A Bug's Life

[Once Upon A Dream]

I think A Bug's Life is the most underrated Pixar movie,their icon films gets the most attention (Finding Nemo,Cars and Toy Story) and the others too (Ratatouille,Monsters Inc.,the Incredibles) but A Bug's Life didn't got any attention,maybe exept the Cars credits,some WALL-E TV spot and Pixar calendars but that's all,it's their most underrated movie.
Any reasons why?.

[droosan]

I've said it here on A-N&V several times, and I'll say it again: A Bug's Life is still my favorite Pixar film. The air-tight story structure, kooky character dynamics, and luminescent visuals make it a wonderfully 're-watchable' film.

Hopper is still the closest thing to a true 'villain' in any Pixar film .. yes, moreso than even Syndrome in The Incredibles; witness how he (supposedly) cold-bloodedly murders two members of his own gang, for plotting against him. And yet, he is still somewhat sympathetic, thanks to his love/hate (well, mostly 'hate') relationship with Molt.

The rock/seed conversation is also still one of the best 'theme' moments in any Pixar film. And the bird attacks (both the 'real' one and the 'staged' one in the climax) are great action set-pieces.

The circus bugs are also great fun .. and Rosie is still my favorite Pixar character, at least in terms of design; I love the sort-of pixie/spider 'centaur' aesthetic that they came up with for her.

Randy Newman's score is one of his best (up there with The Natural, IMO); practically a 'symphony' in its own right.

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There's much more I could say .. but I've noticed a few other people here on AN&V voice similar opinions on A Bug's Life, now & then .. so, it might not be so 'under-rated' (at least, here) as you think. :idea:

[EricJ]

As to why it's "underrated", it was still the second film, and unfairly put down to luck--
The "Pixar can't make a bad film" free-ride didn't officially start until Toy Story 2, and wasn't cemented until Nemo...Bug's Life was still too early out of the gate.

[Meg]

I'm also confused as to why A Bug's Life isn't liked as much as other Pixar features - it's definitely one of their best, in my opinion.

[Macaluso]

Hopper's speech to the other grasshoppers when they're in mexico is one of my favorite pixar scenes out of all their movies. It's delivered so well.

[EricJ]

And had possibly the funniest pure "Outtakes" end credits, back before they had to start moving away from their own "cliche" after all the cheaper imitators started borrowing it too.

[droosan]

A Bug's Life was the first Pixar film to use the 'out-takes' schtick. And I do agree, it's the funniest and 'freshest' instance of that gag, of all their films that had them.

But Pixar was not the first to apply the concept in animation. AFAIK, that honor belongs to the 1986 anime OAV (DTV) Maris the Chojo (aka The SuperGal). It had a similar end-title sequence that 're-played' scenes from the main program, each of which ended with impossible mistakes and 'flubs' (such as wires breaking on a suspended spacecraft 'model' .. but in hand-drawn traditional animation).

Unfortunately, MtC hasn't yet been released on DVD (even in Japan) .. but the old VHS and LD copies are probably still floating around, if one looks hard enough.

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** I'm not saying that Pixar necessarily 'borrowed' the idea from Maris the Chojo; just that MtC did it first .. in animation.

Both were most likely inspired by director Hal Needham's tendency to use 'out-takes' in the end titles of films like Smokey and the Bandit or The Cannonball Run. The difference being, of course, that those out-takes were 'real'. :idea:


**edit: corrected MtC's release date!

[ShyViolet]

Hopper's speech to the other grasshoppers when they're in mexico is one of my favorite pixar scenes out of all their movies. It's delivered so well.

I always thought so too, Mac.

The story/characters are fleshed out in broad strokes but at the same time the movie's very touching, especially the end.

[Once Upon A Dream]

Hopper is defintly the only Pixar real villain (Syndrome is a wannabe,and he's annyoing,Skinner and Randall are also wannabe),Finding Nemo and Cars for example doesn't have any villains,In Finding Nemo the closest one to a villain is Darla but she's not really a villain.
I wonder if it's underrated because many people (Including me) hate bugs? I doubt,or maybe it's the whole A Bug's Life\Antz thing? Dreamworks doesn't give any attention to Antz neither,aren't they? (IMO they shouldn't).

[droosan]

Actually .. A Bug's Life/Antz was (IMO) one of those rare instances in which two 'similar' features released by different studios around the same time were both pretty good; though, in different ways .. and for different reasons.

Antz, like A Bug's Life, is an oft-under-rated animated film. :idea: While ABL is undeniably the more 'appealing' of the two visually, Antz does manage to hold its own with a smart subversive script and plenty of great acting from both the voice talent and the animators.

Antz was a brilliant first feature film for PDI. I've long had a 'twinge' of regret that the studio has been the 'Shrek factory' ever afterward.

[Ben]

I'll back that. Antz actually remains possibly my fave DWA feature, but I haven't seen KFP yet!

[Meg]

I liked Kung Fu Panda much more than Antz, personally...Although I was never a big fan of the later film to being with.

[Macaluso]

I'll back that. Antz actually remains possibly my fave DWA feature, but I haven't seen KFP yet!

Kung Fu Panda is one of the best, if not THE best, dreamworks movie.

[Once Upon A Dream]

Well,I haven't seen Kung Fu Panda yet but my favorite Dreamworks film is Shark Tale (And the Shrek films after that),thought I think I"ll really like Kung Fu Panda.
Anyway I don't like Antz at all,the animation is ugly and the story is very bad.
And this WAY too similar to A Bug's Life then Shark Tale/Finding Nemo,Madagascar/The Wild or Flushed Away/Ratatouille,unlike them the plots of A Bug's Life/Antz are way similar (The main ant doesn't feel belong,he falls in love with the princess of the antz,the cities and more).

[EricJ]

And this WAY too similar to A Bug's Life then Shark Tale/Finding Nemo,Madagascar/The Wild or Flushed Away/Ratatouille

(Uh, did we just hear you accuse an Aardman movie of being a Dreamworks movie?--
Please don't do that again...Even THEY didn't like it.)

unlike them the plots of A Bug's Life/Antz are way similar (The main ant doesn't feel belong,he falls in love with the princess of the antz,the cities and more).

Antz was our first clue--as far back as '98, when Dreamworks was only a year or two old--that not only might Katzenberg, um, not quite be thinking up his own story ideas, but that he wasn't even showing the original sources the dignity of remembering them that well or interpreting them all that deeply or brilliantly:

Pixar: "In ABL, our hero is an ant who's got too many questions..."
Katz: "Oh, and you mean, he goes to see his ant analyst about it, 'cause, like, he's Woody Allen?"
P: "Because he can't find a place in the colony--"
K: "Yeah, yeah, and he doesn't want to go to war with the rest of the army ants, and, like, one of them has a Stallone voice?"
P: "And he wants to make something of himself and impress the cute new queen--"
K: "I know, I know!--And so, they somehow get separated from the colony, and have to help each other get back, and develop new respect for each other along the way...It's a road comedy, isn't it? "

(...Uh, thanks, Katz, we'll call you if we need a screenwriter. )