{"id":31536,"date":"2014-08-12T00:01:49","date_gmt":"2014-08-11T14:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/?p=31536"},"modified":"2022-12-03T22:12:46","modified_gmt":"2022-12-03T11:42:46","slug":"movie-review-a-bugs-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/2014\/08\/12\/movie-review-a-bugs-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Movie Review – A Bug’s Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A-Bugs-Life-Review-Logo-v5.1\"<\/h2>\n
\n

– Summary –<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Director :<\/strong>\u00a0 John Lasseter
\nYear Of Release :<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1998
\nPrincipal Cast :<\/strong>\u00a0 Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kevin Spacey, Hayden Panettiere, Phyllis Diller, Richard Kind, David Hyde Pierce, Joe Ranft, Denis Leary, Jonathan Harris, Madeline Kahn, Bonnie Hunt, John Ratzenberger, Brad Garrett, Roddy McDowell.
\nApprox Running Time :<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 96 Minutes
\nSynopsis:<\/strong>\u00a0 When his colony is constantly threatened by a horde of nasty grasshoppers, one lone ant tries to find help in the form of warrior ants.
\nWhat we think :<\/strong>\u00a0 Pixar’s second feature shows no signs of sophomore blues, with a ripping yarn and delightful characters encased in some showstopping animation. A Bug’s Life<\/em> is an instant classic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

**********************<\/p>\n

Following up after Toy Story <\/em>was always going to be the danger film for Pixar. Toy Story<\/em> had raked in the cash, been the talk of Hollywood for ages, and set the bar for future efforts. In most cases, the pressure to produce a film worthy of following Toy Story <\/em>would have crippled most studios and creators. Not so Pixar. Thankfully, the next film they made was just as delightful, almost whimsical, and came out here in Australia just a few short months after Antz<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"We're
We’re only the second Pixar film? Well F@CK ME!!!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Bug\u2019s Life<\/em> follows the tale of Flick, a clumsy, nerdy ant with an Edison complex: constantly inventing things to make society better, but being ignored as a freak by his colony. Yes, A Bug\u2019s Life<\/em> is set in an ant colony too, although this is by far a more appealing ant colony than the one portrayed in Antz<\/em>. Okay, so we get that there\u2019s ants here. Now, what does our hero in ABL<\/em> do or have that\u2019s different than in Antz<\/em>? Well, he falls in love with the local princess, this time named Atta. Atta, who initially finds Flick and annoyance as he tries to invent things to help with the harvest (more on this in a moment) will no doubt, by the films conclusion, find Flick to be a better ant than she originally thought. This is a given, and you can almost see the story unfold from this point. As the film opens, the colony of ants is harvesting food for a marauding group of grasshoppers, led by Kevin Spacey\u2019s wonderfully voiced Hopper.<\/p>\n

The grasshoppers have ordered a certain quantity of food to be stored by a certain amount of time (in this case, before winter) otherwise they have threatened to wipe out the colony. Of course, the smaller and more timid ants work together to do as ordered, thinking that they\u2019re not strong enough or big enough to stand up to the larger insects.<\/p>\n

\"Yeah,
Yeah, we hate Adam Sandler films too…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Flick, as an ant who thinks outside the box, doesn\u2019t agree with this, and wishes that the colony was free of the grasshopper\u2019s tyranny. After an incident with the food store, in which all the stored food ends up at the bottom of a giant puddle, ruining it, Flick is charged with finding a group of warrior bugs to come to the colony and defend the ants against the larger grasshoppers. This, however, is a fudge plan, a way to get rid of the accident-prone Flick while the colony attempts to gather more food in time for the grasshoppers arrival. Flick heads off on his mission, and enters the big bug city. Here, he bumps into a group of circus bugs, whom he mistakenly thinks are warrior bugs (in one of the films more creative scenes!). The circus bugs think Flick is an agent of some kind, seeking to book their services at his colony, and under these two false impressions, they join together and return to the colony.<\/p>\n

Of course, the mistaken identity soon becomes uncovered by both parties, and the fallout threatens the very existence of the colony. Flick and Atta, along with the circus bugs, manage to rally around the colony (and the colony around them) and together, with the help of a magnificent fake bird swing aflame from a tree branch, they drive the grasshoppers away.<\/p>\n

\"Don't
Don’t worry little girl, one day you’ll be able to pick up… a ROCK!!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Bug\u2019s Life<\/em> has the advantage over Antz<\/em> in several ways. First, the inordinate talent behind the microphone would make any Hollywood agent collapse from asphyxia. Dave Foley, best known to Australian audiences for his appearance on US sitcom NewsRadio<\/em>, plays Flick, and gives the character a nervous, twitchy enthusiasm for life, which is in stark contrast to almost all the entire colony. Seinfeld <\/em>alum Juia Louis-Dreyfuss pitches Atta at just the right level of annoyance, annoying<\/em>, cowardice and frenetic energy the character requires. Alongside them are Hollywood heavyweights such as the aforementioned Kevin Spacey, David Hyde Pierce (Frasier\u2019s brother on Frasier<\/em>), Phyllis Diller, Hayden Pannettiere (recently starring in TV super-hit Heroes<\/em>), Brad Garret (from Everybody Loves Raymond<\/em> and \u2018Til Death<\/em>), Madeline Kahn, Denis Leary (in his best role ever!) and Lost In Space<\/em> bad-boy Jonathan Harris.<\/p>\n

\"Nice
Nice hat, weirdo!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The second advantage A Bug\u2019s Life<\/em> has is it\u2019s clean, fresh animation style. Advancing technology meant a more versatile style than Toy Story<\/em>, with better textures and lighting, more stunning visual effects, and a great aesthetic overall that makes watching ABL<\/em> a pure joy. Unlike Antz<\/em>, with it\u2019s strangely textured characters inhabiting a dank, slightly soulless world, ABL<\/em> managed to make living as an ant feel like fun. The sense of joy that sparkles from every frame is a magnificent achievement, and were it not for this film\u2019s success soon after Toy Story<\/em>, perhaps Pixar may have had to rethink their options. The colours are vibrant, the way the sunlight makes everything seem so bright and shiny: you\u2019d think things would be a little grubbier down in the ant patch, but apparently, in Pixarland, it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

\"Angryhopper?\"
Angryhopper?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As mentioned many, many time in many, many places, with Pixar, story is king. If a scene or sequence doesn\u2019t move the story along, it gets cut. This reliance on the old adage that people would watch paint dry as long as the story was good holds true. Actually, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s an adage of any kind, but it sounded okay when I thought of it. Still, the point remains true: a good story will outweigh almost everything else. If you can\u2019t get your audience invested in the characters, then there\u2019s no amount of flashy effects that can rescue you. George Lucas learned this the hard way. In fact, there\u2019s some doubt he learned it at all. Still, alongside Antz<\/em>, ABL<\/em> has a very similar theme: conformity and breaking out from the mould. Flick is a non-conformist, an inventor cum philosopher, who imagines a day when the grasshopper will no longer be a problem and the colony will live peacefully and free of fear. He is always bucking the trend of thinking about the colony first, and this brings him into conflict with the normal way of thinking (as an ant).<\/p>\n

\"From
From up here you look like tiny little…… wait….<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How does the film stack up compared to other Pixar films? Why even ask: even today, years after it\u2019s release, it is still a magnificent film to watch, both visually and story-wise. The animation is just as good as anything getting about today, although perhaps not having the effect-driven flair of Shrek 2 <\/em>(crikey, did they love the particle program on that <\/em>film or what?) or even the layering and texturing done on more recent Pixar output such as Wall-E<\/em> or Ratatouille<\/em>, A Bug\u2019s Life <\/em>still manages to entertain and draw you into itself, without appearing dated or clunky. And that is a sign of a truly awesome film.<\/p>\n

\"9-Star\"<\/p>\n

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