A Bug's Life [2 Discs] [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

John Lasseter, director of Pixar's movie phenomenon Toy Story, has set new standards in computer animation with this effort, another Disney-released children's epic entitled A Bug's Life. Blending classic Disney storytelling characters and the mysterious underground world of bugs, Lasseter has created a film that can be enjoyed by all audiences, and another franchise in the process. A Bug's Life is a computerized retelling of the Aesop fable The Ant and the Grasshopper, made as a cartoon-short by the one-and-only, Walt Disney, in the mid-'30s. However, A Bug's Life has modernized the story with many new twists and celebrity voices. The story focuses on a colony of ants who seasonally gather food for themselves and a wild gang of rowdy grasshoppers. When bumbling worker ant Flik (David Foley) destroys the food supply, the angry grasshoppers, lead by the maniacally warped Hopper (Kevin Spacey), threaten to kill the ants if they don't produce a new supply of food by the time they return -- an impossible feat. Flik leaves the anthill in search of help in the form of bigger bugs, and to wage war against the grasshoppers. What he doesn't know is he has actually discovered a group of down-on-their-luck traveling circus insects in need of a job. When the ants realize that their heroes are really circus performers (and the circus bugs realize these grasshoppers are really big and mean), the situation goes from bad to worse. Ultimately, the ants use their large numbers to overcome the grasshoppers. ~ Chris Gore, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: ABC
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby TrueHD
• Screen: Color
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Features:
  • A Bug's Life - the first draft
  • Filmmaker's round table
  • Geri's game
  • Director audio commentary
  • Behind the scenes of A Bug's Life
  • A Walt Disney silly symphony: Grasshopper and the Ants
  • Outtakes

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Musical or Comedy Score - 1998 (Randy Newman)

• Broadcast Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Animated Feature - 1998
•     Won Best Family Film - 1998

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Animation - 1998

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Dave Foley - Flik
       Kevin Spacey - Hopper
       Julia Louis - Dreyfus - Princess Atta
       Hayden Panettiere - Dot
       Phyllis Diller - Queen
       Richard Kind - Molt
       David Hyde Pierce - Slim
       Joe Ranft - Heimlich
       Denis Leary - Francis
       Jonathan Harris - Manny
       Madeline Kahn - Gypsy
       Bonnie Hunt - Rosie
       Michael McShane - Tuck & Roll
       John Ratzenberger - P.T. Flea
       Brad Garrett - Dim
       Roddy McDowall - Mr. Soil
       Edie McClurg - Dr. Flora
       Alex Rocco - Thorny
       David Ossman - Cornelius
       Ashley Tisdale - Lead Blueberry Scout
       Kelsey Mulrooney
       Christina Milian

• Director:

  Andrew Stanton, John Lasseter

• Producer:

  Darla K. Anderson, Kevin Reher

• Screen Story:

  Andrew Stanton, Joe Ranft, John Lasseter

• Screenwriter:

  Andrew Stanton, Bob Shaw, Donald McEnery

• Cinematographer:

  Sharon Calahan

• Composer (Music Score):

  Randy Newman

• Production Designer:

  William Cone

• Art Director:

  Bob Pauley, Tia W. Kratter

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Gary Rydstrom

• Casting:

  Ruth Lambert

• Co-Director:

  Andrew Stanton

• Storyboard Artist:

  Pete Docter

• Supervising Editor:

  Lee Unkrich

• Visual Effects:

  William Joyce

REVIEW:

• Magnificently rendered by the computer-graphics company Pixar (of Toy Story fame), scored by the always-spirited Randy Newman and starring a cavalcade of impressive voices, A Bug's Life is a high point in animated family fare. It's the kind of film adults enjoy as much as, if not more than, their preschool offspring. Even the fake "outtakes" following the film are hilarious: like much of the film's humor, they aim for a surprising level of sophistication. The creators use animation not just to put a child-friendly face on some normally creepy critters, but to go where live-action can't, creating a world of shapes, colors and sounds that couldn't be accomplished otherwise. A Bug's Life was released only months after the more adult-oriented Antz; it's been suggested that the success of these films might have ominous implications for the future of traditional, hand-drawn animation. But it's not simply the computer handiwork that makes A Bug's Life so impressive -- it's the creativity. ~ Matthew Doberman, Rovi