I Watch Films: A Bug's Life
In 1998 two studios went head to head with animated ant-colony films; Dreamworks with Antz, their first animated feature, and Pixar with A Bug’s Life, their second after the success of 1995’s Toy Story. Anyway, I saw one at the time*, and couldn’t remember which I’d seen. So it was a pleasant surprise to learn that when my nephew insisted on watching A Bugs Life with me it was the one I hadn’t seen.
Anyway, the ants are all conformists, and also oppressed by grasshoppers, who are basically a motorcycle gang. Flik, an ant, isn’t a conformist, invents a machine to harvest grain, then accidentally destroys the colony’s offering to the grasshoppers. He’s sent away to find warriors to defend the colony and due to a series of misunderstandings recruits a circus troupe. Hilarity ensues.
Anyway this is all good clean fun, entertaining for a five year old, not uninteresting to a forty-two year old. Maybe not as clever or amusing as Antz (from memory), but better for the young kids because of it; everything is presented in very broad strokes.
Watch This: For a light ant family comedy
Don’t Watch This: If you want dark, gritty, deep character driven drama
I Can Only Apologise: For bringing up the Antz/ A Bug’s Life controversy again after twenty years.
* Probably actually on the TV, probably at Christmas a couple of years later
Comments