A movie with a lot to stick up to.....and a lot to it's credit!

Rating: Null/10 (29 April 2000)

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs
I'm going to have to add a hint of laziness to my review here.This is the starting point of another review when I have to say that before you even begin to watch A Bug's Life,you know it has a lot of competition to stand up to.Firstly,there's Antz,the other insect related feature that was released nationwide at cinemas not 2 months before it.Secondly,there's Disney/Pixar's other 'same-style-of-animation'movie Toy Story ,which drew in hefty review's about a couple of years back.
Somehow,the Disney bug movie manages to fall short on both these other animation features.Maybe my frame of mind would be different if I was a 2 year old movie critic,but you don't get many of them.However,I do think A Bug's Life could have made it easier on itself:what's the one key thing that both Antz and Toy Story,both intended as children's films in the first place,have in common?:kid's under the above age,according to the standards set by Hollywood movie clerks,don't like a movie of their's to run much over 80 minutes,or so.With Antz running in at 79 minutes,and Toy Story coming in at 77,ABL has to run on for an astounding 93 minutes!And,yes,the story get's very,very ponderous.About 30 minutes into the movie,I gave up thinking there might be an intelligent,intricate plot line to follow ,because I'm sure this was intended as a simple,undemanding kid's film (I borrowed it off my 3 year old cousin!),until I came to the obvious realisation that people of about that age are'nt going to notice lazy plot gaps,and are most likely just going to be entertained by all the dazzling lights,and characters.This is one of the movie's good points:the characters,and,of course,their appearance on screen.The swarthy stick insect,the German slug,and the meditating green horn are fun character's.
I think it's highly unlikely the producer's ripped off the Antz idea of observational ,social humour ,since both the films were produced at pretty much the same time,unless ,of course,they had an insider working for them in the conference room of the other film.But,it would'nt have worked anyway,because,frankly,a large chunk of it simply dos'nt work here.The 2 main character's,Flick and Hopper,emerge as one-dimensional,stereotype ideas from other films before it,and the only redeeming feature in this area of the film is,as ever,the hilarious outtakes.
A Bug's Life holds the attention,but it could probably do so much more if you were'nt so old.****