I am playing catch up again after being away on holiday - I've not been ignoring anybody and will ge...
I am playing catch up again after being away on holiday - I've not been ignoring anybody and will get around to rating again now! : )
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A bug's life was the second brilliant Disney and Pixar master piece to be released following the success of Toy Story and was released back in 1998. I know a lot of people didn't rate this film as highly as Toy Story which, to be fair, is fine as let's face it Toy Story was brilliant but, it still has that fantastic animation and great storyline with a great cast of actors and actresses to make it a top class film.
The story: Flik is an ant living in a colony that spends the summer collecting enough food to last themselves and the mean and evil grasshoppers throughout the winter. At the end of summer season the grasshoppers come and collect their food. However this year, Flik causes the food to be lost and the grasshoppers led by nasty Hopper tell them they have so long to collect enough food for them otherwise when they come back there will be trouble. Everybody is angry at Flik, including Princess Atta who Flik is in love with. When Flik tells them he should go off and find help to beat the grasshoppers the colony think this is the perfect way to get Flik out of their way to avoid any more accidents. However will Flik actually be able to help his colony with the group of Circus performers who he actually thinks are 'Warrior Bugs'?
Cast: Again Pixar and Disney have employed a range of well known names to do the voices of the characters in this animated film. Some not as well known back then but interestingly are know very well known for more up to date roles. The main cast are below -
Flik - Dave Foley Atta - Julia Louis Dreyfus Hopper - Kevin Spacey Dot - Hayden Panettiere Rosie - Bonnie Hunt Heimlich - Joe Ranft Slim - David Hyde Pierce Molt - Richard Kind
There may be a couple of names that jump right out at you of course being the obvious is Kevin Spacey and more than likely Bonnie Hunt But wait, doesn't the name Hayden Panettiere jump out at you? Yes that's because she's very well known now for her role as the cheerleader 'Claire' in the smash show 'Heroes'. Who would have though back then that a young girl playing the part of a little bug would end up with such a big role nearly ten years down the line. There are some stars also here who many will probably recognise from other TV shows such as David Hyde Pierce who plays the role of Dr Niles Crane in show 'Frasier'. Along with these with have plenty who did many other voices for other Disney and Pixar movies including a couple who had already done smaller parts in Toy Story itself and were liked enough to use again.
Extras: Unfortunately this is another one of my Disney films I've not yet managed to get on DVD as I bought my copy back in 1998 when it first released and back then didn't even own a DVD player! So no extras here but if you are buying on DVD you can expect a variety of extras such as 'making of' and short Pixar cartoons amongst other things.
Overall opinion: I really enjoyed A Bugs Life when I first saw it - in fact I liked it back then that much that I actually pre ordered it from WH Smith! I still do rate it highly as I like the idea of it - a whole world going on with the little creatures that most people stomp out under their feet! Only Disney could make a film about ants so much fun and contain so much comedy. I think the characters were well thought out and again they did well in who they picked for the voices making the film interesting to watch and enjoyable for both adults and children alike. There are plenty of references in this film to other Disney films and many including reference to Toy Story which is fun to spot out for! I highly recommend this film as it's just a great, fun, film with lots of comedy moments and a fabulous storyline.
The DVD can now be picked up at various online stores at around the £5 mark. The special edition is a little bit more normally but it does depend where you find it!
The film is rated 'U' so is suitable for everyone.
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Production Year: 1995 - Family - Director: John Lasseter - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Tom Hanks, Annie Potts, Tim Allen, Jim Varney, John Morris, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles