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GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Nick Lattin-Scheetz I loved this film as a kid but nowadays it's not really as good as I thought it was. Not to say that it's bad but honestly it's really really hard for me to decide whether I like this movie or not. Let's talk about the good stuff first, the animation, colors, settings, and character designs are all beautiful, it definitely matches up with the cheerful tone that the film is supposed to match up with. A lot of the voices are really good ranging from Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Denis Leary, Richard Kind, Jonathan Harris, David Hyde Pierce, Brad Garret, Madeline Kahn, and even some of the main Pixar guys voiced a few characters. The most memorable part of the film is the circus bugs, they are the film's biggest highlight, Denis Leary is Francis the Ladybug who's constantly mistaken for a woman, David Hyde Pierce is Slim the Stick-Bug who's always used as a prop, Brad Garret is Dim the Beetle who looks dangerous and tough but is actually a gigantic baby that's supervised by Rosy the Black Widow who's voiced by Bonnie Hunt, a pair of acrobats named Tuck and Roll who don't speak English and are my favorite characters, Jonathan Harris is Manny the Prey-Mantis who is a blind fortune-teller and is married to a gorgeous butterfly named Gypsy who's voiced by Madeline Kahn, every scene they're in is constantly hilarious, there's never a single moment involving where I would say "that's not funny...." or "what was the point of that?" Finally as mentioned in the headline for this review, the best part of the film is the fourth and final act, starting from when the last leaf falls, the grasshoppers have moved into the ant-hill and are forcing the ants to get every last drop of food on the island making them their slaves, Dot being the only ant who believes in Flik tries to convince him and the circus bugs to come back to make things right but Flik doesn't want to because the amount backlash he received from the colony after the truth about the circus bugs was revealed finally convinced him that what the colony thought of him was true, that he was a guaranteed failure who tries to make things better for people but instead always made things worse, Dot convinces Flik that it doesn't matter what people think of you, you can always achieve your goals if you just believe in yourself, thus Flik agrees to make things right by using the bird that he and the others built, at first it starts off really well but then it accidentally gets sabotaged, Hopper then forces Thumper to beat him half to death in front of everyone to teach them a lesson saying that ants were put on Earth to serve grasshoppers, but Flik convinces everyone otherwise by saying the best line in the movie, "Ants are not meant to serve grasshoppers. I've seen these ants do great things, and year after year they somehow manage to pick food for themselves and you. So who is the weaker species? 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?" Hopper fed up with Flik decides to kill him himself but right when he's about to Princess Atta and the other ants become convinced that they were wrong and stand up for themselves giving us that triumphant feeling that lots of epic climaxes give us, the battle between ants and grasshoppers begins with the all the grasshoppers getting scared away and Hopper about to get shot out of a cannon, but suddenly it starts to rain, which gives Hopper the advantage of grabbing Flik to finish him off, Atta comes to the rescue and Flik thinks up a plan, he gets cornered by Hopper and right when he's about to choke him to death, a bird appears and Hopper gets fed to its babies, the film then ends with the ants saying goodbye to the circus bugs, Atta becoming queen, and Flik is declared being a true hero. But unfortunately what causes the film to go downhill really causes it to go downhill, the adviser ants, Princess Atta, and the Queen are so unbelievably obnoxious, always talking down to Flik and Dot going on about how they'll never achieve anything and this isn't just occasional insults, it happens constantly throughout most of the film, they get on my nerves to the point where it's unwatchable, they even tried to get rid of Flik by saying they'll agree to let him look for warriors when really they're just trying to get rid of him, which is why my least favorite scene is when it's revealed that the circus bugs aren't warriors, therefore the colony has to call Flik a disgrace and kick him out because they apparently would rather be slaves than listen to someone who's just misunderstood, what were they thinking? So this film is nowhere near terrible, as mentioned before the fourth act starting from when the last leaf falls is spectacular, but I just feel that the ants having to be so mean-spirited and cruel towards Flik was just way too much for me.

classicsoncall It all started with one of Aesop's famous fables, and then in 1934, Disney produced a classic Silly Symphony titled "The Grasshopper and the Ants". It tells the story of a single lazy grasshopper who fiddles his summer away living for the moment while his neighbor ants work tirelessly, squirreling away massive amounts of food for the winter months. When the cold finally arrives, the starving grasshopper is reminded of his laziness and lack of preparation by the ant queen, who allows him to stay with the colony if he plays his fiddle, in a sense, working for the food and warmth he'll be provided.Disney ups the ante in "A Bug's Life" by pitting a grasshopper warlord and his followers against a huge colony of ants by demanding that they provide food for them on a regular basis. Noting that the ants far outnumber the grasshoppers in quantity, little Flik (voiced by Dave Foley) embarks on a series of initiatives to free the ants from domination by Hopper (Kevin Spacey) and his mean crew. I've read other viewer comparisons of the movie to Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven, and that might work except in one respect. When push came to shove, it was Flik and his own ingenuity that helped win the day for Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the colony. With more than a little help from the voiceless, colorful bird that made bird food out of Hopper. I always get a kick out of the ingenuity and cleverness that goes into these animated features and this one provided it in spades. Very colorful and well drawn, the insect characters are unique and fun, especially the 'warrior' bunch from the circus. If you liked this, you owe it to yourself to look up the original Disney Silly Symphony, as the restored version is glorious with outstanding color and first rate animation. You can't go wrong with either one.

Jesper Brun Pixar really started at the top with the spectacular mega hit Toy Story which still holds up as a great story with great characters. That isn't exactly the same with their second feature A Bug's Life. The story is not that unique to begin with. Heck, Pixar had a ton to live up to after the surprise of Toy Story, so it is forgivable. Flik is our neurotic main character who longs after being special, but is rejected by his colony which must provide food to feed the tyrannical grasshoppers, lead by Hopper, to avoid them attacking the colony. Given the fact that Dreamworks' Antz came out shortly before A Bug's Life they are quite similar. I guess you know the controversy surrounding those two movies. I think they both a good in their own ways, and what makes A Bug's Life good is the colours and the circus bugs as the comedic addition to the plot. They are the highlight of the entire movie and can make both kids and adults laugh. In my opinion Hopper as a villain is also doing a great job. When his colony of grasshoppers arrived at the ants' near the climax used to scare me as a kid. Their tall and menacing figures slowly emerging from the fog is bone-chilling. All in all, A Bug's Life is a good children's movie and adults may also find one or two things enjoyable, too. Mainly the circus bugs, though.

michael-3204 Not a bad movie by any means, but it's hard not to be disappointed by the degree to which Pixar's second feature falls short of the very high standard it set with its first, "Toy Story." Visually, "A Bug's Life" is almost as impressive and should be applauded for a completely different setting -- writers/directors Lasseter and Stanton certainly can't be accused of simply repeating themselves.Unfortunately, the characterizations here aren't nearly as rich and entertaining and the casting not as inspired. Phyllis Diller could almost make a good substitute for the function Don Rickles served in "Toy Story," but she's not given enough to do and never really gets to cut loose. Kevin Spacey is always a good villain and adds some spice to the proceedings as Hopper, but the notion of making grasshoppers into a biker gang -- which should have worked well -- is half-heartedly executed. The rest of the cast, particularly Dave Foley and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, aren't especially interesting or memorable. After a slow start, the film definitely picks up with the introduction of the circus, performers of which provide most of the comic relief, but the only standout is Heimlich the caterpillar who can't wait to get his wings.Overall, the story is a bit too convoluted to convey the simple, powerful messages about conformity and perseverance the film wants to deliver as cleanly as it might with a tighter story structure. This is probably a film children will still enjoy, but unlike "Toy Story," there isn't as much here for people who've passed through puberty.