A Bug's Life (1998)

A misfit ant, looking for "warriors" to save his colony from greedy grasshoppers, recruits a group of bugs that turn out to be an inept circus troupe.

Directors:

John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton

Writers:

John Lasseter (original story), Andrew Stanton (original story),

Stars:

Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dave Foley	...	Flik (voice)
Kevin Spacey	...	Hopper (voice)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Atta (voice)
Hayden Panettiere	...	Dot (voice)
Phyllis Diller	...	Queen (voice)
Richard Kind	...	Molt (voice)
David Hyde Pierce	...	Slim (voice)
Joe Ranft	...	Heimlich (voice)
Denis Leary	...	Francis (voice)
Jonathan Harris	...	Manny (voice)
Madeline Kahn	...	Gypsy Moth (voice)
Bonnie Hunt	...	Rosie (voice)
Michael McShane	...	Tuck / Roll (voice)
John Ratzenberger	...	P.T. Flea (voice)
Brad Garrett	...	Dim (voice)

Storyline

Every year, a bunch of grasshoppers come to the anthill and eat what the ants have gathered for them. The "offering", as the ants call the ritual, is a part of their fate. One day in spring, when the offering's preparation has just been finished, Flik, unliked inventor ant, accidentally drops the whole offered seeds into the river. The grasshoppers come and give the ants a second chance to collect food until fall. Flik sets off to find bugs that are willing to fight the grasshoppers (nobody expects him to succeed anyway) and, due to a double misinterpretation, returns with a circus crew, giving everybody new hope. When the misunderstanding finally gets cleared out, there is only little time left for a new plan, which has to work, or else...

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Plot Keywords:

ant | grasshopper | circus | anthill | misfit | 

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Taglines:

An epic of miniature proportions.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 November 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Bug's Life 3D

Box Office

Budget:

$120,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£4,204,678 (UK) (5 February 1999)

Gross:

SEK 34,351,136 (Sweden) (31 December 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ashley Tisdale tried out for the part of Dot.

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Goofs

When the fly paper lands on P.T Flea and catches fire, he is standing near the top of the fly paper. After it burns, he is standing in the middle of the burn patch.

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Quotes

Princess Atta: I think I'll go check on the bird.
[exits left, then enters again, embarrassed]
Princess Atta: Bird's *this* way.
Flik: [laughs with dazed expression on his face] Yeah the bird's that way
[turns to the circus bugs, who have knowing smiles on their faces]
Flik: She went the- What?

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Crazy Credits

During the credits, there are some faked "goofs" during filming such as characters bursting out laughing, accidentally knocking over the camera, etc. One particular highlight is Flik yelling "To infinity, and beyond!"

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Connections

Featured in The Nostalgia Chick: Top Ten Disney Deaths (2011)

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Soundtracks

"La Cucaracha"
(uncredited)
Lyrics by José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi
Sung by the grasshoppers

User Reviews

Wow.

There is great detail in A Bug's Life. Everything is covered. The film looks great and the animation is sometimes jaw-dropping. The film isn't too terribly orignal, it's basically a modern take on Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, only with bugs. I enjoyed the character interaction however and the bad guys in this film actually seemed bad. It seems that Disney usually makes their bad guys carbon copy cut-outs. The grasshoppers are menacing and Hopper, the lead bad guy, was a brillant creation. Check this one out.