Rating: 
Summary: Already Overlooked Masterpiece
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: a real kids' film
Review: unlike some of the other animated films put out by pixar, this one really is for kids. it's a bit too cute and there's not much humor for adults. compare 'bug's life' with 'antz' - another film about bugs - which is really an adult film thanks to humor courtesy of woody allen. watch it (bug's life) with your kids, but don't bother if you're looking for something for yourself. try 'antz' instead.
Rating:
Summary: There isn't another story about bugs better!
Review: A wonderful depiction of our little creatures below. It gave me wonderful insight and made me think about our little ant friends.
Rating:
Summary: Pixar continues their excellent run!
Review: The sophomore slump doesn't apply to computer animation studio Pixar. "A Bug's Life" stands as a worthy follow up to Pixar's 1995 classic "Toy Story". To find a film that celebrates bravery, loyalty, individuality and the power of imagination in such a entertaining package is cause for great celebration.
But before discussing this film's virtues, which are many, I must applaud the wonderful Pixar short film Geri's Game. Pixar has outdone themselves by infusing such a delightful romp of a short. Watching a delicious short subject before a feature harkens back to a time when film going marked a major event. Thank you Pixar for such quality.
Like the equally classic and excellent "Toy Story" series and their super fun latest romp "Monster's Inc." , "A Bug's Life" is a classy event that children can enjoy along with adults. Every scene is a luscious and rich tapestry. The art of animation enables the most ornate of children's illustrations to breathe and move in vivid detail almost impossible to render in a live action film. There is a fully three dimensional sheen, sparkle and shine to the color palettes illuminated here. Although many hand painted cell animation purists may bristle at the notion, computer generated animation supplies the filmmaker with an even more complete tool box to the craft of fantasy storytelling.
Computer animation is really made for the DVD format. Boy how these films glisten on DVD! The story, respectfully borrowing elements from "The Seven Samurai", Italian Filmmaker Federico Fellini, "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and even a bit of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", concerns the efforts of Flick, a genius in the rough worker ant, attempting to aid his colony from the evil marauding hordes of Hopper (cunningly voiced by Kevin Spacey). After an epic scale journey, Flick finds help in the form of some flea circus rejects. The key to making an effective animated film lies in creating plausible characters. Characters can be creatures from the widest steppes of the imagination, but unless the audience connects with them, all is lost. And although I personally don't find insects as warm and cuddly as a stuffed cowboy and spaceman, these ants, grasshoppers, dung beetles, black widows and not too lady-like lady bugs are real people. Director and scriptwriter John Lassiter provides us with an entire cast of odd balls, heroes and slimly villains. Of special note, this is the only film in history to be stolen by two twin potato bugs. This bugs are a strange hybrid of Dan Akroyd and Steve Martin's "Wild and Crazy Guys" and the late Hispanic actor Cantiflas. They have to be seen to be believed. Special note must also be made of the very end. If you are not one to stay through the closing credits, stay through to the end of this one. The film's creators, not content to simply make a visually complex and complete movie, provide faux "outtakes" at the end. These "deleted scenes" may have provided the most knee-slapping cinema experience the year the film was initially released. "Outtakes" have now since become ritual with the Pixar people. It all began with this film. It is the willingness to capture little moments and details like these that make this and all of Pixar's marvelous films work. A certain contemporary film classic.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT MOVIE I HAVE IT.
Review: Some obvouse democrats are saYING That this movie is politically incorect! It's all together icorreect its fiction its supposed to be DUh. Magda get real!!!!! "The blades cut down t yap yap yap blah." he can plant more. AND its just a television show. Ants cant make those. ants arent being taken over by grasshopper. But no the thing that gets YOU PEOPLE IS THE BLADES ARE CUTTING DOWN THE GRASS. ITS FRIGIN' FICTION!!~111! Dont anyone say that ya dont have lawn mowers!!!!!!!!!!11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im sure ya dont have little pluckers that pull it out of the ground. DER!!!!!!!! Oh and also the thing that gets ME is how does the dandeilion stay up and what stops the bird from gettin' 'em in the air. a BUG civilization. OH Why cant they team up and stop the bird w/ a rifal or something. they cant be that smart eh? ok im done
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic fun
Review: This visual smorgasbord is yet another triumph for Pixar, following the immense success of Toy Story and preceding Monsters Inc. and the near-masterpiece Toy Story 2. In A Bug's Life we're following Flick, an ant who is searching for warrior insects to fight against the grasshopper horde that is terrorising his colony, forcing them to produce double rations this year. On his travels Flick mistakes a bunch of circus bugs for real fighters and takes them back home promising victory and freedom at last.
On watching A Bug's Life I didn't have high hopes, thinking it certain that it could never be anywhere near as good as the Toy Story movies. Although that's probably true (both of them were real breakthroughs), it's still one of the best children's movies of the 90's and follows in the ever-growing trend of making films that are appealing to older and younger audiences. Adults will find enjoyment in the highly astute observations about bug life that are frankly innumerable; notice in particular, the queen ant's pet aphid, and a slug complaining that he got salt in his drink. There are also some stunning set pieces, such as a bug city comprising of cardboard boxes and milk cartons that bears more than passing resemblance to New York. Add to these camerawork that, picking up where The Lion King left off, treats its animal characters like real people in a real movie. Add to the mix a bunch of personable characters, such as loser-turned-unlikely-hero Flick, greedy Heimlich the caterpillar who is obsessed with becoming a 'beautiful butterfly' and Francis the ladybug that is sick of everyone assuming he's a she. Although everyone in the cast is pretty much pitch perfect, notable celebrity voices are worthy of noting. Kevin Spacey adds yet another fantastic performance to his already long list, playing Hopper, the tyrannical ruler of the grasshoppers, and David Hyde Pierce of Frasier fame is consistently hilarious as a stick insect who wants to get into real acting rather than constantly play the swords, the broom and the stick.
As for messages and morals, A Bug's Life has plenty, but thankfully none of them are as in-your-face as other similar movies. The most obvious theme is believing in yourself, which surprisingly perhaps, doesn't come over as corny in the slightest, but works well in not only focusing on Flick but also the Princess Atta, who feels the burden of responsibility on her shoulders along with self-doubt. There are also more than passing resemblances in the grasshopper's rule to an absolutist regime, something that is superbly realised in the finale with some really very stunning animation showing the bleak landscapes of Ant Island as well as being representative of the dreary situation in general. Whilst erring on the side of funny the majority of the time, Bug's Life does well to be a pretty moving and genuine feature that should please everyone in the whole family. Why aren't all children's films as good as this?
Rating:
Summary: What are we teaching our kids???
Review: Along with Monsters, Inc., Disney/Pixar seems to be taking us back to the industrialism that started all of our environmental problems. I grew up with Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" in which we kids learned that if you chop down all the trees to make clothing, there will be no more trees, animals will die, and we will smog up our world. This movie teaches the opposite. Flek, the main character ant, is known for his inventor talents which get more work done than following tradition, and solve the ants' problems. This good-old-American idealism is great, if the ideas he had come up with were more politically correct. Instead of ants running up blades of grass to pick seeds, his machine comletely cuts off the blade of grass, denudes it, and harvests the seeds. I admit that grass is not trees, and as anyone with a lawn knows this won't cause the forest of grass to disappear. But I am surprised that such blatant destruction of the environment has been so accepted by so many people watching this movie. The grass on the little island provides protection to the ants, probably would prevent erosion during the rainy season, and even provides the clubhouse for the children ant troop. The movie focuses its message on "not following along with everyone else when there is a better way". The ants' only concern with Flek's inventions is the fact that it is not traditional. They do not even consider other issues. This is my main problem with the movie, but other messages are also surprising when considering the intended audience. The bike-gang rough boy grasshoppers are just big bullies, and pretty darn scary for a child. Back again to the 1950s. My 4-year-old daughter completely refuses to see this movie. Maybe she is too young for it, but why do we need to have such incredibly scary, nasty characters in our lives? Is this a lesson of some sort? And if it is entertainment, for whom? The parents? I didn't find the grasshoppers entertaining. Just violent. And mean. Although it may not need mentioning, I feel I cannot leave it out. Romantic love between ants? I admit that animals in children's films are not always shown portraying the characteristics they do in the wild. But the authors went as far as having only one line of females in the colony (Queen and daughters being "trained" for the job). Adding romantic love to this makes a very unbalanced mix of truth and fiction. I give this three stars for the animation. But I would like to warn people when being charmed by cuteness and technology, to still watch for the messages being taught. Or not taught.
Rating:
Summary: Superior to the "Toy Story" movies.
Review: Borrowing elements from films as varied as "Seven Samurai", "Star Wars" and (heh) "Three Amigos", and combining them with groundbreaking computer animation and stellar vocal talent, Pixar's "A Bug's Life" is one of the best movies ever to come out of the Mouse House. It's certainly better than Toy Story 1 or 2, at least in my opinion, if only because "A Bug's Life" features Dave Foley.
Rating:
Summary: good flick (pun intended!!)
Review: This movie is great, and my 20 month old loves it too. The main character, Flick, is extremely entertaining and the whole cast keeps you laughing and interrested. We keep it in the minivan to play when on the go!!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Rate Of Progress Continues
Review: PIXAR is a truly innovative company that is literally redefining what can be accomplished with computer animation. The company has a much longer history than many are aware of, they were once part of George Lucas's empire before the company was sold and then taken public by Steve Jobs of Apple fame. "Bug's Life", is my favorite full-length film from PIXAR although there are individual character creations from other films like, "Monsters Inc.", that also rate amongst their best computer generated thespians. This film has a great story, and great performances from a host of players including Kevin Spacey, Kevin Foley as Flick, and Phyllis Diller as The Ant Queen. The list continues with Denis Leary, Madeline Kahn, and Roddy McDowall as Mr. Soil. The extras that are included on the disc are almost worth the cost of the disc alone. Both sets of, "outtakes", are included, and these provide some of the best moments of humor in the film. They are so well done; you get a similar feeling of seeing an actor in a traditional film making an error as opposed to just a computerized character. The fact that these characters don't exist, either means that I get a bit too lost in these films, or PIXAR is that good. I tend to believe it's the latter. One of the more notable experiences was watching the film short, "Geri's Game", once again. When this was first released in 1997 the realism that was presented was almost hard to believe. Now only 5 years later it not only shows its age, certain aspects look like nothing more than well drawn cartoons. The trees in, "A Bug's Life", can pass for the real item, in the short film, the idea of realism for the trees never occurs. This in no way is meant as criticism, quite the opposite, the folks at PIXAR have continued to push past barriers at an amazing rate so that each subsequent film exceeds the first. I believe you can watch the films and place them in order of release, even if this is the first time you have viewed them. And PIXAR is showing no signs of slowing down much less pausing, as a look at the trailer for their next film demonstrates. Next Spring, "Finding Nemo", will open, and based on the trailers I have seen, they have once again raised the bar by a factor of 10. This time they will take you to a world created under the sea, and the bits I have viewed will leave your jaw a bit slack. PIXAR has redefined animation, and are rapidly creating a genre that needs a description all its own, computer animation does not place these creations in their own category, and they deserve one. PIXAR is not the only company producing great computer products, but so far they are the best and most consistent. I don't believe any other studio can state that every single film they have made resides securely in the top 100 grossing films of all time.
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