Talking Disney Podcast Movie Night - ‘A Bug’s Life’ (1998)

Welcome to the Talking Disney Podcast Movie Night! We love movies here at the Talking Disney Podcast, we watched and talked about each of the Disney animated feature films on podcast episodes #51 (“The One That Started It All”) through #124 (“Strange World Is The End Of Our Journey”). We are bringing some of that movie-watching magic to the website. We will still talk about some movies on the podcast occasionally. We aim to watch one movie a week (lofty goals!), share some details, and publish our thoughts as often as we can. Some weeks, we may have comments from all three hosts, sometimes two, and sometimes just one.

The movies will be picked at random, and for now, to make it easier on us, we will choose movies that are currently on Disney+.

So without further ado, here is the next movie in the Talking Disney Podcast Movie Night series - “A Bug’s Life.”

“A Bug’s Life” premiered on November 14, 1998, at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and was generally released on November 25, 1998. A Pixar Animation Studios production, presented by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.

Spoiler Warning - There may be spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t seen the film, check it out first. If you have seen it or don’t care about spoilers, then, by all means, click “Read more >>”.

“A Bug’s Life” follows Flik (voiced by Dave Foley), an inventive but underestimated ant living on Ant Island, where his colony is oppressed by a gang of grasshoppers led by the ruthless Hopper (Kevin Spacey). Each year, the ants must gather food as an offering to appease the grasshoppers, who threaten violence if the quota isn’t met. During one such harvest, Flik accidentally destroys the offering with one of his contraptions, enraging Hopper, who demands double the food by the next deadline. Facing blame from his colony, including Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and her mother, the Queen (Phyllis Diller), Flik volunteers to leave and find help to fend off the grasshoppers.
Flik stumbles into a bustling bug city and recruits a ragtag troupe of “warrior bugs” who are struggling circus performers, including a stick insect named Slim (David Hyde Pierce), a black widow spider named Rosie (Bonnie Hunt), a ladybug named Francis (Denis Leary), and a caterpillar named Heimlich (Joe Ranft). Mistaking their theatrical flair for real courage, Flik brings them back to Ant Island, where the colony hails them as saviors. The circus bugs, unaware of the real danger, agree to stay for the food and admiration, while Flik devises a plan to build a fake bird to scare off the grasshoppers.

Tensions rise when the truth comes out: the circus bugs aren’t warriors, and Hopper returns with his gang. After the bird plan fails spectacularly—bursting into flames—the ants seem doomed. But Flik, inspired by a newfound resolve, rallies the colony to stand up to Hopper, revealing that the ants outnumber the grasshoppers and don’t need to live in fear. In a climactic showdown, the ants revolt, and Hopper is defeated when a real bird snatches him up. The colony is freed, Flik earns respect as a hero, and Atta, now queen, begins a romance with him. The circus bugs depart as friends, leaving Ant Island to thrive in peace in this charming tale of courage, teamwork, and defying the odds.

The second animated feature film by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film's plot was inspired by Aesop's fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper. Many of the voice actors were television sitcom stars from the period, including Dave Foley (NewsRadio), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld), Richard Kind (Spin City), David Hyde Pierce (Frasier), Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond).

The soundtrack contains an original song, "The Time of Your Life," written and performed by Randy Newman with the remaining being instrumental music.

At the 71st Academy Awards on March 21, 1999, "A Bug's Life" and Randy Newman were nominated in the Music (Original Music or Comedy Score) category.

Cast and Crew

Director: John Lassetter and Andrew Stanton
Screenplay: Bob Shaw and Don McEnery
Original Story: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Joe Ranft
Cast: Denis Leary, Jonathan Harris, Kevin Spacey, Hayden Panettiere, Bonnie Hunt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Joe Ranft, Phyllis Diller, Brad Garrett, Madeline Kahn, Michael McShane, Richard Kind, John Ratzenberger, David Hyde Pierce, Michael McShane, Dave Foley
Producer: Darla K. Anderson and Kevin Reher
Composer: Randy Newman
Cinematographer: Sharon Calahan
Editor: Lee Unkrich
Casting Director: Mary Hidalgo and Ruth Lambert

Film Technical Specifications

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family | Rating: G | Runtime: 1 hour and 35 minutes (95 minutes) | Sound Mix: DTS (Digital DTS Sound) | Color: Color (Technicolor) | Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1.

Box Office 

Budget: $120,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend (U.S. & Canada): $291,121
Gross (U.S. & Canada): $162,798,565
Gross (Worldwide): $363,258,859

Jason's Thoughts

Considered one of Pixar's most underrated films. I think it suffered a little from the success of Pixar's first film, 'Toy Story.' but is still a great watch. A staple in our VCRs and later DVD players with our young kids, so I cannot count how many times I have seen it. The story is great, a young ant who is always messing up, helps save the colony from the bully grasshoppers! I love everything that Randy Newman does. The instrumental music in this one reminded me of watching old Western movies. I miss "a bug's land" themed land at Disneyland California Adventure, it made you feel like you were in the “A Bug’s Life” movie and even though the rides were all themed for young guests they were still fun. “A Bug’s Life” film gets a score of 90.00 (out of 100) from me.

James' Thoughts

I’ve probably started watching this movie at least 5 times, but I’ve never finished it until this week. Not because I didn’t like it, I just never finished it. I’m glad I did finally finish it as I think this movie is really good. There are so many jokes throughout that really keep you laughing and the story is great. The voice actors do a great job and I love the animation. As I watch this movie, it really makes me miss bug’s land at DCA which was removed and transformed into Avenger’s Campus. I think the Imagineers did a great job with bug’s land and really made you feel the perspective of being a bug. Overall, I enjoyed this movie and will definitely watch it again in the future. On a scale of 0-100, my rating for this film is an 88.

Talking Disney Podcast Score: 89.00

“A Bug's Life” Fun Facts

The Pizza Planet van from Toy Story (1995) is visible around 25 minutes in, just after the circus scene as the camera tilts up.

P.T. Flea's name was based on P.T. Barnum, who owned a traveling circus in new York City during the 1840s.

Have you seen “A Bug’s Life?” What are your thoughts on the movie? Share in the comments below, we'd love to hear them!