November 14, 1998 (El Capitan Theatre)
November 25, 1998 (United States)
A Bug's Life is a 1998 American animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's second feature-length film, following Toy Story (1995). The film was directed by John Lasseter, co-directed by Andrew Stanton (in his feature directorial debut), and produced by Darla K. Anderson and Kevin Reher, from a screenplay written by Stanton, Donald McEnery, and Bob Shaw, and a story conceived by Lasseter, Stanton, and Joe Ranft. It stars the voices of Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Hayden Panettiere. In the film, a misfit ant named Flik, looks for "tough warriors" to save his ant colony from a protection racket run by a gang of grasshoppers. However, the "warriors" he brings back were a troupe of Circus Bugs. The film's plot was initially inspired by Aesop's fable The Ant and the Grasshopper.
Production on A Bug's Life began shortly after the release of Toy Story in 1995. The ants in the film were redesigned to be more appealing, and Pixar's animation unit employed technical innovations in computer animation. Randy Newman composed the music for the film. During production, a controversial public feud erupted between Steve Jobs and Lasseter of Pixar and DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg due to the parallel production of his similar film Antz, which was released the month prior.
A Bug's Life premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 14, 1998, and was released in the United States on November 25. It received positive reviews for its animation, story, humor, and voice acting. It became a commercial success, having grossed $363 million at the box office. It was the first film to be digitally transferred frame-by-frame and released on DVD, and has been released multiple times on home video.
Storyline[]
A colony of ants, led by the elderly Queen and her daughter Princess Atta, lives in the middle of a seasonally dry creekbed on a small hill known as "Ant Island". Every summer, they are forced to give food to a gang of domineering grasshoppers, led by Hopper. Meanwhile, the colony display extreme hatred to Flik, an inventor ant who is prone to making mistakes.
One day, Flik accidentally knocks the offering to the grasshoppers into the water with his latest invention, a grain harvester. Discovering this, Hopper demands twice as much food as compensation. When Flik earnestly suggests the ants enlist the help of bigger bugs to fight the grasshoppers, Atta sees it as a way to get rid of Flik and sends him off.
Flik travels to "the city", a heap of trash under a trailer. Happening upon the aftermath of a chaotic bar fight, Flik mistakes a troupe of jobless Circus Bugs for the warrior bugs he seeks. The bugs, in turn, mistake Flik for a talent agent, and agree to travel with him back to Ant Island. During a welcome ceremony upon their arrival, the Circus Bugs and Flik discover their mutual misunderstandings. The Circus Bugs attempt to leave, but are pursued by a nearby bird; while fleeing, they rescue Atta's younger sister Dot from the bird, gaining the ants' respect. At Flik's request, the Circus Bugs continue the ruse of being "warriors", thus enabling them to continue enjoying the ants' hospitality. Learning that Hopper fears birds inspires Flik to create a false bird to scare away the grasshoppers. Meanwhile, Hopper reminds his gang of the ants' superior numbers, and suspects that the ants will eventually rebel if not kept in line.
The ants finish constructing the fake bird. During the subsequent celebration, the Circus Bugs' old boss, P.T. Flea, arrives and explains that he wants to rehire them. This inadvertently reveals Flik's lies; outraged, the ants exile him and the Circus Bugs, and desperately attempt to gather food for a new offering. Hopper returns and sees the mediocre offering; he takes over the island, and demands the ants' own winter food supply, planning to execute the Queen afterward. Overhearing the plan, Dot persuades Flik and the Circus Bugs to return to Ant Island.
After the Circus Bugs distract the grasshoppers long enough to rescue the Queen, Flik deploys the bird. It initially fools the grasshoppers, but P.T., who is also fooled, sets the bird on fire as retaliation for knocking him over. Realizing the deception, Hopper retaliates by having his right-hand man Thumper beat Flik, proclaiming that the ants are lowly life forms who live to serve the grasshoppers. Flik asserts that Hopper actually fears the colony, because he has always known what they are capable of. This inspires the ants and the Circus Bugs to fight back against the grasshoppers, driving all but Hopper and his affable brother Molt (who was hiding from the chaos) away.
The ants shove Hopper into the circus cannon to shoot him off of the island, but rain suddenly begins to fall. In the ensuing chaos, Hopper frees himself from the cannon and abducts Flik. The Circus Bugs and Atta pursue, with the latter catching up to Hopper and rescuing Flik. Flik lures Hopper to the real bird's nest; believing the bird is another fake, Hopper taunts it, until it grabs him and feeds him to its chicks.
With most of the grasshoppers gone, Flik improves his inventions to help gather food for the island. He and Atta become a couple, and they send Molt, the last remaining grasshopper, with a few ants to help P.T. and the Circus Bugs on their new tour. Atta and Dot become the new Queen and Princess, respectively. The ants congratulate Flik as a hero, and bid a fond farewell to the circus troupe.
Also See[]
- Zoog Disney Promo: A Bug's Life (2002)
Movie Trailer[]
- A Bug's Life (1998) (Trailers)
- A Bug's Life (1998) (TV Spots)
Sound Effects Used[]
Image Gallery[]
- A Bug's Life (1998)/Image Gallery