A Bug's Life (1998)
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92% of critics liked it
(84 reviews) -
61% of users liked it
(901,013 ratings)
John Lasseter, director of Pixar's movie phenomenon Toy Story, has set new standards in computer animation with this effort, another Disney-released children's epic entitled A Bug's Life. Blending classic Disney storytelling characters and the mysterious underground world of bugs,… More John Lasseter, director of Pixar's movie phenomenon Toy Story, has set new standards in computer animation with this effort, another Disney-released children's epic entitled A Bug's Life. Blending classic Disney storytelling characters and the mysterious underground world of bugs, Lasseter has created a film that can be enjoyed by all audiences, and another franchise in the process. A Bug's Life is a computerized retelling of the Aesop fable The Ant and the Grasshopper, made as a cartoon-short by the one-and-only, Walt Disney, in the mid-'30s. However, A Bug's Life has modernized the story with many new twists and celebrity voices. The story focuses on a colony of ants who seasonally gather food for themselves and a wild gang of rowdy grasshoppers. When bumbling worker ant Flik (David Foley) destroys the food supply, the angry grasshoppers, lead by the maniacally warped Hopper (Kevin Spacey), threaten to kill the ants if they don't produce a new supply of food by the time they return -- an impossible feat. Flik leaves the anthill in search of help in the form of bigger bugs, and to wage war against the grasshoppers. What he doesn't know is he has actually discovered a group of down-on-their-luck traveling circus insects in need of a job. When the ants realize that their heroes are really circus performers (and the circus bugs realize these grasshoppers are really big and mean), the situation goes from bad to worse. Ultimately, the ants use their large numbers to overcome the grasshoppers. ~ Chris Gore, Rovi
- Directed By
- John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton
- Genres
- Animation, Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy
- In Theaters
- Nov 20, 1998 Wide
- Studio
- Buena Vista Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
A Bug's Life may be the single most amazing film I've ever seen that I couldn't fall in love with.
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Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
This animated fable teems with vivid creatures standing on their own countless feet.
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Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
The plot matures handsomely; the characters neatly converge and combust; the gags pay off with emotional resonance.
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Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader
Full of adventure, spectacle, light romance, and the kind of suspense that doesn't require an unpredictable outcome to make your spine tingle.
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Derek Adams, Time Out
Pixel perfect.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Dave Foley
as Flik
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Kevin Spacey
as Hopper
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus
as Princess Atta
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Hayden Panettiere
as Dot
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Phyllis Diller
as Queen
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Richard Kind
as Molt
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David Hyde Pierce
as Slim
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Joe Ranft
as Heimlich
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Denis Leary
as Francis
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Jonathan Harris
as Manny
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Madeline Kahn
as Gypsy
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Bonnie Hunt
as Rosie
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Michael McShane
as Tuck & Roll
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John Ratzenberger
as P.T. Flea
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Brad Garrett
as Dim
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Roddy McDowall
as Mr. Soil
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Edie McClurg
as Dr. Flora
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Alex Rocco
as Thorny
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David Ossman
as Cornelius
- Kelsey Mulrooney
- Christina Milian
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Ashley Tisdale
as Lead Blueberry Scout


