once again , the battle is dreamworks versus disney : earlier this year , the mammoth companies fought to the death with their end - of - the - world asteroid flicks , deep impact and armageddon .
here we are now , just a few months later , and they 're at it again with dueling bug movies , antz and a bug 's life .
what i find so astonishing is that both pairs of movies are so inherently similar in both story and execution .
i mean , come on
-- what were the chances of two studios both deciding to bring out computer - animated films about bugs ?
as was the case with the meteor movies , disney has come out on top : though antz is a likable movie , a bug 's life is far superior .
in fact , this movie made me realize what was wrong with antz
: i became immersed in the world of a bug 's life , while antz just made me scrutinize everything .
but it 's not really fair to base an entire review on a comparison .
a bug 's life is a remarkable film in its own right , and deserves to be seen apart from any other computer - animated film about bugs .
in fact , it 's one of the best films this year : it 's smart , subtle , and funny , but it 's also perfect family entertainment and relentlessly entertaining .
i have n't had such a good time at the movies in months .
it tells the story of an ant named flick ( voice by dave foley ) ; he 's a nice guy , but he 's also a troublemaker .
the ants spend all season putting together the offering , a big pile of food that they provide for the grasshoppers .
just before the grasshoppers come , flick accidentally knocks over the offering , and ruins everything for the entire colony : the grasshopper 's leader , hopper ( kevin spacey ) , is enraged , and tells them that the ants need twice the food by the end of summer , or they 're all dead .
flick , feeling responsible for this , sets off to look for help -- he realizes that the only way to be rid of the grasshoppers is to fight them .
he heads to the city ( the city being a house a few miles away ) , where he finds a colorful bunch of circus bugs : a ladybug ( denis leary , who is spectacular ) , a black widow ( bonnie hunt ) , a caterpillar ( joe ranft ) , a butterfly ( madeline kahn ) , a rhinoceros beetle ( michael mcshane ) , and a stick ( david hyde - pierce , also giving a hilarious performance ) .
flick does n't know they 're actors , and they do n't know that flick needs them to kill a bunch of grasshoppers , so they return to the colony with flick and find themselves in an unusual position .
the most obvious element of a bug 's life is the quality of animation .
created by pixar ,
the same people who brought us toy story , a bug 's life has some of the most amazing visuals i 've ever seen .
the bugs seem to inhabit a three - dimensional space , and occasionally there will be a shot that is indistinguishable from live action .
this is a lush , colorful world , full of life and imagination : the way the animators insert the things all of us see in our daily lives ( matches , bottlecaps , tin cans , etc . ) and make them active objects in the bugs ' world is innovative .
the film is also mercilessly exciting , particularly in a superbly - staged scene involving our heroes ' escape from a bird ( a little bird never seemed so huge and threatening ) .
but the makers of a bug 's life know where the importance lies : story and characters .
flick , with solid voice work from foley , is a great guy to lead the story .
but the real treat comes with the circus bugs ; they 're such a likable group of characters -- the standouts are the stick ( hyde - pierce is so good ) , francis the ladybug , and the big fat caterpillar .
all of these bugs have more than a token personality , which makes the suspenseful scenes work because we care about the bugs , and it also keeps the tear - jerking scenes from seeming obligatory .
in my review of antz , i said that the film is a clever cop - out because it presents a bunch of little humans reacting to an ant - like existence .
in concept , a bug 's life is basically the same movie , except that i was never given enough time to find things that i did n't like about it .
with such strong work in both animation and script , a bug 's life is nothing but
a joy to sit through .
it really is too bad that it had to come out so close to that other bug movie , but a bug 's life is so good that i 'm sure it will find its audience .
after a slew of endlessly violent and cynical movies , it 's downright refreshing to sit through an innocent picture like this and laugh without feeling guilty .
Output: P