If you could be a fly on the wall at Disney these days, you'd probably overhear more than a few conversations about that cursed Dreamworks and their lousy "Antz" movie. It's bad enough that "Antz" has become the highest-grossing non-Disney animated feature ever, but on top of that it's stolen a considerable amount of the thunder from "A Bug's Life," the latest collaboration between Disney and the cutting-edge computer-animation studio Pixar, which produced the enormously successful "Toy Story" in 1995. What made "Toy Story" click with grown-up audiences was its hipness, both in its humor and in its casting of such diverse talents as Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Don Rickles as the primary voices. Kids who had no clue who Rickles was or why their parents were laughing at some of the in-jokes appreciated the movie for its rambunctious action and lovable characters. And certainly everyone was wowed by the movie's brilliant graphics. Indeed, "Toy Story" was a tough act to follow, and while "A Bug's Life" is never less than pleasant and full of luscious Cinemascope visuals, coming on the heels of "Antz" it can't help but suffer in comparison; voices like "Bug's" Dave Foley, Phyllis Diller and Denis Leary can't hold a candle to the talents of Woody Allen, Christopher Walken and Gene Hackman in "Antz." Though most adults who've seen the Dreamworks picture will feel a bit of deja vu sitting through this one, "Life" is simpler and less witty than "Antz," which should make it more attractive to very young viewers. Like "Toy Story," "A Bug's Life" has been directed by John Lasseter, who keeps the pace sprightly in the hopes of concealing an extremely wispy story. Ant Island is annually raided by greedy grasshoppers led by the bullying Hopper (given a distinctively nasty voice by Kevin Spacey), who insists the ants slave away for months gathering food for these unwanted guests. Ambitious Fleck (Foley) volunteers to seek out some ant-friendly "warrior bugs" who'll send Hopper and friends scrurrying, but what he believes is a gang of wandering mercenaries turns out to be nothing more than the unemployed performers from a failed flea circus; they go home with Fleck under the mistaken assumption they've been hired to do a show. Since this is a Disney picture you need not worry that it all ends in a squishy bug massacre, although in all frankness "A Bug's Life" often seems to cry out for a little more irreverence, a dash more danger. The memorable villain in "Toy Story" was a psychotic kid named Sid who liked to mutilate dolls and action figures; he gave the story a black-comic edge. In contrast, Hopper and his crew are one-dimensional baddies who don't provide much genuine menace or excitement. Nor is the amiable Fleck a particularly colorful hero in the tradition of Buzz Lightyear or Woody. The best-written characters here are the macho ladybug Francis (Leary), a pretentious stick-bug with the haughty tone of David Hyde Pierce, and a pair of mumbling, hyperactive pill-bugs named Tuck and Roll who take their love of performing to extremes. Should you brave the holiday crowds to see the film this weekend, don't head up the aisles when the end credits begin to roll, or you'll miss some extremely funny mock-outtakes; they're well-worth sticking around for. James Sanford
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