShane as a pair of unintelligible woodlice. The scene-stealer is Atta's squeaky-voiced sister, baby Dot (Hayden Panettiere), who has a big soft spot for Flik. More gentle and kid-friendly than Antz, A Bug Life's still has some good suspense and a wonderful demise in store for the villain. However, the film--a worldwide hit--will be remembered for its most creative touch: "outtakes" over the end credits à la many live-action comedy films. These dozen or so scenes (both "editions" of outtakes are contained here) are brilliant and deserve a special place in film history right along with 1998's other most talked-about sequence: the opening Normandy invasion in Saving Private Ryan. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• Very intelligent and well done movie, very likeable hero
  Some people consider "Bug's Life" as not being on the same level of quality as other Pixar productions, but I really can not agree with them. My daughter clearly wouldn't agree either. This is a very funny movie, with a lot of interesting innovations (we will never look at bugs in the same way, me and my family) and a kind of surprising kindness - even the bad guys are shown with some understanding (having chosen the life of parasite racketeers, they are now trapped by it - as much as their ant victims).... more info

• Dissappointing...
  Maybe I've been spoiled by all the other Pixar classics, but am I the only one to find A Bug's Life slightly dissappointing?

  It is certainly the black sheep of the Pixar family.

  For a start, the characters are bugs. Who likes bugs? Nobody finds bugs cute or cuddly, or even nice to watch. And in A Bug's Life, the characters are all slightly dull, with the exception of Kevin Spacey's Hopper, a fantastic character and well voiced.

  But the other characters suffer from a lack of detail. In fact, the whole... more info

• A superb animation classic again from Pixar.
  It's based vaguely around the 'Magnificent Seven' storyline: a group of goodies are hired to protect a village and overcome adversity.

  It's similar to 'Antz' in some respects (being an individual in an ant colony, team working but with freethinking etc).

  The characters are varied and memorable.

  It's not as funny as say 'Toy Story' but with a better story I feel. It's aimed more for kids than other animated films with a host of 'adult' jokes.

  The extras are a bit disappointing- but only comparing it... more info

• Gotta love them bugs
  Those Pixar folk are amazing. Not only do they make an excellent movie, but they complement it with a first rate package of extras, especially the outtakes and the movie short "Geri's Game". The two-disc Collector's Editions are worth waiting for, and you will find yourself playing the second disc as often as the first.

  This innovative take on the old fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper" teaches us a few important lessons:

  1. There's a clumsy nerd who wants to be a hero in every colony
  2. Phyllis... more info

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