A Bug's Life
Encyclopedia
A Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated
adventure
comedy
film produced by Pixar
and released by Walt Disney Pictures
in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story
, and the third American computer-animated
film after Toy Story and DreamWorks
' Antz
. Based on Akira Kurosawa
's film Seven Samurai, and Aesop
's fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper
", it tells the tale of an oddball individualist inventor ant named Flik who hires what he thinks are "warrior bugs" – actually circus performers – to fight off a small band of grasshoppers who have made the ant colony their servants. The film was directed by John Lasseter
, and was co-directed by Andrew Stanton
.
The colony is constantly oppressed by a gang of marauding grasshoppers who arrive every season demanding food from the ants. However, when an offering that the ants were putting together to appease the grasshoppers is accidentally knocked into a stream by Flik's latest invention, a harvester device, the grasshoppers demand twice as much food at the end of the season. Given a temporary reprieve by the grasshoppers, the ants pretend to agree to Flik's plan to recruit "warrior bugs" to fight off the grasshoppers. While Flik actually believes in the plan, the other ants see it as a fool's errand to get rid of Flik.
Flik finds his way to the "big city" (a garbage dump), where he mistakes a group of circus bugs, whose act collapses into chaos, for the warrior bugs he's seeking. The bugs meanwhile mistake Flik for a talent agent, and agree to travel with him back to Ant Island.
The bugs earn the ants' respect after they save the Queen's daughter, Dot, from a bird. The bird attack inspires Flik into making a plan to build a fake bird to scare away Hopper, leader of the grasshoppers, who is deeply afraid of bug-eating birds. Eventually, the circus ringmaster, P.T. Flea, arrives searching for the circus bugs. Angered at Flik's deception, the ants exile him.
The ants desperately try to pull together enough food for a new offering to the grasshoppers, but are unable to do so. After overhearing Hopper's plan to kill the queen after the offering, Dot leaves the colony in search of Flik and convinces him to return and put his original plans to action to save the queen. The plan nearly works, but P.T. Flea mistakes the model for a real bird and sets it on fire, causing Hopper to think that he has been tricked. He orders one of his grasshoppers to attack Flik, whom he then proceeds to finish himself. Before he can do so, Princess Atta steps in and defends Flik, prompting the rest of the colony to stand up to the grasshoppers and fight them out of the colony. In the chaos, Hopper viciously pursues Flik, who leads him to an actual bird's nest, where he is ultimately eaten by the bird and its chicks. Flik is welcomed back to the colony, and the circus bugs join him in a celebration. Princess Atta kisses Flik and is given her mother's, The Queen's, crown, making Princess Atta the Queen.
In 1994, while working on Toy Story
, John Lasseter
, Andrew Stanton
, Pete Docter and Joe Ranft
attended a lunch to discuss future projects. They talked about doing Aesop
's fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper
", but with a twist. They eventually decided that instead of having the Grasshopper beg for food, it would demand it. The Japanese film Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa
influenced the story. In early versions Flik was an ant named Red and was part of P.T's Circus. However this created several story problems and he was changed to the ant sent to hire the warrior bugs. The characters of "Tuck and Roll" were inspired by drawing that Andrew Stanton did of two bugs fighting when he was in Second Grade.
Kevin Spacey
met John Lasseter at the 1995 Academy Awards (Spacey being there for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Usual Suspects
and Lasseter being there for Academy Special Achievement Award
for Toy Story). When Lasseter asked Spacey if he would be interested in doing the voice of Hopper, Spacey was delighted.
For research, Pixar ordered a tiny camera, put Lego
wheels on it, attached it to a stick and named it the "Bug-Cam". The "Bug-Cam" was then wheeled out onto the garden of Pixar in order to see what small objects looked like from a bugs point of view. The artists were amazed by the translucency of the world. Lasseter claimed "It was like living in a world of stained glass
windows." The animators also studied the movement of insects to apply to the characters.
The technical artists created crowd simulation, allowing the film makers to create over 430 shots with over 800 characters in the frame without having to animate every single ant. The animators would only animate 4–5 groups of approximately 8 individual universal ants. Each one of these universal ants would later be randomly distributed throughout the digital set. The program also allowed each ant to be automatically modified in subtle ways (e.g. different eye color, different skin color, different heights, different weights etc.). This made sure that no two ants were the same.
DreamWorks Animation
's similar film Antz
was released a little more than a month before A Bug's Life. DreamWorks' Jeffrey Katzenberg
left Disney in 1994 and said the idea for Antz came from a 1991 story pitch by Tim Johnson
that was related to Katzenberg in October 1994. Pixar head John Lasseter said he felt "betrayed" when he learned Antz was scheduled for release before A Bug's Life. According to Lasseter and Steve Jobs
, Katzenberg offered to stop development of Antz if Disney moved the release date of A Bug's Life, which was coming out opposite DreamWorks Animation's The Prince of Egypt
. Pixar refused.
The release date of Antz was moved up from March 1999 to October 1998 in response to Pixar's refusal. Even though A Bug's Life was the first to be pitched, Antz was finished and released first. A Bug's Life, however, was a bigger success.
. The first track of the album is song called "The Time of Your Life" written and performed by Newman, while all the other tracks are orchestral cues. The album has gone off the market but is available for purchase on iTunes
.
The score won the Grammy Award
for Best Instrumental Composition Written for Motion Picture or Television
reports that 91% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 81 reviews, with an average score of 7.9/10. The critical consensus is "A Bug's Life is a clever and enjoyable movie with great animation." 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."
's Antz
.
nominated A Bug's Life for its Top 10 Animated Films list.
and The Lion King
, Disney and Pixar announced that A Bug's Life will have a 3D re-release in 2014.
The pan and scan
or 'full screen' version of the video (on the DVD as well as VHS releases) has been reframed and restaged; rather than sacrifice image in some parts of the film, the frame has been extended or objects moved to fit the narrower aspect ratio
. Pixar continued this process on its later video releases. Also, different characters (Flik, Dot, Francis, Hopper, and Heimlich) were on one (by themselves) cover of the video cover, considered a collectible in many cases.
To show off its new DVD capabilities, a copy of the film was included with the Apple iMac DV, which made its debut in April 20, 1999. A laserdisc
version was also released in Japan by Pioneer, one of the last.
The widescreen version of the film preserves its original aspect ratio
of 2.40:1. A Bug's Life is the first fully computer animated feature to be created with this ratio.
A set of "fluffs" and "outtakes" was included, in which various animated characters corpse
or "blow" their dialog. In one, Flik yells the line "To infinity, and beyond!", quoting Buzz Lightyear
from an earlier Pixar film, Toy Story
. Later, Woody
leans into view with an upside down clapperboard
to mark the end of a botched take.
On May 27, 2003, another DVD was released as a 2-disc Collector's Edition. This DVD is fully remastered and has substantial bonus features about the film, and is the current DVD release today. On May 19, 2009, a Blu-ray version was released. These versions included a DisneyFile Digital Copy
.
is a section of Disney's California Adventure
is entirely dedicated to A Bug's Life. One of the main attractions is the 3D
show It's Tough to Be a Bug!
which is also in Disney's Animal Kingdom
at the Walt Disney World Resort
. The Disney California Adventure attraction, World of Color features a segment focused on A Bug's Life.
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
adventure
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
film produced by Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
and released by Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story
Toy Story
Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
, and the third American computer-animated
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
film after Toy Story and DreamWorks
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
' Antz
Antz
Antz is a 1998 American computer animated action adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation. It features the voices of well-known actors such as Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken, and Danny Glover as...
. Based on Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
's film Seven Samurai, and Aesop
Aesop
Aesop was a Greek writer credited with a number of popular fables. Older spellings of his name have included Esop and Isope. Although his existence remains uncertain and no writings by him survive, numerous tales credited to him were gathered across the centuries and in many languages in a...
's fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper
The Ant and the Grasshopper
The Ant and the Grasshopper, also known as The Grasshopper and the Ant , is one of Aesop's Fables, providing an ambivalent moral lesson about hard work and foresight. In the Perry Index it is number 373...
", it tells the tale of an oddball individualist inventor ant named Flik who hires what he thinks are "warrior bugs" – actually circus performers – to fight off a small band of grasshoppers who have made the ant colony their servants. The film was directed by John Lasseter
John Lasseter
John Alan Lasseter is an American animator, director and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering....
, and was co-directed by Andrew Stanton
Andrew Stanton
Andrew Stanton is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and occasional voice actor based at Pixar Animation Studios. His film work includes writing and directing Finding Nemo and WALL-E; both films earned him the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.-Life and career:Stanton was...
.
Plot
Flik is an individualist and would-be inventor in a colony of ants. Flik is different and always unappreciated because of his inventions causing trouble.The colony is constantly oppressed by a gang of marauding grasshoppers who arrive every season demanding food from the ants. However, when an offering that the ants were putting together to appease the grasshoppers is accidentally knocked into a stream by Flik's latest invention, a harvester device, the grasshoppers demand twice as much food at the end of the season. Given a temporary reprieve by the grasshoppers, the ants pretend to agree to Flik's plan to recruit "warrior bugs" to fight off the grasshoppers. While Flik actually believes in the plan, the other ants see it as a fool's errand to get rid of Flik.
Flik finds his way to the "big city" (a garbage dump), where he mistakes a group of circus bugs, whose act collapses into chaos, for the warrior bugs he's seeking. The bugs meanwhile mistake Flik for a talent agent, and agree to travel with him back to Ant Island.
The bugs earn the ants' respect after they save the Queen's daughter, Dot, from a bird. The bird attack inspires Flik into making a plan to build a fake bird to scare away Hopper, leader of the grasshoppers, who is deeply afraid of bug-eating birds. Eventually, the circus ringmaster, P.T. Flea, arrives searching for the circus bugs. Angered at Flik's deception, the ants exile him.
The ants desperately try to pull together enough food for a new offering to the grasshoppers, but are unable to do so. After overhearing Hopper's plan to kill the queen after the offering, Dot leaves the colony in search of Flik and convinces him to return and put his original plans to action to save the queen. The plan nearly works, but P.T. Flea mistakes the model for a real bird and sets it on fire, causing Hopper to think that he has been tricked. He orders one of his grasshoppers to attack Flik, whom he then proceeds to finish himself. Before he can do so, Princess Atta steps in and defends Flik, prompting the rest of the colony to stand up to the grasshoppers and fight them out of the colony. In the chaos, Hopper viciously pursues Flik, who leads him to an actual bird's nest, where he is ultimately eaten by the bird and its chicks. Flik is welcomed back to the colony, and the circus bugs join him in a celebration. Princess Atta kisses Flik and is given her mother's, The Queen's, crown, making Princess Atta the Queen.
Cast
- Dave FoleyDave FoleyDavid Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
as Flik: An ant who wants to make a difference for his colony. - Kevin SpaceyKevin SpaceyKevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
as Hopper: The leader of the grasshoppers. - Julia Louis-DreyfusJulia Louis-DreyfusJulia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
as Princess Atta: The eldest daughter and heir of The Queen, Dot's older sister and Flik's love interest. - Hayden PanettiereHayden PanettiereHayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...
as Dot: The Queen's youngest daughter, Atta's younger sister and one of Flik's friends. - Phyllis DillerPhyllis DillerPhyllis Diller is an American actress and comedian. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically dressed housewife who makes jokes about a husband named "Fang" while pretending to smoke from a long cigarette holder...
as The Queen: Atta and Dot's mother and the leader of the ants. - Richard KindRichard KindRichard John Kind is an American actor known for his roles in the sitcoms Mad About You and Spin City .- Early life :...
as Molt: Hopper's younger brother. - David Hyde PierceDavid Hyde PierceDavid Hyde Pierce is an American actor and comedian best known for playing psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier, for which he received many accolades including four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.-Early life:Pierce, the youngest of four siblings,...
as Slim: A Walking Stick who is part of P.T. Flea's circus troupe. - Joe RanftJoe RanftJoseph Henry "Joe" Ranft was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist and voice actor who worked for Pixar and Disney. His brother, Jerome Ranft, is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar movies....
as Heimlich: A CaterpillarCaterpillarCaterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
who is part of P.T. Flea's circus troupe; likes to eat. - Denis LearyDenis LearyDenis Colin Leary is an Irish-American actor, comedian, writer and director. Leary is known for his biting, fast paced comedic style and chain smoking...
as Francis: A LadybugCoccinellidaeCoccinellidae is a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds , or ladybugs . Scientists increasingly prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as these insects are not true bugs...
who is part of P.T. Flea's circus troupe; has a bad temper due to often being mistaken for a female. - Jonathan HarrisJonathan HarrisJonathan Harris was an American stage and film character actor. Two of his best-known roles were as the timid accountant Bradford Webster in the TV version of The Third Man, and the comic villain Dr. Zachary Smith, in the 1960s sci-fi television series, Lost in Space...
as Manny: A Praying Mantis who is part of P.T. Flea's circus troupe. - Madeline KahnMadeline KahnMadeline Kahn was an American actress. Kahn was known primarily for her comedic roles in films such as Paper Moon, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, What's Up, Doc?, and Clue.-Early life:...
as Gypsy: A Gypsy MothGypsy mothThe gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is a moth in the family Lymantriidae of Eurasian origin. Originally ranging from Europe to Asia, it was introduced to North America in the late 1860s and has been expanding its range ever since...
and Manny's wife. - Bonnie HuntBonnie HuntBonnie Lynne Hunt is an American actress, comedian, writer, director, television producer and daytime television host.- Early life :...
as Rosie: A Black Widow SpiderBlack widow spiderLatrodectus mactans, the Southern black widow, is a highly venomous species of spider in the genus Latrodectus. They are well known for the distinctive black and red coloring of the female of the species and for the fact that she will occasionally eat her mate after reproduction. The species is...
who acts like a mother figure to Dim and the younger ants in the colony. - Mike McShaneMike McShaneMichael "Mike" McShane is an American actor, singer, and improvisational comedian who first became known through his appearances in the early 1990s on the British version of the television show Whose Line Is It Anyway?-Biography:...
as Tuck and Roll: Two Woodlice who are part of P.T. Flea's circus troupe. - John RatzenbergerJohn RatzenbergerJohn Deszo Ratzenberger is an American actor, voice actor, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his role as Cliff Clavin in Cheers.-Early life:...
as P.T. Flea: A FleaFleaFlea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
who is the boss of the circus troupe. - Brad GarrettBrad GarrettBradley "Brad" Garrett is an American actor, voice actor, stand-up comedian, and professional poker player. Throughout he has appeared in numerous television and film roles....
as Dim: A Rhinoceros BeetleRhinoceros beetleThe Rhinoceros Beetles or Rhino Beetles are a subfamily of the scarab beetle family . Other common names – some for particular groups of rhino beetles – are for example Hercules beetles, unicorn beetles or horn beetles...
who acts like a son to Rosie. - Roddy McDowallRoddy McDowallRoderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
as Mr Soil: A head ant in the colony and a thespianActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. - Edie McClurgEdie McClurgEdie McClurg is an American character actress. She is known for her perky North Central dialect , common to persons from Middle America.-Career:...
as Dr. Flora: The doctor of the ant colony. - Alex RoccoAlex RoccoAlex Rocco is an American actor. His roles have ranged from comedy to playing gangsters in Mafia movies.-Early life:...
as Thorny: A member of the Council of Ants. - David OssmanDavid OssmanDavid Ossman is an American writer and comedian, best known as a member of The Firesign Theatre.-Career:...
as Cornelius: An elderly ant.
Production
In 1988 Disney had considered producing a film entitled "Army Ants", that centered around a pacifist ant living in a militaristic colony. however the idea never fully materialized.In 1994, while working on Toy Story
Toy Story
Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
, John Lasseter
John Lasseter
John Alan Lasseter is an American animator, director and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering....
, Andrew Stanton
Andrew Stanton
Andrew Stanton is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and occasional voice actor based at Pixar Animation Studios. His film work includes writing and directing Finding Nemo and WALL-E; both films earned him the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.-Life and career:Stanton was...
, Pete Docter and Joe Ranft
Joe Ranft
Joseph Henry "Joe" Ranft was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist and voice actor who worked for Pixar and Disney. His brother, Jerome Ranft, is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar movies....
attended a lunch to discuss future projects. They talked about doing Aesop
Aesop
Aesop was a Greek writer credited with a number of popular fables. Older spellings of his name have included Esop and Isope. Although his existence remains uncertain and no writings by him survive, numerous tales credited to him were gathered across the centuries and in many languages in a...
's fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper
The Ant and the Grasshopper
The Ant and the Grasshopper, also known as The Grasshopper and the Ant , is one of Aesop's Fables, providing an ambivalent moral lesson about hard work and foresight. In the Perry Index it is number 373...
", but with a twist. They eventually decided that instead of having the Grasshopper beg for food, it would demand it. The Japanese film Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
influenced the story. In early versions Flik was an ant named Red and was part of P.T's Circus. However this created several story problems and he was changed to the ant sent to hire the warrior bugs. The characters of "Tuck and Roll" were inspired by drawing that Andrew Stanton did of two bugs fighting when he was in Second Grade.
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
met John Lasseter at the 1995 Academy Awards (Spacey being there for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir film written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Spacey and Pete Postlethwaite....
and Lasseter being there for Academy Special Achievement Award
Academy Special Achievement Award
The Special Achievement Award is an Academy Award given for an achievement that makes an exceptional contribution to the motion picture for which it was created, but for which there is no annual award category...
for Toy Story). When Lasseter asked Spacey if he would be interested in doing the voice of Hopper, Spacey was delighted.
For research, Pixar ordered a tiny camera, put Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
wheels on it, attached it to a stick and named it the "Bug-Cam". The "Bug-Cam" was then wheeled out onto the garden of Pixar in order to see what small objects looked like from a bugs point of view. The artists were amazed by the translucency of the world. Lasseter claimed "It was like living in a world of stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows." The animators also studied the movement of insects to apply to the characters.
The technical artists created crowd simulation, allowing the film makers to create over 430 shots with over 800 characters in the frame without having to animate every single ant. The animators would only animate 4–5 groups of approximately 8 individual universal ants. Each one of these universal ants would later be randomly distributed throughout the digital set. The program also allowed each ant to be automatically modified in subtle ways (e.g. different eye color, different skin color, different heights, different weights etc.). This made sure that no two ants were the same.
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
's similar film Antz
Antz
Antz is a 1998 American computer animated action adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation. It features the voices of well-known actors such as Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken, and Danny Glover as...
was released a little more than a month before A Bug's Life. DreamWorks' Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He is perhaps most famous for his period as chairman of The Walt Disney Company's film division, and for producing DreamWorks animated films such as Shrek, Antz, The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Chicken...
left Disney in 1994 and said the idea for Antz came from a 1991 story pitch by Tim Johnson
Tim Johnson (film director)
Tim Johnson is an American animation director specializing in CGI animation. Johnson has directed in many films such as Antz, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas and Over the Hedge.-Career:...
that was related to Katzenberg in October 1994. Pixar head John Lasseter said he felt "betrayed" when he learned Antz was scheduled for release before A Bug's Life. According to Lasseter and Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
, Katzenberg offered to stop development of Antz if Disney moved the release date of A Bug's Life, which was coming out opposite DreamWorks Animation's The Prince of Egypt
The Prince of Egypt
The Prince of Egypt is a 1998 American animated musical drama film and the first traditionally animated film produced and released by DreamWorks Animation. The film is an adaptation of the Book of Exodus and follows the life of Moses from being a prince of Egypt to his ultimate destiny to lead the...
. Pixar refused.
The release date of Antz was moved up from March 1999 to October 1998 in response to Pixar's refusal. Even though A Bug's Life was the first to be pitched, Antz was finished and released first. A Bug's Life, however, was a bigger success.
Music
A Bug's Life: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the original soundtrack album to A Bug's Life, produced by Walt Disney RecordsWalt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels such as . It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O...
. The first track of the album is song called "The Time of Your Life" written and performed by Newman, while all the other tracks are orchestral cues. The album has gone off the market but is available for purchase on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
The score won the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Instrumental Composition Written for Motion Picture or Television
Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
The Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
Critical
The film received positive reviews and critical acclaim upon release. Review aggregate Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 91% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 81 reviews, with an average score of 7.9/10. The critical consensus is "A Bug's Life is a clever and enjoyable movie with great animation." Another review aggregator, Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 77 based on 23 reviews."
Box office
A Bug's Life grossed approximately $33,258,052 on its opening weekend, easily ranking it #1 for that weekend. The film managed to retain its #1 spot for three weeks. The film also made approximately $162.7 million in its United States theatrical run, easily covering its estimated production costs of $45 million. The film made $200,600,000 in foreign countries. The film made a worldwide gross of $363.3 million, surpassing the competition from DreamWorks AnimationDreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
's Antz
Antz
Antz is a 1998 American computer animated action adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation. It features the voices of well-known actors such as Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken, and Danny Glover as...
.
American Film Institute
The American Film InstituteAmerican Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
nominated A Bug's Life for its Top 10 Animated Films list.
Release
The film was originally released on November 25, 1998. After the success of the 3D re-releases of Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
and The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
, Disney and Pixar announced that A Bug's Life will have a 3D re-release in 2014.
Home release
The DVD of the film was the first wholly digital transfer of a feature film to a digital playback medium. No analog processes came between the creation of the computer images and their representation on the DVD.The pan and scan
Pan and scan
Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown within the proportions of a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus on the composition's most important aspects...
or 'full screen' version of the video (on the DVD as well as VHS releases) has been reframed and restaged; rather than sacrifice image in some parts of the film, the frame has been extended or objects moved to fit the narrower aspect ratio
Aspect ratio (image)
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an x:y aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into x units of equal length and the height is measured using this...
. Pixar continued this process on its later video releases. Also, different characters (Flik, Dot, Francis, Hopper, and Heimlich) were on one (by themselves) cover of the video cover, considered a collectible in many cases.
To show off its new DVD capabilities, a copy of the film was included with the Apple iMac DV, which made its debut in April 20, 1999. A laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
version was also released in Japan by Pioneer, one of the last.
The widescreen version of the film preserves its original aspect ratio
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
of 2.40:1. A Bug's Life is the first fully computer animated feature to be created with this ratio.
A set of "fluffs" and "outtakes" was included, in which various animated characters corpse
Corpsing
Corpsing is a British theatrical slang term used to describe when an actor unintentionally breaks character during a scene by laughing or by causing another cast member to laugh...
or "blow" their dialog. In one, Flik yells the line "To infinity, and beyond!", quoting Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear is a character and the main deuteragonist of the Toy Story franchise. Buzz is a space ranger action figure and the co-leader of Andy's Room. He has also appeared in the movie Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins and the television series spin-off Buzz Lightyear of...
from an earlier Pixar film, Toy Story
Toy Story
Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
. Later, Woody
Sheriff Woody
Sheriff Woody Pride, or simply Woody, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Toy Story franchise . He is voiced by Tom Hanks in the films, and by Jim Hanks in most other media.-Toy Story:...
leans into view with an upside down clapperboard
Clapperboard
A clapperboard is a device used in filmmaking and video production to assist in the synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark particular scenes and takes recorded during a production...
to mark the end of a botched take.
On May 27, 2003, another DVD was released as a 2-disc Collector's Edition. This DVD is fully remastered and has substantial bonus features about the film, and is the current DVD release today. On May 19, 2009, a Blu-ray version was released. These versions included a DisneyFile Digital Copy
Digital copy
Digital Copy provides consumers who purchase a film on DVD or Blu-ray Disc with an additional, digital copy of the movie for devices capable of operating with a file in contrast to a DVD.-Features:...
.
Attached short film
Theatrical and video releases of this film include Geri's Game, a Pixar short made in 1997, a year before this film was released.Theme park attractions
A Bug's LandA bug's land
"A Bug's Land" is a section of Disney's California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. The area is based on the Disney·Pixar film "A Bug's Life"...
is a section of Disney's California Adventure
Disney's California Adventure
Disney California Adventure, or simply California Adventure, is a theme park in Anaheim, California, adjacent to Disneyland Park and part of the larger Disneyland Resort. It opened on February 8, 2001 as Disney's California Adventure Park. The park is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and...
is entirely dedicated to A Bug's Life. One of the main attractions is the 3D
Three-dimensional space
Three-dimensional space is a geometric 3-parameters model of the physical universe in which we live. These three dimensions are commonly called length, width, and depth , although any three directions can be chosen, provided that they do not lie in the same plane.In physics and mathematics, a...
show It's Tough to Be a Bug!
It's Tough to Be a Bug!
It's Tough to Be a Bug! is a 9-minute long 3-D film based on the Disney·Pixar film, A Bug's Life. The film, created by Rhythm and Hues Studios, is the main component of a theme park attraction at several Walt Disney theme parks...
which is also in Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Animal Kingdom is an animal theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort. The fourth park built at the resort, it opened on April 22, 1998, and it is the largest single Disney theme park in the world, covering more than . It is also the first Disney theme park to be themed entirely...
at the Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
. The Disney California Adventure attraction, World of Color features a segment focused on A Bug's Life.