A Bug's Life (1998)

There was such a magic on the screen in 1995 when the people at Pixar came up with the first fully computer-animated film, Toy Story. Their second feature film, A Bug's Life, may miss the bull's-eye but Pixar's target is so lofty, it's hard to find the film anything less than irresistible.

Brighter and more colorful 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 traveling 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 ladybug, Joe Ranft as the German-accented caterpillar, David Hyde Pierce as a stick bug, and Michael McShane as a pair of unintelligible pillbugs. The scene-stealer is Atta's squeaky-voiced sister, baby Dot (Hayden Panettiere), who has a big sweet spot for Flik.

More gentle and kid-friendly than Antz, A Bug Life's still has some good suspense and a wonderful demise of the villain. However, the film--a giant 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.

The video also contains Pixar's delightful Oscar-winning short, Geri's Game. Box art varies. --Doug Thomas Amazon.com

I NEVER RECEIVED IT!!!

VERY UPSET I ORDERED THIS PRODUCT WELL OVER A MONTH AGO AND HAVE NEVER RECEIVED IT!! I ORDERED A CD THE SAME DAY AND WHEN I RECEIVED THAT, IT DID NOT WORK! December 22, 2008

good movie, but too much "yelling"

I bought this movie to add to our "in van" collection of VHS tapes for a long car trip. I had seen this movie before, and liked it. However, for in the car, there is too much yelling in the movie! Every moment is a crisis that warrent's screaming by the characters. Not a good soundtrack for a car trip, but ok for home (although it may be overstimulating in any environment, depending on the audience). December 12, 2008

RELEASE DATE RUMOR!!!!

Some sources are pointing out that a bug's life blu-ray and monster's inc blu-ray are set to release 4/22/2009. Just thought I'd give fans a heads up. Not official yet but hopefully it will be soon. December 3, 2008

Inspired Storytelling

Sure, we have a three year old at home. Now and then we watch TV together. Since watching movies with my kid is kind of new, I'm looking more closely at what to watch. Just about everything from Pixar and John Lassiter is some of the most inspired stuff I've come across.
The characters, the stories, the animation and the casting all create a high water mark not just for children's viewing but for every one.
"A Bugs Life" is certainly one of the better ones in the group. I can say this after several, and I mean several viewings. October 17, 2008

Will there be a ten year anniversary addition coming?

A Bug's Life has always been one of my favorite Pixar Animations and worthy of owning in my DVD library.

This movie was first released in theaters in November of 1998. Disney needs to release a 10 year Anniversary Addition DVD of "A Bug's Life" but I don't see anything like that on Disney's upcoming DVD release schedule. I guess this product is a good-selling-classic that always sells well and stays in stock with most retailers year-round.

September 28, 2008

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