A Bug's Life

The Ultimate Trip Into Inner Space

by Michelle Klein-Häss

Directed by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton
Written by John Lasseter , (story) Don McEnery, Joe Ranft, (story) Bob Shaw, Andrew Stanton ( story)

Voice cast:
Flik: Dave Foley
Hopper: Kevin Spacey
Princess Atta: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Princess Dot: Hayden Panettiere
The Queen: Phyllis Diller
Molt: Richard Kind
Slim: David Hyde Pierce
Heimlich: Joe Ranft
Francis: Denis Leary
Manny: Jonathan Harris
Gypsy: Madeline Kahn
Tuck/Roll: Michael McShane

Produced by Darla K. Anderson and Kevin Reher
Original music by Randy Newman
Production Design by William Cone
Art Direction by Tia W. Kratter and Bob Pauley

Flik As you recall, I didn't like Antz much, and was seriously looking forward to the second entry in the insect derby, which is this movie. It was certainly worth the wait.

The best news about A Bug's Life is the fact that Disney didn't impose its Feature formula on Pixar. Toy Story didn't hew to the Disney formula, and that was partially because it was conceived before Disney bought an interest in and signed distribution agreements with Pixar. However, A Bug's Life had its genesis well into the Pixar/Disney era, and could have been a complete disaster had Disney forced its formula on the folks at Pixar.

Francis One thing that definitely places this movie head and shoulders above Antz is the fact that there is a STORY here. John Lasseter is a master storyteller, as well as a master technician. Rather than stringing together a handful of spectacular set pieces, what we have here in A Bug's Life is a story that has been conceived from start to finish as a story, with a narrative that propels you along. There are strong themes here: standing up to bullies, and the notion that even in a group effort every individual matters and can make a difference. Even little, feisty Princess Dot.

There are no songs in the body of the film. There is a wonderful Randy Newman song that plays over the end credits, but that's it. Newman's score is brilliant, recalling film music of the '30s and '40s...Newman is still the best composer writing music for animated cinema today. After being inflicted with the stupid songs in The Rugrats Movie, this complete break with animated cinema as musical comedy is refreshing.

Princess Atta The voice cast works well as both individual performances and in ensemble, something missing from Antz and its use of Hollywood stars for voices. Many of the names are recognizable amongst the voice cast -- Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, David Hyde-Pierce, Kevin Spacey, Denis Leary, Madeline Kahn -- but they all work well together. And the best vocal performances are from veteran character actors: comedienne Phyllis Diller, who also has recently arrived on video in Mad Monster Party? and steals every scene she's in here as well; and the one and only Jonathan Harris as Manny, a deeply affected ham actor of a praying mantis.

Heimlich I can go on for days on the sheer beauty of the animation, art direction and character design. Although more anthropomorphic in some senses than the character design in Antz, the character design here is more of a truer blend of the human and the insect. In Antz, it seemed to me as if the characters moved and interacted with each other like humans with an extra set of legs and an insect abdomen pasted on. Here, even the bipedal ants move as if they were...well, bipedal ants, not humans in ant suits. The grasshopper enemies are suitably fierce looking, and are perhaps the most realistic characters of the bunch. On the other hand, I can definitely see children wanting their own Heimlich the Caterpillar doll to perform the Heimlich Maneuver on...he's cuddly and cute and very cartoony.

Whether inside the eerily beautiful and subtlely luminous inside of the ant hill, the whimsical city streets of the Bug City, or in the painterly expanses of the outside world by day and by night, you are transported into a vivid world that you would really want to see for yourself. In Antz, you never would really want to live in their world. You get the overall feeling that even with the dangers, including rain that pelts down like enemy fire in a World War II movie and armored bullies, you'd love to live in these insects' world.

I get this feeling that when this finally comes out on video I'm going to be spending a lot of time looking at it to catch any number of things I've missed. I might even go back to see it in the theatres...something I never do. And make sure you stay for the credits...it's as much a must-see as the credits in a Jackie Chan or a Zucker-Abrams Zucker movie.

It is worth repeating that this movie will probably be an immense hit even with its extreme break with the Disney formula. Maybe, just maybe, if A Bug's Life is a hit, Disney might even consider breaking with its formula and trying something other than the musical format. Oh Mr. Eisner... ;-)