Delightful animated film has plenty to offer

Rating: Null/10 (6 January 1999)

A Bug's Life considers a number of the same themes (individuality vs. utilitarianism, for example) that are found in Antz, but the Disney/Pixar film stays more firmly rooted in the breezy, family-friendly zone than the Dreamworks competition. I agree with the critic who suggested that spinning The Seven Samurai into a children's story featuring insects was a stroke of genius. And few would disagree that the samurai, here made over into a circus of misfit bugs, provide the most colorful moments in the movie. The non-English speaking duo of Tuck and Roll, voiced by Michael McShane, were perfectly realized by their animators, who captured a hilarious vacancy on their faces as they listened but didn't comprehend what was being said to them. These two stole every scene in which they appeared, and came back for a couple of triumphant moments in the phenomenal "bloopers" that roll during the credits.