A Bug's Life | Disney Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia “An epic presentation of miniature proportions.” ―Tagline A Bug's Life is a 1998 computer-animated Disney / Pixar movie. The film is loosely inspired by the fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper" and the classic samurai film The Seven Samurai, it is the second Pixar movie and tells the story of an outcast inventor ant named Flik ( Dave Foley ), who recruits a group of circus bugs he mistakes for warriors when his colony is threatened by a group of grasshoppers. It is the second animated The film was directed by John Lasseter and co-directed Andrew Stanton . The movie takes place during 1995 , the same year Toy Story was released. The film was widely acclaimed from both critics and audiences and, was a box office success, grossing $363 million worldwide against its $120 million budget. Contents [ show ] Plot Every year, a colony of ants is expected to harvest food for a biker-gang-like bunch of grasshoppers. One ant, Flik , is an inventor whose creations usually do more harm than good.

While trying out a mechanical harvester, he drops his machine and on auto-pilot, it knocks the pile of food into a stream just before the grasshoppers arrive. Their leader, Hopper , gives the ants the rest of the season to make good on what they owe, but orders a double ration of food after Flik stands up to him in defense of the Queen's youngest daughter Dot , who then couldn't fly, due to haven't sprouted her wings yet. Flik is admonished by the colony's royal council. When Flik suggests that he try to recruit some "warrior bugs" to fight the grasshoppers, Princess Atta (Dot's older sister and the eventual successor to the Queen) allows him to do so, but only to keep him out of the way. Reaching the insect "city" (actually a pile of garbage), Flik encounters a troupe of unemployed circus bugs whose latest performance has just ended in disaster. He mistakes them for the warriors he needs. At the same time, they believe him to be a talent scout who wants to book their act. They return to the colony, much to Atta's surprise, and are immediately greeted as heroes who can end the grasshopper threat.

Atta soon becomes suspicious after overhearing a conversation where both Flik and the troupe realize their mistakes. However, after they band together to save Dot from a hungry bird, she begins to think that the troupe may be able to stop the grasshoppers after all. She also starts to find herself falling in love with Flik and the feeling is mutual. At the grasshopper gang's hideout, Hopper's brother Molt suggests they do not go back since they have more than enough food stored and the weather will soon turn bad. Hopper reminds him and the gang that if they do not keep the ants living in fear, the ants might use their superior numbers ("a hundred to one," he estimates) to run the grasshoppers out of the colony for good. The gang sets out for the island to collect their due. When Flik discovers that Hopper is afraid of birds (due to him almost getting eaten by one years ago), he proposes that the colony build a model bird to scare him away (the plan is presented by the circus bugs, so the royal council believes the "warriors" came up with the idea). The ants put their food-gathering work on hold to carry out this project.

After they finish and put the bird in the island's tree, circus ringmaster P. T. Flea arrives looking for his missing performers and exposes the truth. The colony became furious that building the bird turned out to be a waste of time. Upset at Flik's deception, Atta orders him exiled from the colony, while the other ants hide the bird to pretend it never happened and rush to collect whatever food they can for Hopper. They are unable to meet the double quota he set, and when the gang arrives, Hopper takes over the anthill and forces the ants to bring him all the food on the island. Dot overhears the gang's plans to kill the Queen once they have all the food, and after a tangle with Hopper's crazed assistant Thumper , she sprouts her wings and catches up with Flik and the troupe. She persuades them to return and put the bird plan into action, with help from her and some of the other young ants, nicknamed the Blueberries. The model frightens the gang, which almost retreats until P. T. intervenes and sets the model on fire with lighter fluid.

Enraged, Hopper sends Thumper to injure Flik, but Flik is still able to stand up and rally the other ants, saying that the grasshoppers depend on the extorted food for their own survival. The entire colony swarms against the gang, forcing all except Hopper to leave. However, a thunderstorm begins, causing panic among the ants. Hopper grabs Flik and flies off, intent on killing him. Atta rescues Flik and the two lure Hopper towards the bird’s nest. Hopper corners Flik and starts strangling him, revealing his intention of returning to the colony with more grasshoppers. Flik is saved when the bird appears, picks up Hopper and feeds him to her chicks. Later, the colony adopts Flik's harvester to speed up grain collection. Atta becomes the new queen, passes the princess crown to Dot and chooses Flik as her mate. As the troupe leaves, Slim the stick insect notices that they've forgotten Heimlich the caterpillar, who emerges from the chrysalis in which he has encased himself.

He pops out with a tiny pair of butterfly wings, far too small to lift him off the ground, but he's picked up by Francis the ladybug and Manny the praying mantis, and the troupe (with Molt, acting as a road crew assistant) departs with the colony’s thanks. Dot joined by Queen Atta and Flik (who are shown holding hands) wave goodbye. The shot then pulls out to reveal that "Ant Island" is a small area in the forest surrounded by a little stream. Cast Dave Foley as Flik , the main protagonist, a nerdy inventive ant who is desperate to make a difference to his colony's way of life, but tends to make things worse in the process. His inventions include a telescope created by wrapping a blade of grass around a dew drop; an automatic harvester; several items of traveller's gear; and the bird-shaped aircraft used to terrify the grasshoppers. He is friends with Dot and the Circus Bugs. He is in love with Princess Atta. Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Atta , the older princess ant of the royal family and heir to the throne. She is the film's deuteragonist.

She is nervous about her new responsibilities and fears what the rest of the colony might think about her. During the film, it is shown that she develops a romantic interest in Flik, although initially she does not show much appreciation for him. Her appreciation changes for the better after the ants build the bird. The Queen eventually gives up her crown at the end of the film to Atta, whereupon Atta gives up her own crown to her younger sister Dot. Hayden Panettiere as Dot , the younger princess ant of the royal family and the tritagonist. She idolizes Flik and resents being small. She starts the movie unable to fly, but ultimately finds herself able to fly when her survival depends on it. Dot acts as Flik's moral support, and he as hers. Dot fears the demented grasshopper Thumper, exposure to whom Hopper uses as a punishment. Dot is terrified of Thumper but with the help of the rhinoceros beetle Dim she scares the grasshopper away. Dot was also the narrator of the Read-Along version of the book, possibly making her voice actress the youngest to narrate a Disney Read-Along book.

Denis Leary as Francis , an aggressive ladybug and a clown in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. Francis is frustrated by constantly being mistaken for a female; an obvious pun on the name of his species. In such frustrations, he is shown to be belligerent and aggressive to the point of frightening others. Because it is he who played the most obvious part in Princess Dot's rescue, he becomes 'den mother' to the scout-like organization of young ants called the "Blueberry Troop". As counselor to this organization, Francis becomes very fond of his charges. Francis seems to have a strong friendship with Slim and Heimlich. While transporting over long distances, Francis carries Slim. Joe Ranft as Heimlich , a green caterpillar with a German accent and a clown in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. He is gluttonous and frivolous throughout, and contemptuous of anyone he considers less intelligent than himself. At one point, he remarks that he dreams of being a beautiful butterfly. At the end of the film, he pops from his chrysalis and sprouts a pair of tiny wings, but remains flightless due to his obesity.

Whilst flightless, Heimlich is carried by the rhinoceros beetle, Dim, for transport. He uses a few German words now and then, particularly when he is very scared. David Hyde Pierce as Slim , a walking stick and 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 such as "the broom, the pole, the stick, [and] the splinter". He is shown to be best friends with Heimlich and Francis, and often treats other bugs with respect in contrast to Francis' aggressive nature. It is also implied that he could share a friendship with Rosie as they seem to stand next to each other a lot and often look to each other for help. Since Slim does not have wings and cannot fly, Francis usually carries him from location to location. Jonathan Harris as Manny , a praying mantis with an English accent; the magician of P.T. Flea's circus troupe. Manny is Gypsy's husband. His magic act involves the 'Chinese Cabinet of Metamorphosis', which is really a Chinese food take-out carton.

His magic act is not appreciated well by the flies in the usual audience; but the grasshoppers, when he is set to distract them, take it seriously. Manny is aggressive towards Flik at the beginning of their acquaintance, but grows to like him. During the rescue of the Queen, Manny performs his magic act to conceal the Queen and is almost strangled by Hopper when he refuses to give up the Queen's location. His personality is very melodramatic and dignified. Madeline Kahn as Gypsy , a gypsy moth who has beautiful patterns on either side of her wings. She is Manny's wife as well as his 'lovely assistant' during his magic act. She gives the signal for Flik's fake bird plan to commence when the plan to rescue the Queen is in session. During this, Manny performs his magic act, wherein Gypsy takes the place of the Queen as if to be a transformation in his Chinese Cabinet. Bonnie Hunt as Rosie , a black widow spider who is maternal toward the rhinoceros beetle, Dim, and the younger ants of the colony. She has apparently had twelve husbands. She will sometimes be involved in whatever Slim, Francis, and Heimlich are doing.

She seems to share a friendship with Slim to whom she is seen in proximity. All of her known husbands had died, making a play on "black widow". Michael McShane as Tuck and Roll , twin pill bugs who speak a foreign language, but can speak small portions of English. According to the Official Pixar website they are Hungarian[1] yet the language they speak is entirely fictional and the dance they do is a typical Russian Folk dance . Tuck and Roll occasionally argue, but are usually the best of friends. They act as cannonballs in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. They like the sound of the phrase "You fired!" (of whose meaning they have no idea), and continuously repeat it throughout the film. Brad Garrett as Dim , a rhinoceros beetle who has a childlike, impressionable, but clear-sighted character. 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, Tuck, Roll, and Rosie. It is he who provokes the performers to revive Flik's belief in himself, when this has waned. Kevin Spacey as Hopper , the main antagonist of A Bug's Life.

Hopper is a feared grasshopper who is blind in one eye due to a scratch caused by a recent encounter with a bird. He leads a large gang of grasshoppers, who hold a Mafia-like control over the ants. Hopper is cunning, violent, and ruthless. Whereas most of the grasshoppers consider the ants harmless, Hopper is aware that the ants outnumber them, and therefore plots to kill the queen ant to frighten them into submission. His catchphrase "Let's ride!" is uttered when the grasshoppers are about to take flight en masse. Richard Kind as Molt , Hopper's brother and self-proclaimed Vice President of the grasshopper gang. He is named 'Molt' for his exoskeleton's abnormal tendency to peel off. He is a loudmouth and provides a great deal of comic relief. Hopper detests his brother's antics and is shown remarking that had he not promised their mother on her deathbed that he would not kill Molt, he would have gladly murdered him. At the end, Molt joins P.T. Flea's circus troupe under the new name of Tiny. He is the reformed secondary antagonist of the film. Phyllis Diller as The Queen .

As the ruler of the colony, she is an ancient ant, who is due to give up her crown to her eldest daughter Atta. She admonishes her younger daughter, Dot, for trying to fly before her time. She has a pet aphid called Aphie, whom she adores. She is also shown to have an intimate, possibly romantic relationship with another elder ant, Cornelious. Roddy McDowall as Mr. Soil , a member of the Ant Island council and resident thespian. This was Roddy McDowall's last role before his death in 1998. Edie McClurg as Drm Flora, the nurse of Ant Island. John Ratzenberger as P.T. Flea , the ringmaster of the circus troupe, who is unwilling to give refunds after his show has lasted two minutes. His finalé consists of an act called "Flaming Death", in which he was almost incinerated. This caused him to fire his entire troupe, until a foot-long line of flies arrived outside the circus tent, wanting to see the "Flaming Death" act again. He is greedily obsessed with money. His name is based on the initials of circus owner Phineas Taylor Barnum.

David Lander as Thumper , a psychotic, feral and vicious grasshopper which his owner, Hopper, uses to punish Dot. He only speaks in one of the bloopers, in which was his only line spoken, "Oh, I'm sorry. C-can we cut? I just don't know if I'm coming across. Ooh, ooh, I know, I know, I could lather up a bunch of spit! Ooh, ooh, I got it, J.L. ! All right, one more for me! He is a minor antagonist in the film. Additional voices Next to the Caravan, the Pizza Planet Truck can be seen. PT Flea's Circus travels in a Casey Junior cookie box. A113 is seen on a box at Bug City. A Bug's Life vs. Antz The plotline has several similarities to the DreamWorks' produced Antz, which had been released a month earlier. This was because of Jeffrey Katzenberg forming DreamWorks and previously being kicked out of Disney for feuding in the company around the time A Bugs Life was in development.

As a result, DreamWorks started releasing films, which were not only released sometime after a Disney film, but also had similar concepts and settings. Since then, Disney and DreamWorks have remained bitter enemies. Reception Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 92% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 86 reviews, with an average score of 7.9/10.

The critical consensus is "Blending top notch animation with rousing adventure, witty dialogue, and memorable characters, A Bug's Life is another Pixar winner." Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 77 based on 23 reviews, indicating "Generally favorable reviews." Todd McCarthy of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying "Lasseter and Pixar broke new technical and aesthetic ground in the animation field with Toy Story, and here they surpass it in both scope and complexity of movement while telling a story that overlaps Antz in numerous ways." James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "A Bug's Life, like Toy Story, develops protagonists we can root for, and places them in the midst of a fast-moving, energetic adventure." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "Will A Bug's Life suffer by coming out so soon after Antz? Not any more than one thriller hurts the chances for the next one.

Antz may even help business for A Bug's Life by demonstrating how many dramatic and comedic possibilities can be found in an anthill." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times gave the film four out of five stars, saying "What A Bug's Life demonstrates is that when it comes to bugs, the most fun ones to hang out with hang exclusively with the gang at Pixar." Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film four out of four stars, saying "A Bug's Life is one of the great movies – a triumph of storytelling and character development, and a whole new ballgame for computer animation. Pixar Animation Studios has raised the genre to an astonishing new level". Since then, DreamWorks and Pixar have been bitter enemies. Richard Corliss of Time gave the film a positive review, saying "The plot matures handsomely; the characters neatly converge and combust; the gags pay off with emotional resonance." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B, saying "A Bug's Life may be the single most amazing film I've ever seen that I couldn't fall in love with." Paul Clinton of CNN gave the film a positive review, saying "A Bug's Life is a perfect movie for the holidays.

It contains a great upbeat message ... it's wonderful to look at ... it's wildly inventive ... and it's entertaining for both adults and kids." Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three and a half stars out of four, and compared the movie to "Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai" (with a little of another art-film legend, Federico Fellini, tossed in)." where "As in 'Samurai,' the colony here is plagued every year by the arrival of bandits." On the contrary, Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post gave the film a negative review, saying "Clever as it is, the film lacks charm. One problem: too many bugs. Second, bigger world for two purposes: to feed birds and to irk humans." Release Main article: A Bug's Life (video) Trivia The circus theme song was previously used on the score of James and the Giant Peach (1996) where James is about to retrieve the peach for Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker . The read-along version contains the very rare song, "A Place You've Never Been". This is the only Pixar film before Disney purchased it that has not yet received a sequel or prequel.

John Lassetter repeatedly attempted to get Robert De Niro to voice Hopper, the grasshopper, but DeNiro repeatedly declined. DeNiro didn’t do animated voice work at the time. In the bloopers shown at the end of the film, Princess Atta is shown cracking up during her scene with Hopper, ruining take after take until Hopper goes to his trailer in frustration. This is a spoof of Julia Louis-Dreyfus being known to do the same. The film is inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and all of its successors, including The Magnificent Seven (which gave the villain a more prominent role than in Seven Samurai and had a similar scene in which the heroes are driven away from the people they were protecting) and Three Amigos! which was a comedic take on the story. This is the second film that Denis Leary and Kevin Spacey worked on. Their first film was Touchstone 's 1994 Christmas comedy "The Ref". Leary played the main antagonist Gus and Spacey played Lloyd who was taken hostage by Gus.

Songs A Bugs Life A supervisor ant by the name of Mr Soil arrives at - TDGE - 11 View Full Document do?” (A Bug’s Life). A “supervisor ant” by the name of Mr. Soil arrives at the catastrophe assuring the distressed ant that he and his colleagues are “trained professionals” in such circumstances of ants losing the line, and then instructs the poor ant to to stay calm and simply go around the leaf (A Bug’s Life). The writers take into consideration childhood experiences of terrorizing a line of ants proceeding to their hill and twists that experience in their favor to achieve comical success. The writers consider what might have those ants been saying to each other and articulate the never-ending possibilities in a clever way to engage the audience. Lasseter and Stanton further include subtle puns on langage that humorously reveal “a bug’s life” to the film’s audience.

For example, when Hopper, the leader of the evil grasshoppers, tells the princess ant that it is a “bug-eat-bug world out there” (A Bug’s Life), or when a fly at a bar complains, “Hey waiter, I’m in my soup!” (A Bug’s Life), the audience is drawn even more into the film due to its witty play on words and saying already familiar to them. The comical manner in which the writers create the dialogue between bugs and play on language allows the audience Jimenez 3 This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document to relate the movie to their own lives, in turn creating a “great performance” in film brought to life. Furthermore, the writers have the initial control over the character development within a film. In A Bug’s Life , Lasseter and Stanton execute their authority over the dynamic development of the protagonist, Flik, from a nobody into a revolutionary figure. Mirroring other Disney films like Hercules and The Lion King , the main character is introduced into the story as a weakling and outcast, but then emerges as a beloved hero at the end.

Like other revolutionaries studied in class, Flik faces opposition from the world around him and feels that he will “never make a difference” (A Bug’s Life). In the film, Flik’s loses all the food the ants collect to give to the grasshoppers as collateral for the colony’s safety. He feebly attempts to stand up to Hopper This is the end of the preview. Sign up to access the rest of the document. TERM Jimenez 1 Bianca Jimenez Prof. Donahoe La Forge Great Performances in Film 5 November V for Vendetta final A Bug's Life (1998) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error A misfit ant, looking for "warriors" to save his colony from greedy grasshoppers, recruits a group of bugs that turn out to be an inept circus troupe.

Directors: John Lasseter (original story by), Andrew Stanton (original story by) | 4 more credits » Stars: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC Famous Directors: From Sundance to Prominence From Christopher Nolan to Quentin Tarantino and every Coen brother in between, many of today's most popular directors got their start at the Sundance Film Festival . Here's a list of some of the biggest names to go from Sundance to Hollywood prominence. a list of 43 titles created 26 Dec 2010 a list of 42 titles created 30 Apr 2013 a list of 40 titles created 23 Feb 2014 a list of 48 titles created 13 Apr 2014 a list of 40 titles created 29 Jun 2014 Title: A Bug's Life (1998) 7.2/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 20 nominations.

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Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker Stars: Jodi Benson, Rene Auberjonois, Christopher Daniel Barnes A hot-shot race-car named Lightning McQueen gets waylaid in Radiator Springs, where he finds the true meaning of friendship and family. Directors: John Lasseter, Joe Ranft Stars: Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Paul Newman A deformed bell-ringer must assert his independence from a vicious government minister in order to help his friend, a gypsy dancer. Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise Stars: Demi Moore, Jason Alexander, Tom Hulce Edit Storyline At an annual pace, a huge colony of ants is forced to collect every piece of food that grows on their island for a group of menacing grasshoppers. But that all changes when a misfit inventor ant named Flik accidentally knocks over the offering pile thus forcing the grasshoppers' devious leader Hopper to force the ants to redo their gathering of food. Despite the fact that his friends don't believe him and desperate to help save the colony, Flik volunteers to go out into the world and search for a group of 'warrior' bugs. Instead, what he got was a talented group of circus performers.

But when the grasshoppers return and take control of the island, Flik must prove himself a true hero before it's too late. Written by Blazer346 An epic of miniature proportions. Genres: 25 November 1998 (USA) See more » Also Known As: $291,121 (USA) (20 November 1998) Gross: Did You Know? Trivia A similar film called Antz (1998) was released a month before this one. One of the producers for Antz (1998) was Jeffrey Katzenberg , who used to work for Disney but left after some disputes. See more » Goofs Many of the characters have fewer legs than their real counterparts. Francis, Gypsy Moth, Manny, PT Flea, the mosquitoes, fireflies, and all the ants have four legs instead of six. Tuck and Roll have eight legs instead of fourteen. Heimlich has four thoracic legs instead of six.

(The number of caterpillar prolegs can vary by species.) See more » Quotes [Hopper has just drowned three dissenting grasshoppers in a pile of seeds] Hopper : You let one ant stand up to us, then they all might stand up! Those puny little ants outnumber us a hundred to one and if they ever figure that out there goes our way of life! It's not about food, it's about keeping those ants in line. That's why we're going back! Does anybody else wanna stay? [grasshoppers shocked - all the grasshoppers "rev up" their wings] Molt : [motioning a fellow grasshopper] He's quite the motivational ... [...] See more » Crazy Credits Additional faked goofs were added to the movie on December 18th, 1998. The original set of goofs had such a great reaction that Disney decided to add more for a "reward" to people that see the movie again. See more » Connections Princess Atta | Pixar Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Princess Atta is the deuteragonist of A Bug's Life .

Contents [ show ] Background Atta is the crown princess ant, the eldest daughter of the Queen of the ant colony and heir to the throne of Ant Island . During the opening of the film, she is close to inheriting the crown from her elderly mother. She is very nervous throughout the film, regarding her newfound responsibilities, and often worries about what the rest of the colony thinks about her. She is also Flik 's love interest. A Bug's Life During the film, it is shown that she has a small crush on Flik , whereas at the beginning of the film, she does not show much appreciation for him at all, especially when she gets crushed by a stalk that Flik has cut down with his latest invention. When Flik accidentally destroys a pile of food gathered for the grasshoppers, causing Hopper , leader of the grasshoppers , to double the amount of food offering the ants must gather before the next autumn, Atta initially sentences Flik to dig in the tunnels for one month, but comes to accept his decision of going to the city to recruit some warrior bugs (assuming that Flik will not be around to cause any more trouble).

When Flik returns to the island with the circus troupe he has mistakenly recruited, Atta becomes suspicious of the circus bugs and demands Flik to tell what is happening about them. However, after witnessing a nearly deadly bird attack in which Flik and the circus bugs save the life of her little sister Dot , Atta sees that the circus bugs may be warriors and warms up to Flik (and the circus bugs) as she apologizes to him for mistreatment. When Atta tells Flik that Hopper is afraid of birds, Flik kisses her and she gets touched. When the circus bugs present the plan to build a makeshift bird that can be controlled from the inside (an idea passed from Flik), Atta takes this plan and announces to the ants that they will work together to scare away Hopper should he return to the island. While the ants build the bird model, Atta starts to realize Flik's crush on her when she notices him staring at her in a different way and her feelings for him seem to grow slightly stronger, as she later thanks Flik for finding the "Warrior Bugs," getting her antennae tangled with Flik's in the process. However, when P.T.

Flea arrives and exposes the truth about the circus bugs, Atta becomes upset with Flik, and seeing him through his craziness and lies, she has him banished for good. After that, she orders the ants to put away the bird model and gather up whatever food they can find on the island, but they are unable to satisfy the quota demanded by Hopper, which leads to him taking control of the island. That night, Flik, who has returned to the island upon hearing from Dot that the grasshoppers are going to squish the Queen after all the food on the island has been gathered, exposes the truth behind Hopper's need for the colony. Atta and all the other ants listen to Flik's speech, and they all become astonished to realize what the grasshoppers have been putting them up to. When Flik is beaten up by Hopper, she rushes in to his defense. In support of what Flik has said, Atta demands that the ants pick up the food, the ants keep the food, and the grasshoppers leave. She helps Flik up, expressing her proudness toward him for his bravery and outspokenness.

When Flik is kidnapped by Hopper, the circus bugs attempt to give chase, but it is Atta who rescues him from Hopper. Under Flik's instruction, she takes him across the stream where the bird's nest is located and watches worriedly as he deals with Hopper. When the bird catches Hopper, Atta pulls Flik to safety and they hide while cringing as the bird lowers Hopper into its chicks ' beaks. Atta later makes up with Flik and allows him back into the colony. At the conclusion of the film, when the circus bugs are about to leave the island, she thanks them for giving back the colony's hope, dignity and lives and receives a rock, which has magically appeared by Manny 's tricks, as a gift. When the ants applaud Flik for his heroism, Atta shows her love for him by kissing him. The Queen then gives her crown to Atta as she is made the new Queen. Atta tosses her own tiara to Dot. As Flik says good-bye to his friends, Atta and Dot fly him to a tree root for a better view.

There, Atta hold hands with Flik, her chosen mate, as they, along with Dot, wave good-bye to the departing circus troupe. Trivia Ants. Why Did It Have To Be Ants?: A Bug’s Life | Tor.com Ants. Why Did It Have To Be Ants?: A Bug’s Life Alex Brown Tue Jun 12, 2012 1:00pm 32 comments There are two kinds of Pixar films. The first is the type we identify the most with Pixar, so much so that we often look back on their lesser works with rose-colored glasses. These films — Up, Monsters, Inc., and WALL-E as the highlights — represent what Pixar does best: picking a good story and pairing it with a visual style and tone that match perfectly. How many other studios could make you root for a dinky little trashbot or cry over a silent title credit sequence? The second kind, however, is the one that drowns in its own hubris. Cars (and its dreaded squeakquel that I’m convinced John Lasseter was forced to make at gunpoint), Toy Story 2, and A Bug’s Life are the most egregious examples.

It’s like the developers got so lost in the technical aspect of producing a visually stimulating world that they forgot the characters inhabiting it needed to be interesting enough to populate an immersive story. Ostensibly, the tale was inspired by Aesop’s fable of the lazy grasshopper who starves all winter while the hardworking ant becomes a poster child for gluttony. The first act borrows liberally from Seven Samaurai (!) when protag Flik accidentally destroys a harvest offering and is sent on a seemingly unachievable mission to round up a gang of warrior bugs to defend his colony from the evil grasshoppers. Once he leaves Ant Island, the film settles squarely into mediocrity with a straightforward, unsurprising plot and an uncreative ending. Of course the warriors turn out to be far less than what they first appeared and Flik must rely on his wits and bravery to win the day. Disney-approved romantic subplot? Check. The redemption of a minor baddie, a group of clumsy yet clever heroes rising to the occasion, the requisite musical number? Check, check, and check. Ultimately the film is about community spirit. It’s about working together for the betterment of the society (SOCIALISM!).

It’s important that Flik hires circus bugs, not just for the comedic opportunities but because the performers are another version of an ant colony  lose a member of the troupe and you lose a vital part of the performance. They travel as one, work as one, live as one, each making the whole greater than the sum of its parts. And they are also being exploited by a greedy outsider with no respect or regard for those he believes his inferiors. While Pixar dropped Aesop’s warnings about too much play and not enough work coming back to bite you in the ass, they added in a hefty helping of love thy fellow man except for the ones trying to boss you around and take your hard-earned reward. Unlike Dreamworks’ ANTZ, which also came out in 1998, A Bug’s Life is very much a kid’s movie that adults can enjoy rather than an adult movie that kids won’t be bored by. Also unlike the Woody Allen movie, Pixar’s is full of visual gags and offhanded comments that pay off subtly yet handsomely.

The cricket begging in the city under the trailer with a sign reading “Kid pulled off my wings” is sweet in its sadness, but Hopper spitting out “It’s a ‘Circle of Life’ kind of thing” is easily my favorite line of whole shebang. A Bug’s Life was the second feature out of the Pixar gate, and what the groundbreaking work Toy Story did for establishing CGI as a viable subgenre, A Bug’s Life did for format proficiency. The film looks fan-frakking-tastic. There are quite a few landscape/scenery shots where you’d be hard-pressed to tell CGI from the real thing. The sequences with the real and fake bird attacks are striking in their realism. Like the intricate details of the rodent hero in Ratatouille, the feathers of the bird, the veins in the dying leaves, even the cracks of the dry riverbed are lush and gorgeously lit. As much as I hate post-production 3D conversion, I’d pay good money to see it used on a film this arresting. Until then, you’ll just have to settle for the Blu-ray. If only they had spent as much time crafting a story as they did the grasshoppers’ exoskeletons.

The only character with any real depth is Hopper, and a large part of that is due to Kevin Spacey. He plays the Big Bad with such fervor, he could easily challenge Scar for most frightening Disney villain of all time. The circus bugs are intriguing only because they’re circus bugs (though I do love me some David Hyde Pierce), the ants are just a bunch of ants, and I couldn’t tell you a thing about the main characters except the hero has the hots for the princess (though that might be just because she’s the only chick on the island that isn’t a meemaw or wee tot). A Bug’s Life does manage to be remarkable in one character aspect. They know how to write little girls. Like, really write them. While Dot, the spare heir and the leader of the Blueberries (the ant-version of the girl scouts) doesn’t actually save the day, she is instrumental in setting up the situation so Flik can outmaneuver Hopper in the final battle. The little girl ants routinely (and literally) stand up to danger and tell it to shut up and stop bothering them. Yes, they do a lot of running and hiding and shrieking, but they’re also kids.

Cut ’em some slack. I don’t know that I’d have been bold enough at ten years old to stand up to the evil monster that has been harassing my people for generations and who is threatening to crush my mother’s skull in. But the Blueberries do. In a world where girls have Barbies and unrealistic body expectations and are denigrated for liking comic books and not being stereotypically feminine, it makes me downright ecstatic to see a bunch of more or less androgynous-looking girl bugs kicking ass and taking names. You don’t get Princess Merida without Dot. Only time will tell if Brave winds up the next Up or the next A Bug’s Life, but you can’t go too wrong with a firecracker Scottish heroine with attitude and guts to spare. Alex Brown is an archivist, writer, geeknerdloserweirdo, and all-around pop culture obsessive who watches entirely too much TV. You can keep up with her every move on Twitter and Tumblr .

Question: What is the name of the main ant from A Bug's Life?
Answer: Flik