Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this movie has a few scary bad guys -- grasshoppers -- who may scare small and sensitive kids. Some action sequences put the main characters in danger.
Families can talk about the bug world. How many bugs can you name? How do bugs communicate in real life? Why do you think ants and bees live in such big colonies? How do they benefit the earth? Families can also discuss bullies, and how to deal with them (note Hopper's view that their power depends more on the ants' perception than on reality), what makes a leader, the obligations of responsibility, and responding to challenges -- including failure.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Nell Minow
Oddly enough this wasn't the only computer-animated movie about bugs to come out in the fall of 1998. Antz was released just a month before. This delightful Pixar confection still squashed the competition, getting twice the box office earnings on opening weekend.
The difference between the two animated bug movies is exemplified by their lead characters. Antz has Z, voiced by Woody Allen as -- well -- Woody Allen, angst-ridden, in analysis, searching for individual identity in a world of conformity. A BUG'S LIFE has NewsRadio's Dave Foley providing his voice as Flik, an All-American ant-next-door type, inventive, brave, and loyal.
When Flik inadvertently loses the food tribute set out by the ants for the predatory grasshoppers, he must find a way to protect his community. In the spirit of The Magnificent Seven, he goes off in search of warrior bugs to fight the grasshoppers. He mistakenly hires a group of unsuccessful vaudevillians from (of course) a flea circus, who think they are being booked for a performance and have no idea he expects them to fight. But they turn out to have just the right stuff to help the ants fight the grasshoppers after all. And Flick gets to prove that he is a hero at heart.
Helped by outstanding voice talent, the characters are quirky and endearing enough to make you forget they are computer-animated. Seinfeld's Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays the ant princess, learning about the responsibilities of leadership. Phyllis Diller lends her raspy voice to the ant queen. Kevin Spacey is smoothly menacing as Hopper, the leader of the grasshopper bad guys, and Spin City's Richard Kind plays his not-so-bad-guy brother. The flea circus performers include the voices of Frasier's David Hyde Pierce, and John Ratzenberger of Cheers.
Antz was largely brown, but this ant movie uses a paintbox of color to produce stunning images with luminous tones. You'll need to see it twice to appreciate the scope of the movie's visual wit and technological mastery. It also has a very funny credit sequence -- be sure to watch all the way to the end to enjoy it.
Families who enjoy this movie will enjoy other Pixar movies like Toy Story and Finding Nemo.
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