A Bug's Life
Comparisons between the two films are inevitable, but they are as different as two films with the same premise can be. While both are stunningly animated, deal with insect wars and make jokes about maggots, the similarities end there. Antz is dark in every sense of the word - the colors are all muted reds, browns and earthy oranges, the subject matter is neurotic, political and ironic, and while fun for the kids, is aimed even more at adults.
Because Disney has its fat fingers in A Bug's Life, you'd expect that this film would be geared toward the under-12 crowd, and you'd be right. It's bright and cheery, hyper and silly, and the humor (unlike Antz) will easily be understood by kids. But because A Bug's Life is really Pixar's product, some crucial Disney elements are missing. There are no twin moronic sidekicks for the main character and mercifully, no schmaltzy songs to bog down the action or vie for undeserved Grammys. What Disney brings to the picture is the name to draw an audience and its inexorable McMarketing. At this point, animation and cheap, artery-clogging food are so intertwined I'm surprised they don't offer a side of fries instead of popcorn at the ticket counter.
But again, this is Pixar's show. Pixar's first effort was Toy Story, which introduced the big screen to computer animation, and A Bug's Life ups the technology ten fold. The animation is perhaps even marginally better than Antz, which was already astonishing. The opening shot zooms in on a large oak tree in a riverbed, and I swear you have to remind yourself that it's not absolutely real. Once on ground level, the attention to detail verges on the fanatical, with textures and shadows that lend depth and hyperrealism to the characters.
But all the technology would be moot were it not for a fun story and cute characters, both of which A Bug's Life nails. Flik is the entrepreneurial ant who inadvertently offends the marauding grasshoppers, who threaten to destroy the colony if the ants don't gather an impossible supply of food to give as a peace offering. The colony, terrified of the huge, violent grasshoppers, scurry to comply, and Flik is exiled for his mistake.
But instead of staying away, Flik tries to make amends by gathering up a troupe of warrior bugs to come back and fight off the grasshoppers once and for all. He travels to the big city (a trailer park) and, being just a country bug, mistakes a travelling flea circus for mercenaries. Comedy ensues as the thespian bugs try to outwit the grasshoppers.
Kevin Spacy voices the grasshopper leader with delicious malice - just a warning, there is a scene or two with the psychotic grasshoppers that will give the kiddies a turn, although Hopper's dumb brother eases the scare a bit. Other notable characters include Denis Leary as a caustic ladybug ("Just 'cause I'm a ladybug means I gotta be a girl??"), Frasier's David Hyde Pierce as a walking stick, and an incredibly obese caterpillar with a German accent that provides some of the best laughs.
A Bug's Life is perfectly lighthearted fun. Bring the kids and enjoy. And incidentally, stick around for the credits - there are "outtakes" from the film that show the bugs blowing their lines, which turns out to be the funniest part of the movie. If Pixar can channel that clever creativity into a more adult film, then we'll really be in business.
- Jared O'Connor
MOVIES
All Content © 1997, 1998 Jared O'Connor and Michael Baker