A heart warming animation film by Pixar about teamwork, bravery, and individuality.
Recommended for age
6 +
Editor rating:
☆☆☆☆☆5/5
Positive Messages
10/10
Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
/10
Intimacy
/10
Violence
3/10
Profanity
/10
Positive Role Models
8/10
Year:
1998
Genre:
Drama
Director:
John Lasseter
Medium:
Disney+
Synopsis: Set imaginatively in a tiny insect world A Bug’s Life captures the world with a macro lens. Flik, is a misfit, an ant who has a mind of his own. When his colony is in need of "warriors" to safeguard its space from greedy grasshoppers, Flik decides to find help. He in turn enlists the help of a team of bugs, who turn out to be an unskilled circus act.
A bug’s life is Pixar’a second film and it is a fantastic journey set in the tiny world of insects. This is an animation film and has all the goodness that are usual for Pixar films. Never the less, parents need to know that A Bug's Life has a lot of "good bug-bad bug" cartoon action with certain visuals that can be frightening to very young kids who haven't yet learned to distinguish between pretend and real violence. The movie's message is that everyone has a role to play. No matter how small and insignificant you feel, believe in your ability to make a difference.
The storyline
Flik (voiced by Dave Foley) is an ant who sticks out. He sees the world's potential and seeks innovative ways to accomplish things. He doesn't fit with the other ants. Kevin Spacey's character, Hopper (voiced by Spacey), is the commander of a wicked grasshopper gang. Hopper requests double grasshopper dinners when Flik knocks all the food off the sacrificial stone. Insects will die of starvation. Flik craves Princess Atta's respect despite his crime. Flik goes to Bug City to get 'warrior bugs' to destroy his grasshopper colony. When Flik meets a troop of unhappy circus bugs, they're eager to get to work. Even though they've never been there before, the circus performers assume they're headed there to perform. The ants rapidly realize that they're attempting to kill the grasshoppers. Flik and the reluctant circus crew save Princess Dot from a bird attack, giving her the affection and attention she craves. Circus employees must leave before the grasshoppers return. Dot returns to help Flik fight the tyrannical grasshoppers. The ants recognize that there is power in numbers and unity; one ant backed by thousands can achieve anything.
How good is it?
Toy Story, Pixar's last animated smash, was a critical and commercial triumph, and although A Bug's Life falls short of that, it pushes the envelope of what is possible in animated pictures with its ant colony adventure. A Bug's Life is a delightful narrative with a reasonable pace and a cast of characters who don't quite possess enough charisma to make them household names in Pixar's history, despite its essential message against bullying and the excellent qualities of Pixar's prior picture. The story has enough colour and creativity to make each step of Flik's journey memorable and full of funny, creative things that could happen. There's no disputing that A Bug's Life has some fantastic concepts at its heart, whether it's Flik floating around on a dandelion or the opening establishing an image of the busy bug city created out of cardboard boxes and empty jars and tins. The film boasts colourful characters, but its simple narrative and clichéd characters keep it from being as wonderful as previous Pixar movies. If there's a standout, it's Hopper, who plays a fantastically nasty grasshopper with enough compassion to be a credible enemy.
