A BUG'S LIFE
*** 1/2 (out of 4) - a great movie
Release Date: November 25, 1998 The Voices of: Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hayden Panettiere, Phyllis Diller, Denis Leary, Joe Ranft, John Ratzenberger Directed by: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures MPAA Rating: G URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/bugslife.htm
Lest their be any question of whether or not the Mouse House still packs any animated clout, consider this to be the convincing argument otherwise.
With a eerie feeling of déjà vu and a virtual replay of events earlier this year, Disney's computer-animated movie about insects, A BUG'S LIFE, not only beat out the competition (DreamWorks' ANTZ), but did so by a good measure. Although there may have been doubt as to which of the "double-vision" asteroid pics would succeed (DreamWorks' DEEP IMPACT versus Disney's ARMAGEDDON), there was no question when DreamWorks chose to challenge Disney on its own turf. The animation in A BUG'S LIFE is of the finest quality, superb in design and free of the flaws that plagued DreamWorks' picture. The graphic end of the movie -- a bright palette of pastel hues -- runs smoothly and to great effect.
Unlike ANTZ, which was a story of internal strife in an ant colony, A BUG'S LIFE returns to Æsopian ground and gives us a tale of ants against grasshoppers. Strictly speaking, both the script and the voice talent in A BUG'S LIFE is not nearly as developed as that of ANTZ (the latter being written with more thought and intelligence), but the simplicity of A BUG'S LIFE is the key to its success. The movie is a departure from the serious fare of the competition's animation studios, and, in true Disney fashion, is plea to the viewer's inner child. Characters are drawn with an attitude of innocence, and bad guys are sulking, sneering characters. It's the typical Disney formula, and as far as many are concerned, that formula's still tops.
The story centers around the life of an ant named Flik (Dave Foley, TV's "News Radio"), whose curious tendancies land his colony in trouble when he unknowingly ruins the year's harvest. Flik's colony gathers food for a gang of grasshoppers, but when Flik sends the offering into the drink, the lead grasshopper, Hopper (Kevin Spacey), delivers an ultimatum. The ants must gather a replacement harvest by autumn, or Hopper and his gang will destroy the colony. Flik decides to make amends by gathering a group of warrior bugs to fight the grasshoppers, and to keep him out of the way, the colony's Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, TV's "Seinfeld") gives him approval. So Flik heads to the "city" and returns with a troupe of circus bugs whom he believes to be great warriors, just in time for he first day of autumn.
The script is peppered with witticisms to keep the older crowd interested, and there's plenty of slapstick comedy for the younger ones. At an hour and forty minutes, however, the movie runs a bit longer than necessary; kids may grow restless nearing the end. Fortunately, the competition over the holiday weekend isn't much better: BABE: PIG IN THE CITY and THE RUGRATS MOVIE are both over ninety minutes in length. For family entertainment, it doesn't get much better than this, and the Academy may just think so as well -- there's something here for everyone.
-- Craig Roush kinnopio@execpc.com -- Kinnopio's Movie Reviews http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
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