Circus Bugs

**Circus Bugs** are a group of characters from the 1998 film A Bug's Life.

Francis is a ladybug who works as a clown in the circus. Unfortunately, the effect is so convincing that insects are always mistaking him for a real girl (with the fact that his actual species being a ladybug not helping matters either). He is very short-tempered and aggressive, and it doesn't help that he's constantly being mistaken for a girl just because he's a ladybug. He is great friends with Slim and Heimlich, who try to keep him calm. He also carries Slim when the circus troupe flies.

### Slim

Voiced by: David Hyde Pierce

Slim is a pessimistic walking stick who works as a clown in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. It appears that he is unhappy with his position at the circus troupe, as his boss constantly casts him as a prop instead of a character, with such castings as a broom, a pole, a stick and a splinter. He is shown to be best friends with Heimlich and Francis, and often treats other bugs with more respect in contrast to Francis' aggressive nature. However, he seems to tolerate it, as seen when he calmly broke up a fight between Francis and a couple of flies during a performance.

Unlike most stick insects, Slim does not have wings and cannot fly. Because of this, Francis usually carries him for transport.

### Heimlich

Voiced by: Joe Ranft

Heimlich is an obese lime caterpillar (blue as a butterfly) with a German accent who works as a clown in P.T. Flea's circus troupe, with dreams of becoming a butterfly. He is shown to have a gluttonous appetite and is seen eating almost all the time, especially while helping the ants construct a model bird to scare Hopper and his gang. Although brave, he still shows fear when a real bird nearly eats him. Also, when Hopper shouts at the approaching circus wagon, he frightens Heimlich who says he thinks he's going to wet himself.

### Dim

Voiced by: Brad Garrett

Dim is a large rhinoceros beetle who works as a "lion/ferocious beast" in the circus, with a green covered back, blue eyes, and a childlike nature, as seen when he sobs in pain after Rosie accidentally lashes one of his feet. He is also shown to be ticklish when some ant kids unintentionally tickle his thorax with their antennae while exploring beneath him. He is usually mothered by the black widow spider, Rosie. He is the largest insect of the circus troupe, and also the transport to Heimlich, Rosie, Tuck, and Roll. He is big and strong, but kind of cowardly like when Thud the Horsefly scares his friends (although because Thud maybe was even bigger than Dim).

### Rosie

Voiced by: Bonnie Hunt

Rosie is a black widow spider who works as a "lion tamer" in the circus with a motherlike nature. She is mostly a mother figure to the rhinoceros beetle, Dim, with whom she shares an act, and also the younger ants of the colony. She has apparently had twelve husbands who all died, making her (as she says) a "black widow widow." She sees her circus friends as her only true family.

### Tuck and Roll

Voiced by: Michael McShane

Tuck and Roll are Hungarian twin pill bugs. They occasionally argue, but are usually the best of friends. They act as "human" cannonballs in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. They are supposed to be the main part of the "Flaming Death" act, but their arguing and fighting results in the act going totally out of control and everybody being fired. However, they don't seem to understand this and remain cheerful even at the Bug Bar. They also appear to like the sound of the phrase: "You're fired!", since they continuously repeat in throughout the film after P.T. Flea says it to them, much to Rosie's irritation.

### Manny

Voiced by: Jonathan Harris

Manny is a praying mantis with an English accent and the magician of P.T. Flea's circus troupe. He is very kind and courteous to his fellow circus troupe and other insects, especially the ants on Ant Island. He is also Gypsy's husband.

His act involves the "Chinese Cabinet of Metamorphosis," which is really the packaging of a Chinese takeout. His magic act is not appreciated well by the flies in the usual audience, who insult him and throw berries at him, but the grasshoppers take it seriously, as he somehow improved.

### Gypsy

Voiced by: Madeline Kahn

Gypsy is a gypsy moth and Manny's lovely assistant. She is very kind as heard in most of her speaking lines. She is also very brave when she was seen luring the bird away from Heimlich and during the circus act for the grasshoppers. Furthermore, she is very defensive as shown while she was protecting her husband Manny when the grasshoppers began to get suspicious. She may be a little sensitive to gore and violence, which was shown when the ant kids made a mural of the warrior bugs defeating the grasshoppers.

## Film Appearances

### A Bug's Life

The Circus Bugs first appear where their acts do not perform well with the flies dissatisfied of their performance with many of them leaving the circus in anger. Their leader, P.T. Flea, ruthlessly refuses to give out refunds to the flies during the first two minutes of the show, much to his harsh strictness to the circus troupe. When P.T. became very upset that his act did not perform properly, he decides to do a dangerous act known as "Flaming Death" to test if any of the circus troupe members survive the act in less than fifteen seconds while telling other bugs who are sensitive to the act to leave the circus immediately. P.T. survived the act after the flaming flypaper falls on him and the Circus Bugs extinguish him with water droplets, but he fires the whole troupe for bad performance in the circus.

Flik first sees them in the city at the Bug Bar after they were fired by P.T. Flea, when his "Flaming Death" act went wrong, doing a Robin Hood act, believing them to be warriors, and they believe him to be a talent scout, and he convinces them to come to Ant Island to help him deal with the grasshoppers. Shortly after arriving, Flik and the circus troupe discover their misunderstandings; Flik is horrified that he brought a circus troupe, and the Circus Bugs are upset that Flik didn't tell them that they were actually going to be combatting grasshoppers. As they attempt to leave, with Flik attempting to stop them, they stumble upon a bird's nest, and they, along with Dot, are attacked by the mother bird. Francis manages to save Dot from falling to her death, but they end up trapped in the riverbed. Flik and the others work together to save them both. After hearing that even Hopper fears birds, Flik proposes creating a model bird to scare him and his gang, with the circus troupe taking credit for the idea.

Later, P.T. comes to Ant Island looking for his troupe, and inadvertently reveals the truth about them. The Queen and Princess Atta banish them from the island, along with Flik as punishment for lying to the colony, however, this was a fatal mistake; they put themselves in danger. When Hopper and his gang return and take over the island, Dot eavesdrops on a couple of grasshoppers discussing Hopper's plan to squish the Queen in order to discourage opposition from the ants and follows Flik and the troupe to tell them about the dire situation. Flik is still ashamed of himself for being a screwup all the time, but some encouragement from Dot and the troupe makes him feel better and motivated to return and stop Hopper. The Circus Bugs present themselves to Hopper, claiming that Princess Atta invited them as a surprise for his arrival; Hopper initially orders his gang to kill them, but after seeing Tuck and Roll fight, he decides they can use a little entertainment and spares their lives. The Circus Bugs continue their show until Manny takes the Queen for a magic trick, making Hopper demand to know where she is. At that moment, Flik and the blueberries launch the fake bird they constructed to scare the grasshoppers; it works, until P.T. sets it on fire and ends up aiding Hopper and his gang in the process.

After seeing Thumper beat up Flik and hearing Hopper insult the colony and his troupe, P.T. realizes his mistake and assists the ants in driving out the grasshoppers, resulting in all the grasshoppers, except Hopper, his younger brother, Molt, and Thumper (until Dim and Dot scare him off), fleeing and Hopper getting killed by the real bird, putting his reign of terror and insult on the ant colony and troupe to an end. Following Hopper's defeat, P.T. reforms, becoming less greedy and more kind-hearted, and he and his troupe spend the winter on Ant Island (as it would be impossible for them to go anywhere in the rain and snow) before returning to the circus in the spring after a brief celebration, bringing Molt (now called "Tiny" and working as a strongman) and a group of acrobatic ants with them, while promising to come back in the future and receiving a fond farewell from the colony.