Bug's Life

Theatrical Release Date: 1998 11 20 (USA)

UPC: 786936790504

Studio: Walt Disney Video

MPAA Rating: G   Contains:[Excellent For Children]

Summary: 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

Category: Children's/Family

Awards: Best Animation – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Animated Feature – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Family Film – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Musical or Comedy Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: A Bug's Life - the first draft
Filmmaker's round table
Geri's game
Director audio commentary
Behind the scenes of A Bug's Life
A Walt Disney silly symphony: Grasshopper and the Ants
Outtakes

Bug's Life

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 05/19/2009

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DTHD null, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 95 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Matthew Doberman

Magnificently rendered by the computer-graphics company Pixar (of Toy Story fame), scored by the always-spirited Randy Newman and starring a cavalcade of impressive voices, A Bug's Life is a high point in animated family fare. It's the kind of film adults enjoy as much as, if not more than, their preschool offspring. Even the fake "outtakes" following the film are hilarious: like much of the film's humor, they aim for a surprising level of sophistication. The creators use animation not just to put a child-friendly face on some normally creepy critters, but to go where live-action can't, creating a world of shapes, colors and sounds that couldn't be accomplished otherwise. A Bug's Life was released only months after the more adult-oriented Antz; it's been suggested that the success of these films might have ominous implications for the future of traditional, hand-drawn animation. But it's not simply the computer handiwork that makes A Bug's Life so impressive -- it's the creativity. ~ Matthew Doberman, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Ashley Tisdale  Actor 
Kelsey Mulrooney  Actor 
Christina Milian  Actor 
Randy Newman  Composer (Music Score) 
John Lasseter  Director 
Andrew Stanton  Director 
Andrew Stanton  Screenwriter 
Donald McEnery  Screenwriter 
Darla K. Anderson  Producer 
Kevin Reher  Producer 
Bob Shaw  Screenwriter 
Dave Foley  Actor 
Kevin Spacey  Actor 
Julia Louis-Dreyfus  Actor 
Hayden Panettiere  Actor 
Phyllis Diller  Actor 
Richard Kind  Actor 
David Hyde Pierce  Actor 
Joe Ranft  Actor 
Denis Leary  Actor 
Jonathan Harris  Actor 
Madeline Kahn  Actor 
Bonnie Hunt  Actor 
Michael McShane  Actor 
John Ratzenberger  Actor 
Brad Garrett  Actor 
Roddy McDowall  Actor 
Edie McClurg  Actor 
Alex Rocco  Actor 
David Ossman  Actor 

Country: USA