It is certainly the black sheep of the Pixar family.

For a start, the characters are bugs. Who likes bugs? Nobody finds bugs cute or cuddly, or even nice to watch. And in A Bug's Life, the characters are all slightly dull, with the exception of Kevin Spacey's Hopper, a fantastic character and well voiced.

But the other characters suffer from a lack of detail. In fact, the whole film suffers from a lack of detail. There's a lot of grass, some trees, a few funny sight gags, but it was a bit underwhelming. there wasn't the imagination seen in Toy Story, or the monsters world of Monsters Inc, or the underwater scenes from Finding Nemo.

Some of those later films would have benefitted from better technology, of course, but the computer animation here has held up well. It suits the storyline, but what the animation lacks is the imagination that makes it memorable. There's not very much detail.

Couple that with an average storyline about an ant trying to hire some soldiers to defend his colony from grasshoppers, but accidentally hires clowns instead, is all a bit run of the mill.

It may be distinctly average, but it is not a bad film. Kids are certain to enjoy it, but Pixar have endeared themselves to adults as much to kids, and for grown ups, or for the kid inside all of us, this film misfires.


A superb animation classic again from Pixar.   August 2, 2004
 11 out of 12 found this review helpful

It's based vaguely around the 'Magnificent Seven' storyline: a group of goodies are hired to protect a village and overcome adversity.

It's similar to 'Antz' in some respects (being an individual in an ant colony, team working but with freethinking etc).

The characters are varied and memorable.

It's not as funny as say 'Toy Story' but with a better story I feel. It's aimed more for kids than other animated films with a host of 'adult' jokes.

The extras are a bit disappointing- but only comparing it to other great packages (am I being too greedy nowadays?)

Enjoyable- my two year old girl likes it too!


Gotta love them bugs   July 22, 2004
 10 out of 14 found this review helpful

Those Pixar folk are amazing. Not only do they make an excellent movie, but they complement it with a first rate package of extras, especially the outtakes and the movie short "Geri's Game". The two-disc Collector's Editions are worth waiting for, and you will find yourself playing the second disc as often as the first.

This innovative take on the old fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper" teaches us a few important lessons:

1. There's a clumsy nerd who wants to be a hero in every colony
2. Phyllis Diller is an old queen
3. David Hyde Pierce is stiff
4. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is neurotic and can't dance
5. Grasshoppers live it up in Mexican joints during the Summer
6. German caterpillars are funny, and so are pill-bugs.
7. Ladybirds may not be ladies
8. Birds can be flammable
9. An ant may look at a queen
10. Don't stir up an ants nest

To maintain good family relations, you should allow your kids to watch this movie too.

Amanda Richards July 13, 2004


Already Overlooked Masterpiece   June 12, 2003
 9 out of 12 found this review helpful

The ants on Ant Island are putting the finishing touches on their annual offering to the grasshoppers, a payment for leaving them alone and keeping them safe from other bugs. Princess Atta is extremely nervous as this is her first year in charge. Things don't go as planned when Flik accidentally knocks all the food into the water. As a way to get rid of him while they met the increased demands, the colony sends him off to find warrior bugs to protect them. Through a series of mistakes, he finds a bunch of disgraced circus performers instead. Will they find a way to protect the colony?

This movie already seems to be delegated to the bottom of Pixar's list of movies, which is a real shame. As with all their movies, it's wonderful. The action keeps up at a brisk pace, the characters are likeable, the voice talent is wonderful, and there are plenty of laughs for everyone. This is also the first of their movies to feature outtakes. The animation does date the movie a little. The bugs look a little plasticy. However, some of the effects are wonderful, especially the fog and rain.

This was the first of Pixar's movies to be released on DVD. The picture clarity and sound were news worthy at the time because it was the first movie released directly from the digital source. That clarity still holds up today. They went all out with the extras, featuring an informative audio commentary, and all the behind the scenes info you could want. I especially liked looking at the original story idea and seeing the wide to full screen comparisons.

Don't get so caught up in the hype around their other movies that you over look this one. It's just as great a story for kids of all ages as anything Pixar has put out to date.