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 (co-director)

Writers:

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

Stars:

Kevin Spacey, Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 20 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

At an annual pace, a huge colony of ants is forced to collect every piece of food that grows on their island for a group of menacing grasshoppers. But that all changes when a misfit inventor ant named Flik accidentally knocks over the offering pile thus forcing the grasshoppers' devious leader Hopper to force the ants to redo their gathering of food. Despite the fact that his friends don't believe him and desperate to help save the colony, Flik volunteers to go out into the world and search for a group of 'warrior' bugs. Instead, what he got was a talented group of circus performers. But when the grasshoppers return and take control of the island, Flik must prove himself a true hero before it's too late.

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Plot Keywords:

traveller | texas mexico border | ant | grasshopper | circus | 

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Taglines:

An epic of miniature proportions.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 November 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bugs

Filming Locations:

Pixar Animation Studios - 1200 Park Avenue, Emeryville, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$120,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$291,121, 22 November 1998, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$162,798,565

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$363,398,565

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (Digital DTS Sound) Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bobcat Goldthwait were deleted a role of Tobey the Grasshopper.

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Goofs

Many of the characters have fewer legs than their real counterparts. Francis, Gypsy Moth, Manny, PT Flea, the mosquitoes, fireflies, and all the ants have four legs instead of six. Tuck and Roll have eight legs instead of fourteen. Heimlich has four thoracic legs instead of six. (The number of caterpillar prolegs can vary by species.)

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Quotes

[the ants watch as Heimlich gets stuck during the bird attack]
Princess Atta: The caterpillar's using himself as live bait.
Mr. Soil: How brave!
Heimlich: [as bird looms over him] Aaaaaaaaah!

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Crazy Credits

Additional faked goofs were added to the movie on December 18th, 1998. The original set of goofs had such a great reaction that Disney decided to add more for a "reward" to people that see the movie again.

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Alternate Versions

Two versions of the film have been released, each one with different fake outtakes over the end credits. The version released before December 18th, 1999 features a set, and the one released after that date has another. This was done because Disney hoped it would encourage people to view the film a second time. This version has only appeared on the VHS, and can only be viewed as a separate bonus feature on the DVD.

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Connections

Referenced in The Pitts: A Bug's Wife (2003)

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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.