Little Bite in the Big City
By Tracy Moore,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Awful animated film with lots of insults, focus on romance.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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What's the Story?
When cockroach Bite sees Licka, it's love at first sight. He invites her over to his cozy home, a CPU inside a computer, and gets to work winning her over. But first, he'll have to get to know her, get rid of her current love, Chuck, and filter out the often terrible love advice of his friends, all the while surviving the street wars among cockroaches, beetles, and the occasional cat.
Is It Any Good?
In possibly the worst choice of bug breed in the history of cinema to frame a love story, these filmmakers chose the one vermin form no human could ever root for. And it gets worse from there -- the animation is terrible (think an early-generation Sims game) and seems to have originally been crafted for Russian speakers, then redubbed with English. The characters are largely sexist, bullies, or stereotypes, the plot is thin, and the pacing is ambling.
That aside, its main focus on the ups and downs of wooing a woman make it a largely alien subject matter for young kids. Older kids who've had a first crush might be more inclined to sit through this, but even that suggests there's any age group for whom this film could be enjoyable. Tread with caution -- and a can of Raid.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the confusion in making animated films that seem geared toward kids with plots better suited to older kids or adults. Is it easy to tell when a movie is "for young kids" versus "for older kids"? How can you tell? How could this film have been clearer in showing that its focus is for older kids?
Bite receives a lot of terrible advice about wooing women in the movie. How do you think two people who like each other should get to know each other? Do you think you should have to do a lot of elaborate things to make someone like you? Why, or why not?
In spite of the film's many shortcomings, the main characters manage to survive in their world with the help of an elaborate network of people to help them with resources and connections. Community is important; who are the important people in your community, and how do you help each other?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: June 18, 2013
- Cast: Barbie Castro, Elgin Aponte
- Director: Armen Adilkhanyan
- Studio: Synkronized
- Genre: Family and Kids
- Topics: Adventures, Science and Nature
- Run time: 74 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: April 2, 2023
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