 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
A Bug's Life
- Review Date: May 19, 2003
- G
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 1998
Common Sense Media says
Cute animated tale with some mild peril and scary bugs.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that there’s lots of "good bug-bad bug" cartoon action and some images that could be scary to very young children who have not yet differentiated make believe violence from real violence, or to sensitive kids who are not comfortable with suspense or jeopardy. Scowling, threatening grasshoppers loom over and swarm toward a colony of vulnerable ants, the heroes of the story. The insects contend with fire, rain, predatory birds, as well as the power hungry grasshoppers. Older kids will enjoy the clever humor and the unique view of the insect world, as well as the interspecies conflicts.
What's the story?
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.
Is it any good?
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. 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 who is inventive, brave, and loyal.
Helped by outstanding voice talent, the rest of the movie's characters are quirky and endearing enough to make you forget they are computer-animated. Lending their voices are Seinfeld's Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Phyllis Diller, Kevin Spacey, Spin City's Richard Kind, Frasier's David Hyde Pierce, and John Ratzenberger of Cheers. Antz was largely brown, but this 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.
What families can talk about
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. What was Hopper's perspective on power? What did the ants do to combat the bullies? Have you ever encountered real-life bullies?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
AGE
unworthwhile
The creators of this movie could have accomplished far more in making a worthwhile children's movie if they omitted all the unnecessary violence, humiliation, name calling, hostage taking of a child bug, reference to suicide, etc.. How removed these movie makers are from what childhood is about. Just another typical bad modern kid's movie.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
classic
great for kids, they'll love it! a classic pixar.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
Plenty of frightening and intense scenes such as one where an ant gets beaten by a grasshopper. Other than that it's good stuff.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
After the success of Toy Story, they take another interesting chance, fantastic till the end.
A Bug's Life is the 2nd installment in the Pixar history. It is memorized for its ENTIRELY non-human cast. Though released after Antz, it was more successful in reviews and box office. This is actually the parody to The Ant and the Grasshopper, an Aesop fable. It is about a misfit ant recruiting for soldiers to wipe out greedy grasshoppers out of his colony, only though finding a circus troupe. With unique characters and places, with funny lines to keep the movie going on, it is incredible from start to finish.
Princess Atta: "You see Hopper, Nature has a certain order. The ants pick the food, the ants keep the food, and the grasshoppers leave!" is a very memerable quote in this movie, reflecting that the ants need to stand-up to themselves from the grasshoppers. John Lasseter, the director of this film, is known in Disney and Pixar for his story plots, animations, and more, and its no surprise this is one of his most memorable directing moments in history. It reminds me of Seven Samurai, with the plot almost the same. From watching Toy Story I knew this would be good, and boy was I right : ^ ).
There is a vast set of characters, from a caterpillar, spider, praying mantis, and grasshoppers, each with unique personalities. From the Las-Vegas style "city" to the ant hill, you can tell it took a lot of time to come up with these ideas. And definitely the funny lines help the movie go on strong with the plot. For a family-movie, this may be one of the most promising ones.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
Not my favourite pixar movie, but good nevertheless. Good morals and good role models, another creative movie.
Was this review useful?
|
|
Kid, 12 years old
May 25, 2010
AGE
Violence (G): The evil grasshoppers may seem scary to little kids.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
would never 5-8 year olds see this
If you remove the little bug creatures, this movie becomes an adult movie, with all its ingredients of violence and language abuse. The gang mentality to squash or diminsh other groups; the beating up; the threatening. Replace Hoper and the little ant heroe during his beating by Hoper for human beings, try to imagine it as you hear the sounds, and then decide for yourself you if would ever want your young children to see this. When we start at such early age to expose our children to such level of aggression, we are actually working towards disensitizing them.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
Cute movie, some iffy language
We have a two daughters - a 5 year old and a 2 year old. Obviously there are certain words & phrases that we do not use in our house - two of them are "stupid" and "shut up", both of which were used quite a bit in this movie.
The movie is very cute - our girls loved it, but they, especially the 5 year old, caught every "bad" word and pointed them out to us each time they were mentioned. I probably wouldn't have let them watch this movie if I known ahead of time that these words would be used.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
hopper is maybe a little sadistic and make young kids and toddlers scary.But the positive messages is like
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
the funniest movie of all time
This is a funny movie. this is a cool movie. It's fun. It's cool. I like it. I highly recommeded it
Was this review useful?
|
|
| Topics: | bugs, misfits and underdogs |
| Studio: | Pixar Animation Studios |
| Director: | John Lasseter |
| Cast: | Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kevin Spacey |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 95 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | November 25, 1998 |
| DVD release date: | May 27, 2003 |
| MPAA rating: | G |
Review It
Great alternatives handpicked by our editors
Already seen it? What do you think?
More from Common Sense Media
Top advice and articles
