A Bug's Life (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) Reviews

• The best DVD I've ever owned

  
  By A1HQXX0DOCLZU2 on 2000-07-24
  This is probably not going to surprise anyone-- This is simply an excellent DVD, in every scale. The first disc contains the movie itself, which is transferred from its original, digital source. The picture quality is unbelievable. Not one spot comes up during the movie, not one scratch appears-- because this wasn't transferred from film. This is the way A Bug's Life should be watched. The colors are amazing, bright and contrast eachother perfectly. The sound is also unbelievable-- this movie challanged my 1.5 surround system perfectly. Unlike some other movies I've seen, where the two rear speakers are only used about twice in the movie, A Bug's Life uses them almost constantly-- You can hear the crickets and cicadas all around you in many of the scenes, Hopper's gang are flying at you from behind; Even with a simple scene like the "Royal Huddle" the ant's footsteps are coming from around you. The first disc contains a Cinemascope widescreen version and a pan-and-scan version. I'll have to say that if you don't have a widescreen TV (I don't), you probably should forget about the widescreen version here as it is aspecially small. Besides, the PSP version was edited digitally in a very special way, even described on this DVD-- you hardly miss anything in the PSP version because of that special editing. If anything, you actually get to see more detail. Also on the first disc are two special audio choices, Music Only (cool) and SFX only (VERY cool), and a director's commentary (quite cool, although not the best I've heard. John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich seem to talk too much about the story, which sometimes makes it sound as if they're just describing what you already see on screen.)

  (I'm not going to give review to the movie itself here-- In short, it is definitly a 5 star movie!)

  The second disk is where the real fun begins. I've never seen so many extras, with so many choices to choose from. It's almost confusing-- You not only get to see how they made the movie, you get to literally see how they developed EACH AND EVERY character in this film. It's astonishing. You can also hear how they edited the sound, see how they made the PSP version so good, see how they made the outtakes at the end (and also see the outtakes by themselves, clean, full screen and with no credits to interrupt), see an interview with the characters themselves (which is simply hilarious), and... See Geri's Game in all its glory. And there's even more.

  Basically, if you don't have this DVD, you WILL buy it. Otherwise, what's the point of having a DVD?
  
  

• Wonderful!

  
  By A1YMOYGWO6MWSV on 1999-12-31
  A BUG'S LIFE is truly a movie that the entire family can enjoy. It is adorable, funny, and it has a message that everybody can relate to.

  The DVD is amazing, amazing, amazing! The transfer (the first ever completely digital transfer), is simply unbelievable. It is like you can reach into the screen and touch the characters. The cinemascope animation is truly stunning, and the transfer expresses it beautifully. The sound is wonderful. You feel like you're in the bugs' world.

  This DVD has the most amazing set of extras I have ever seen. It takes you through the entire process of making A BUG'S LIFE...I've gone through "preproduction" and the first half of "production" and it took me an hour and a half...I still have three sections left! What is more amazing is that every extra is interesting! Truly an outstanding, sure to be groundbreaking disc. Disney, why can't all of your DVDs be like this!

  A MUST HAVE!
  
  

• Excellent special edition!

  
  By A2K53J3MLTXFB3 on 1999-12-27
  In Short: So you're wondering, is this 2 DVD set worth $49.99? Read on...

  The Movie:

  Original Film Review, Written On The Film's Opening Weekend:

  The second of the Fall's animated insect projects wasn't nearly as appealing to me as the first. "A Bug's Life" boasts outstanding animation, but a lackluster and predictable plot. Possibly I just felt that way as an adult and maybe it's just my cynical nature, but I doubt I wouldn't have found this film just as predictable when I was younger.

  That said, all that's left is to sit back and marvel at the animation put together by the same group that put together "Toy Story" a couple of years ago, Pixar. There's definitely a sense of wonder, terror and awe in the animation in scenes like when a bird comes into the ant colony for an attack, or when one of the ants rides a dandelion spore across a great divide. There's one major difference here in the animation from "Antz", it's that the animation here is rounded and safe, much like the plot and story; in "Antz", structures had interesting shapes and edges; you never knew what to expect next from the film.

  This film has great moments, like when the ants can't figure out how to get around a leaf that has fallen in front of them(although I didn't quite get that, since I would think the ants could see over the leaf, but I guess I was putting too much thought into it.) As many great visual moments as the film has, I just couldn't help feel that it's trapped by the Disney formula of one unlikely hero rising above "it all" to save the day. That's definitely nothing new to filmmaking, but there's a certain Disney plot line that makes everything that's about to happen fairly obvious to an adult before they set foot in the theater.

  The story is set around Flik, a young inventor ant who is voiced by Dave Foley(TV's "Newsradio"). That's where the film loses bite; "Antz" had an edgy, funny lead in Z(Woody Allen), Foley doesn't bring any of the wit and cynicism that his television character holds. Julia Louis Dreyfuss, who voices Princess Atta, the ant, isn't nearly as funny or sassy as Sharon Stone's ant princess in "Antz". The one character who does turn out quite well is Hopper, the king of the Tyrant grasshoppers, who is voiced by Kevin Spacey, who provides a perfect dose of menace in his voice to make the character interesting.

  The film starts out with the ant colony collecting food for the grasshoppers, like usual. In an unfortunate mistake, Flik spills all the food. The grasshoppers, led by Hopper, demand that the ants provide twice the food by the end of Summer; not content to walk away, Flik sets out to find bigger insects in the insect city to help the colony fight back against the grasshopper menace; who he finds are, unknown to him, a band of circus insects, who, in turn, don't know that they're being hired to fight in a war against the grasshoppers.

  Again, the animation is wonderful and, to be honest, although it's more safe feeling than "Antz", "A Bug's Life" does do a better job at providing the scope of this miniature world, from the leaves and grass to the stones and ant tunnels. The only thing I didn't quite care for was the way the ants are animated here; they looked more real to me in "Antz", here they look meant to sell a thousand Disney toys. I did like the fact that the film is in the wide 2.35:1 ratio, making the wide spaces of the grassy colony and the insect city more fascinating to watch.

  In conclusion, "A Bugs Life" will provide families with a good time for a few hours and actually, maybe I just didn't quite care for this film because I'm simply not its intended audience. The legions of kids seemed to like the film and, in reality, the majority of kids will likely enjoy this film; adults may find it just okay. I'm not sure if either will find it as enjoyable or as funny as Pixar's previous film, "Toy Story", though.

  The DVD

  VIDEO: Goregous 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that is a direct-digital transfer and I really can't think of a disc that has more impressive image quality. As good as "Prince Of Egypt"is, this anamorphic transfer turns out to be just a touch better. Images are absolutely razor sharp throughout the presentation, and detail is absolutely outstanding. There is also a depth and dimension to this image that is remarkable. Don't get me started on the colors; you have to see them to believe how stunning they look. Colors are absolutely vibrant and even breathtaking during this movie. They also look a little bit stronger than one the image quality that was included with the previous, movie-only edition.

  There are absolutely no flaws to speak of during this presentation. No shimmer, nothing in the way of artifacts like that at all. If you're looking for a disc that shows off the capabilities of DVD in terms of picture quality, there really isn't anything more perfect than this.

  SOUND:Fascinating detail in the sounds of the ants creeping up the stalks of grass in the begining of the film. The sound is not only agressive and full of wonderful effects, but it has a playfulness about it that's incredibly fun to listen to. It's all in the details, though and there are plenty here. Like "Antz", the environment and ambient noise seems to be built with phenomenal attention to even the littlest of details. The sounds of little ants running about is rendered wonderfully and throughout all of it, there's even some nice touches of bass, especially when a bird attacks the insect colony. Dialogue is clear, clean and is integrated nicely. Randy Newman's score sounds wonderful as well. A very pleasing presentation by Disney. What's really amazing on this DVD is the additional sound tracks that you can listen to. On the full frame edition, you can listen to a seperate track that is an isolated effects track, where there is no dialogue or music, but you hear every single sound effect and where it's placed in the sound field. This additional effects track is in Dolby Digital 5.1 and included on the full screen version. On the widescreen version, the extra track is a 2.0 isolated score. I wish the FX track was with the widescreen and the score was with the full-screen, but oh well. What I'll also complain about is that the audio can't be changed with the remote.

  MENUS:: Phenomenal animated menus during the disc for the film itself, but even more stunning animation greets you when you first turn on the 2nd DVD, as you're lead through the ant tunnels into the Pixar screening room where you're given an introduction by the director and three other members of the "Bug's Life" crew. Some of the sub-menus are not animated, but most of the main ones are, at least slightly.

  EXTRAS:. Commentary: This is a commentary track from director John Lasseter, editor Lee Unkrich and co-director Andrew Stanton. The trio mainly talk about the inspirations behind the research that the crew did for how their film was going to take a look into the world of an insect. Like the commentary from "Antz", the filmmakers start talking a little bit about the science aspects of the world of bugs, but they cut that topic off and thankfully, focus more about the technical and story aspects of the movie. I didn't find it overall as informative or entertaining as the "Antz" commentary, but there are plenty of cool details and tidbits offered up throughout. I just felt that this commentary talked more about the story than the technical details.

  The three are quite funny as well, talking about making the character of Flik a big geek, then going on to mention that "we didn't have to do too much research for that." The group talks a lot about the ideas for Flik and the concepts that they had not only for the character, but how he would interact with the rest of the characters in the story. In terms of story and plot talk, the more interesting details are about what we didn't see , as the animators talk about coming up with story details that didn't make it into the final picture or talking about the process of coming up with the story, as they talk quite a bit about how scenes were thought out and built. If the commentators are going to talk about the story more than the details, I'd rather hear about the meetings behind-the-scenes where the concepts were thought out or what didn't make it into the final plot rather than talking about just what is going on on-screen or what the characters are thinking. It's not a bad commentary by any means, but I lost interest through some parts of the discussion.

  DVD TWO: THE EXTRA FEATURES The additional features on this disc are broken down into sections of the animation process. I'm going to go into detail about what each section contains. This second DVD has a running time of 107 minutes.

  PRE-PRODUCTION: "Fleabie" Reel: There is an introduction to this additional feature, where the crew talks about how they came up with this film that showed a strage little character named Fleabie taking the tour of the animation stu
  
  

• The Super Genius Edition is the one to own

  
  By A2NYP1VC6FOFER on 1999-12-09
  This is the definitive DVD edition of A Bugs Life. The film makers call it "The Super Genius Edition" and I have to agree. They included everything in this two disc edition. Not only do we get both sets of outtakes, but we get Geri's Game (old man playing chess), the trailers (including one for international release), deleted scenes, storyboards, pictures, making of segments and more. It can easily take you 3 hours to go through all the extras on this disc. If you have ever wanted to know how this movie was made, this disc will tell you!
  
  

• Rethinking the appropriateness of all these "modern, CGI classics," that teach tots snide, obnoxious behavior

  
  By A13XITYPQH0YX5 on 2007-10-26
  For many months, we've been allowing our tots to watch this movie (and other CGI-type "classics" like Toy Story I & II, Monsters, Inc., Shrek, etc). Of late, we realized, with horror, that our kids' recent aggression, and usage of snide and obnoxious remarks has been due to these "modern kids classics."---comments and demands like "WHERE'S MY FOOD!!!" (courtesy of "Bugs Life"); "YOU'RE STUPID!"; "YOU IDIOT" (Toy Story); "YOU STINK"; shouting "I'm an ogre!" after belching...and the like. Even the brilliant (for adults, that is) Monsters, Inc. and Shrek movies have the characters castigating, berating, ridiculing each other, and teaching some pretty detestable behavior in some places. Maybe "Finding Nemo" is the least objectionable of the bunch. This movie is the WORST, and is very scary for tots. The antagonist---the evil Hopper---at various times threatens to kill his own brother and the entire ant colony, humiliates and gloats at various protagonists, and displays other utterly obnoxious and disturbing behavior that is otherwise a very poor influence on toddlers and small children.
  In retrospect, all the CLASSIC Disney movies in our collection are safe, tame, and benign by comparison, and far less objectionable if even at all. (e.g., Cinderella, Snow White, etc). I wish we'd stuck to safer products for toddlers, like the afore-mentioned Disney titles, or The Wiggles, Baby Einstein, Bob the Builder, etc. I choose politically correct but safe, over slyly entertaining and wickedly cutting-edge, any day! Those "modern classics" are great for adults, what with their modern spin, dialogue, etc----but why give the kids a head-start on learning objectionable phrases and vocabulary that they're going to learn later from others? No one wants their kid to be the FIRST SOURCE of the poor habits and language being adopted by the other kids in the neighborhood and amongst the extended family.
  The golden rule now in our house: If the adults enjoy it, and it's not tedious and boring, it's probably inappropriate for kids!
  
  
• What DVD should be
  By ABSCKCA6AGX6A on 2000-01-17
  Sure, this special edition is somewhat expensive, but it is worth every penny, and then some. Not only do you get a terrific presentation of a terrific film(with three alternate audio tracks, no less), but you also get a second disc filled with so many supplements, that it's difficult to think of what more you could want. Even though this disc is distributed by Disney, the DVD, like the film itself, is all Pixar. To go along with all the supplemental material, John Lasseter, co-director Andrew Stanton, and others appear in several introductory segments to explain the background and significance of what you're about to see. They're all obviously having a blast doing this, and add immesurably to the presentation of the content. Go ahead and look for short comings on this disc, but you won't find any. As for the film itself, it's obvious that Pixar has reached near-perfection in creating crowd-pleasing entertainment. With this and the "Toy Story" films they have a perfect record, and one can only hope that they keep it up. To those that say "Antz" is superior, I say that it takes more than a few mild expletives and an obvious "I'm going to do what I want to do" message to make a better film. Clearly Dreamworks wanted their film out first, which is obvious in the inferior visual look and the not-always-appropriate voice-casting of their product. The only complaint with "A Bug's Life" that I have is that the film didn't have some kind of dedication message to Roddy McDowall, who voiced Mr. Soil. I know that his part was small, but I was hoping that the audience would be reminded of the loss of a great actor. That being said, this film is one of the most enjoyable that you're likely to find, and should be owned in its collector's edition glory.
  
  
• Entertaining for kids and adults!
  By A1I7CAEASOY6Y4 on 2000-06-23
  A Bug's Life is entertaining for kids and adults alike. This movie is a non-stop action fest that has been masterfully captured on DVD.

  The picture quality if superb, if not the best I've seen, for an animated DVD due to the direct digital to DVD transfer. In full screen mode, you will be amazed how clean and delineated the picture is; the detail is incredible!

  My big surprise was how amazing the sound is on this disc. You can use this to show off your Dolby Digital sound system to friends just as well as any action film. The surround effects are crisp and the bass is well defined.

  My only complaint would probably be that the action and sound is so non-stop, that it can tire out adults, albeit mesmerizing children the whole time.

  The extras are plenitiful and well done. The inclusion of the end-title outtakes is the highlight of a wonderful special edition disc you're sure to enjoy.
  
  

• Bug's Life Special Edition
  By on 1999-12-20
  I purchased this DVD with the expectation of quality info on the production and methodology behind Bug's Life. This was to some extent provided but only via rigorous navigation through CD2. The quality of the film leaves much to be desiged and is visibly of a poorer quality and clarity than the normal edition of Bug's Life. This is probs because they squeezed both widescreen and normal onto 1 side of a disc. If you're after more insight into the making of Bug's Life, this will give it, just.(6/10). If you want it for the film, get the other version!
  
  
• Eye-popping imagery and gut-busting laughs
  By A146Q4BUHVGJIZ on 1999-11-30
  When I first purchased my DVD player this June, I made a b-line for the rental store for Bugs Life, hoping to relive some of the magic I remembered from seeing the film at the cinema house. What I discovered, though, was that the images were so clean, vibrant, colorful and striking, that I was too busy looking 'at' the film that I had a difficult time 'watching' the film. Pixar did a great job with assembling a touching and imaginative film here, but what remains for me is that the DVD stands as the benchmark for all that the DVD format delivers.
  
  
• Great for children and adults alike
  By on 1999-11-22
  This is my two-year-old's favorite! Thankfully, it is so clever that even I find it fun to watch for the zillionth time ("Mom, watch Bug Story again!"). It's great for the younger kids because it's not too scary and there's plenty of action. Believe it or not, Hopper is her favorite character. The music and animation are wonderful.
  
  
• excellent demo for ac3
  By A1U29NJ0P33GVN on 1999-11-02
  Alot has been said on how great of a movie this is, but little has been said on the soundtrack. This movie has more ac-3 digital imagery than any other movie I've watched on dvd. That includes both Dragon heart and The Matrix. Both these movies have great sound, but nothing compaired to the sound the bugs make when they fly. They actually sound like they are buzzing over your sofa. My dog was so freaked out, he had to leave the room.
  
  
• Bugs screaming for attention
  By AUSATFDSU2INS on 2005-08-03
  This is a fable about our need to believe in ourselves.
  The story is probably one of the best features in the exquisite animated film, A Bug's Life. The narrative about the life of a working ant called Flick and his attempt to save his colony from the eternal domination of the grasshoppers -through recruiting a group of insects that turn out to be circus actors- is completely charming, innovative and unique. The plot is a pleasant surprise for the audience: just when one thinks everything is revealed, a new twist comes out to keep us guessing again what will happen.
  The movie allows itself to have a series of incredible characters that develop while the story takes its place. Flick goes from naive and optimistic to self-confident and serious. The circus members are one of the most eclectic groups of lovable losers ever to illuminate the screen. They add color to the plot and the rest of the cast, with their adventures, mischief, eccentricities and craziness. Their growth as a group, who finally find their audience, must be highlighted too. Little Princess Dot is charming in her role as a little ant with low self esteem until becomes a leader and finally princess.
  The bugs are, in fact, very graceful and funny, but it's through their extravagant personalities and their sharp dialogs that finally conquer our sympathy.
  In addition, there's a solid work of animation. The visual splendor is spectacular. This is an engaging film that seems to use the most vibrant colors. The detailed work is admirable in every corner, every gesture. Ambience and characters are not limited to coexist, but to work together, consolidating the story. This is one of the best animated features of the past decade. A solid accomplishment from Pixar, who doesn't seem to let us down with their creativity, their craftsmanship and their pure genius!
  
  
  
• Very Dark, NOT for little kids, nowhere near Nemo or Monsters Inc.
  By A93CEOAFE6DZY on 2005-07-30
  I let my 4 year old watch this movie, trusting the fact that it was Disney/Pixar and rated G. The fact is, the content/dialogue of this film warrants at least a PG-13 rating. Granted it does not have obscene language or graphic violence. It does, however, contain very cruel behavior, lots of "I'll kill you" (in one case a brother says to his brother something like "if not for the promise I made to mom on her death bed, I'd kill you right now!") type lines, as well as the mean grasshopper gang (who party in Mexico and are modeled after hell's angels) that is very scary and too dumb to be amusing. In general the themes/ideas presented in this story are far too dark for a kid's movie, with way too much mean-spiritedness and very little to redeem itself. Speaking strictly from the perspective of "Is it entertaining?" I'd say that the three of us that watched it (parents and child) were not entertained. One of us adults even fell asleep. By the way, the mean grasshopper gang-leader (named "Hopper") gets fed to baby birds in the end, screaming as he's lowered into the open beaks.
  
  
• You will be impressed....
  By ASSWCE5URWUN on 1999-12-21
  The quality of graphics throughout this film will hit you. I'm fairly up to date with animated films and can say that I thought the picture quality was magnificent, it really was. The sound was excellent and the story good. This will keep your kids (and kids friend's) occupied for a long while. Anything that can do that now-a-days at this price has to be a bargain doesn't it?
  
  
• Way too scary for my kids (2 and 5)
  By on 2000-08-20
  There's a lot that's good in this movie -- fabulous animation, nice (if unoriginal) story, good performances, clever humor. But the scenes where characters we've come to love are in dire peril are way too intense and frequent, and there is too much brutality meted out by the menacing bad guys for me to consider this an acceptable movie for kids under 8 or 9. My 2 year old cried and had to leave the room with her father; my five year old spent much of the movie with her hands over her ears and her eyes buried in my shoulder. (And my kids are not wimps -- they'll watch real bugs attack and eat each other with total fascination and they love nature documentaries where the predators catch and eat their prey. But movies like this intensify everything and assault their sensitive young eyes and ears and emotions.) I realize that I am probably in a very small minority with this judgment, but I don't think this sort of thing is good for small kids. I really feel it is our job to protect their tender little hearts from such intensity, menace, and brutality, not show it to them over and over again until they are desensitized to it. So I give it two stars as a kids' flick; four stars as over 10 year old fare and average it out at three stars.
  
  
• Excellent, even for people who own the regular edition
  By AOGRRHUO45LD0 on 2000-12-30
  While I could tell you all about "A Bug's Life", in the case of a Special Edition it is probably better to talk about the features (since you should already have seen the movie before getting a special version of it). I'll begin on disk 1. Well, there is the basic movie, a commentary track, an audio only track and a sountrack only track. The basic movie is very well done, and maybe even better than the theatrical version because of the conversion process and sound quality. Superb stuff, but its also available on the regular version so we'll move on. The commentary track is very insightful and actually provides a lot of information about the process of making the movie. Its very interesting to listen to and will keep you watching, unlike most commentary tracks where the speakers generally just drag on and on about how great the actors are or something similar without actually talking about the movie. The soundtrack only section is pretty interesting, and it lets you hear the more subtle parts that you miss with FX and voice, but it gets pretty tiring. The FX track, on the other hand, was absolutely riveting for some reason. You would think a track with no voice and no music would be boring to all hell, but in fact it was incredibly entertaining to watch and it really lets you get a sense into the amount of effort they put into the sound. Things you don't even notice or realize are happening in the background are made very clear on this track. I would recommend this edition for anyone who is thinking about going into Sound FX later in life simply for this track.

  On to disk 2 now, which is pretty much all design sketches and production notes. There are some really fascinating things on this disk as well. They go through all the stages from beginning to end and you really get to see the story evolve from its original form (recognizable, but oh so different). Also, the short feature on turning the storyboard art into 3d art was very interesting (especially if you want to go into graphics).

  In the end this is a DVD I think any A Bug's Life fan will love. All the various options and ways to view the movie are excellent and will keep you entertained for hours while all the special features on disk 2 will make you appretiate the effort behind it all that much more. Pick this one up.
  
  

• What are we teaching our kids???
  By A1GSE27INORU3Q on 2002-12-03
  Along with Monsters, Inc., Disney/Pixar seems to be taking us back to the industrialism that started all of our environmental problems. I grew up with Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" in which we kids learned that if you chop down all the trees to make clothing, there will be no more trees, animals will die, and we will smog up our world. This movie teaches the opposite. Flek, the main character ant, is known for his inventor talents which get more work done than following tradition, and solve the ants' problems. This good-old-American idealism is great, if the ideas he had come up with were more politically correct. Instead of ants running up blades of grass to pick seeds, his machine comletely cuts off the blade of grass, denudes it, and harvests the seeds. I admit that grass is not trees, and as anyone with a lawn knows this won't cause the forest of grass to disappear. But I am surprised that such blatant destruction of the environment has been so accepted by so many people watching this movie. The grass on the little island provides protection to the ants, probably would prevent erosion during the rainy season, and even provides the clubhouse for the children ant troop. The movie focuses its message on "not following along with everyone else when there is a better way". The ants' only concern with Flek's inventions is the fact that it is not traditional. They do not even consider other issues.

  This is my main problem with the movie, but other messages are also surprising when considering the intended audience. The bike-gang rough boy grasshoppers are just big bullies, and pretty darn scary for a child. Back again to the 1950s. My 4-year-old daughter completely refuses to see this movie. Maybe she is too young for it, but why do we need to have such incredibly scary, nasty characters in our lives? Is this a lesson of some sort? And if it is entertainment, for whom? The parents? I didn't find the grasshoppers entertaining. Just violent. And mean.

  Although it may not need mentioning, I feel I cannot leave it out. Romantic love between ants? I admit that animals in children's films are not always shown portraying the characteristics they do in the wild. But the authors went as far as having only one line of females in the colony (Queen and daughters being "trained" for the job). Adding romantic love to this makes a very unbalanced mix of truth and fiction.

  I give this three stars for the animation. But I would like to warn people when being charmed by cuteness and technology, to still watch for the messages being taught. Or not taught.
  
  

• BUY THIS DVD NOW!!!
  By A1ISFPL57W69GB on 1999-11-01
  This disc contains some serious eye candy.The characters are so realistic, you actually forget that they are computer generated! This movie also tells a great story that adults can enjoy, too. (Note: I loved it and I don't even have kids!) The DVD contains both widesreen and full screen versions of the movie. The full screen version was re-rendered for DVD. Instead of just chopping the sides off of the picture, Pixar moved all the important elements onto the 4:3 screen. I think the 4:3 version actually looks better on TV. They also have great special features, including "bloopers" and an ingenious, entertaiing film short about an old man playing chess. Buy this now!!!
  
  
• JUST TO REMIND YOU PARENTS WITH YOUNG KIDS.........
  By on 1999-10-28
  I saw alot of parents comaplaining that the movie was too violent and should be rated PG. NO WAY!!! A Bug's Life only had the part were Hopper beats up flik alot. If you parents want to see some violence for your kids, Antz has alot more violence, when the ants have a battle with the termites and they start RIPPING THEIR GUTS OUT!!! Whadaya call that? violence! And Bug's Life has no bad words and antz has the "A" word and the "D" word and the "H" word and countless others....and it was alful. A Bug's Life was cheerful, funny, and for you preteens, it was DA BOMB!!! And Bug's Life isn't just for kids. Stars like David Hyde Pierce ( Fraiser) Dave Foley (News Radio) Julia Lois Dreyfus ( Sienfeld) and Kevin Spacey (American Beauty) are in the film with Pierce as the stickbug, Foley as the Hero ant,flik, Dreyfus as the Princess, and Spacey as the villain grasshopper.

  So buy this movie for your kids ( and you!) instead of ANTZ.
  
  

• Stunning Audio/Video - Disturbing Kid's Story
  By AHMIZ324EOZVT on 1999-05-05
  As a parent that has watched Toy Story about 50 times and enjoyed it every time, I was pretty shocked when I went to preview this movie in the theater.

  After the first 20 minutes, I had my answer, not only was this "No Toy Story", it wasn't even funny.

  I did later see the whole movie in the theater and came away with the same opinion.

  How ironic that I would rent Bug's Life on 4/21, the day after the Columbine shootings. This movie has no less than a dozen references to "killing" and "death". How do the ants resolve conflict? By fighting of course. Go get some warriors! It's payback time!

  I did finally watch this with my 4 year old, stopping every 5 minutes to remind him that "it's just a movie" and "the hoppers are the bad guys and good guys always win."

  I have a totally different view of this movie from a Home Theater-buff standpoint. By god, this is my new demo disk! The first 20 minutes, up until the first departure of the hoppers is awesome.

  Every moment that Kevin Spacey's character is on the screen is priceless.

  I too found it difficult to choose between the standard and letterbox versions. I usually choose letterbox to see the "whole" movie but having Hopper's ugly mug filling my 51" screen was quite impressive.

  If I sound prudish, so be it, but someone needs to start questioning the amount of violence in a "kid's" movie.
  
  

• Amazing Rate Of Progress Continues
  By A37F1G84K35FCZ on 2002-11-20
  PIXAR is a truly innovative company that is literally redefining what can be accomplished with computer animation. The company has a much longer history than many are aware of, they were once part of George Lucas's empire before the company was sold and then taken public by Steve Jobs of Apple fame.

  "Bug's Life", is my favorite full-length film from PIXAR although there are individual character creations from other films like, "Monsters Inc.", that also rate amongst their best computer generated thespians. This film has a great story, and great performances from a host of players including Kevin Spacey, Kevin Foley as Flick, and Phyllis Diller as The Ant Queen. The list continues with Denis Leary, Madeline Kahn, and Roddy McDowall as Mr. Soil.

  The extras that are included on the disc are almost worth the cost of the disc alone. Both sets of, "outtakes", are included, and these provide some of the best moments of humor in the film. They are so well done; you get a similar feeling of seeing an actor in a traditional film making an error as opposed to just a computerized character. The fact that these characters don't exist, either means that I get a bit too lost in these films, or PIXAR is that good. I tend to believe it's the latter.

  One of the more notable experiences was watching the film short, "Geri's Game", once again. When this was first released in 1997 the realism that was presented was almost hard to believe. Now only 5 years later it not only shows its age, certain aspects look like nothing more than well drawn cartoons. The trees in, "A Bug's Life", can pass for the real item, in the short film, the idea of realism for the trees never occurs. This in no way is meant as criticism, quite the opposite, the folks at PIXAR have continued to push past barriers at an amazing rate so that each subsequent film exceeds the first. I believe you can watch the films and place them in order of release, even if this is the first time you have viewed them.

  And PIXAR is showing no signs of slowing down much less pausing, as a look at the trailer for their next film demonstrates. Next Spring, "Finding Nemo", will open, and based on the trailers I have seen, they have once again raised the bar by a factor of 10. This time they will take you to a world created under the sea, and the bits I have viewed will leave your jaw a bit slack.

  PIXAR has redefined animation, and are rapidly creating a genre that needs a description all its own, computer animation does not place these creations in their own category, and they deserve one. PIXAR is not the only company producing great computer products, but so far they are the best and most consistent. I don't believe any other studio can state that every single film they have made resides securely in the top 100 grossing films of all time.
  
  

• Bug's Life Special Edition DVD
  By A12OSGT1LRDQY4 on 2000-01-11
  The special edition is the way to go with this movie. You get incredible quality (it is the first movie to be transferred digitally to DVD from the original source) and a plethora of behind the scenes information. It took me longer to watch all the extras than the movie. The story is engaging and fun. If you enjoy other Disney movies, you should enjoy this one.
  
  
• Hip, charming animated movie
  By A152C8GYY25HAH on 2002-03-24
  1998 was a banner year for animated insects on screen. Both Disney and Pixar's A Bug's Life and Dreamworks' Antz were smash hits. The fact that two movies with the same subject came out so close together may be no coincidence. After being fired from Disney, Jeffery Katzenberg, who had rebuilt that studio's animated division, co-founded Dreamworks. The competition between the two companies is now legendary, and the real beneficiary is the public.

  A Bug's Life is a delightfully entertaining work. Produced with the latest digital technology, it is a visual feast. The characters and scenery are beautifully rendered. The color is exquisite. And the story? Anyone over twelve years old might enjoy it, and everyone younger should be mesmerized.

  Basically, this is a twist on the old children's story about the Grasshopper and the Ants. In a reflection of the changing times, these grasshoppers don't beg for food. They forcefully demand it. In fact, they can get pretty scary. Every year, at the end of summer, they fly in. The ants are expected to have harvested plenty of food for them - or else.

  Our minuscule hero is Flik, an intelligent young ant who is forever inventing things to try to make life less routine, much to the amusement of the rest of the colony. When the grasshoppers' share of the food is accidentally destroyed, it's up to Flik to figure out a way to save the colony. He leaves home to seek help, and in a comedy of errors, returns with a band of unemployed bugs from a flea circus. There are butterflies, spiders, lightening bugs, lady bugs, walking sticks and even a rhinoceros beetle. All are good-natured, but none have an ounce of heroism in them. Flik must come up with a game plan before the grasshoppers return.

  There is a love interest, and, of course, she is a princess. Women's Lib may have laid Prince Charming to rest, but a Princess remains a mandatory element of childhood fantasies, at least as written by adults. Another ingredient is a multitude of cute precocious kids, and this movie is full of them, tiny though they may be.

  While it has a G rating, you will have to gauge your children's emotional levels. When I was a kid, I was terrified by the wicked Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I was afraid to look in a mirror, in case I found her looking back at me. There are parts of A Bug's Life which have that same typical Disney scariness. In particular, Hopper, the head grasshopper, is quite menacing. We grownups laugh at these characters, because we know that a happy ending is a prerequisite, but all small children may not be yet aware of this fact.

  The music by Randy Newman is excellent. The end credits are clever. While all those names scroll up the screen, we are shown "out takes" from the movie which are quite amusing.
  
  

• Get Monster Inc and Toy Story instead of this!
  By A1C9GCHR99WX3F on 2002-10-28
  ... This movie is about bugs that don't to what they say. I rather would have watched Lilo & Stitch. ...As the movie opens, Flik (Dave Foley) and all the other ants are slaves of Hopper (Kevin Spacey) and his grasshoppers. So the ants want to be free from Hopper and his gang, and since Flike keeps messing them up, they sent him out to find stronger bugs. Flik does find bugs but not warriors instead the bugs he found are circus bugs. But he doesn't know that. Flik was sent out by Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss). Phyliis Diller voices Atta's mother the Queen. The Movie should have been rated PG for the one swear word that I caught... This movie also came out in the same year as Antz. But if you want better movies from Pixar Toy Story, and Monsters Inc are the two for dvd or video...
  
  
• Not Pixar's best, but still fun
  By A2H9UO8RYFX5MB on 2003-09-02
  "A Bug's Life" is actually my least favorite movie from Pixar. However, Pixar's worst is (at least so far) better than the best many other studios can produce, and "Bug's Life" is still a fun movie to watch.

  The story of "A Bug's Life" is mainly about an ant named Flik, who is trying to save his ant colony from the bullying rule of a group of grasshoppers. He enlists the aid of a few circus bugs to help the ants fight the grasshoppers, but eventually, it is Flik's ideas which provide the main inspiration for the colony, and the strongest possibility for their liberation.

  There's lots of funny jokes and lots of drama in "A Bug's Life." It's a clever film, but in the end, not a very moving one. When I compare it to the "Toy Story" movies or "Finding Nemo" or (especially) "Monsters Inc," I find that all of those films made me laugh and cry, and most importantly, they made me feel for these digital characters they create. The characters in "A Bug's Life" seem not quite so well developed -- they seem clever, but shallow.

  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this movie. It's a fun film for my kids and I to watch together, and technically, the animation is pretty amazing. For me, it simply lacked some of the emotional depth of the other movies Pixar made, and so is a slight disappointment when compared to those other movies.

  Make sure to watch through the end credits... the bloopers are priceless!
  
  

• Way too scary for my kids
  By A3V42YR0D7V7PJ on 2005-10-06
  I unwisely bought this DVD for my 4 year old daughter's birthday. Then I made the second mistake of letting her watch it without previewing it myself. I'll never do that again! She was terrified! We turned the movie off and have never finished watching it. It might be a good movie for older kids, but mine won't be watching it for at least a few more years.
  
  
• Katie's Review of A Bug's Life
  By on 2005-10-09
  This is a funny and exciting movie. Flick is the main character. Dot is a little guy who is cute. The caterpillar and the ladybug are especially funny characters. The caterpillar likes to eat and he's funny cause he always is so excited to be a beautiful butterfly and he's funny when he says it. The ladybug is a mommy to all the little flies like Dot. This is funny cause he's actually a boy.
  
  Hopper is the bad guy. He is going to take away the food when the last leaf falls. The other bugs are trying to not let that happen.
  
  This movie would not be good for toddlers because the grasshopper is very scary and there is one part that is a little violent where someone gets hurt.
  
  This movie would be good for children ages five and up and brave four year olds.
  
  
• Excelent DVD But the description of the product is not very explicit
  By A6QM463S99US1 on 2006-03-29
  The DVD and the movie are both excelent! the quality of the pictures and sounds are great. The box is so beatiful and I didn't found any damage in the package.
  
  I was disapointed because I thought the movie came with Spanish trak and it only comes with english and french. The description and especifications of the product just mention the english, never talked about the whole audio languages it has...
  
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  La pelicula y el DVD como tal son excelentes, la calidad de los dibujos y sonidos es muy buena y no encontre ningun dano en el DVD.
  
  Pero me desepcione porque pense que el producto traia espanol como audio alterno y solo traia el ingles y frances. Pero ni la descripcion del producto ni las especificaciones nombraban a ninguno de los otros idiomas, solo hablaban del ingles...
  
  Buen producto, mala descripcion del producto en la pagina
  
  
• One of the best looking DVDs you will see on your TV
  By on 1999-12-15
  Want to fully realize the potential of your DVD player? One of the most awesome quality pictures you will see on your TV because this is a digital to digital transfer - think about it: produced by computers, with no film involved when transfered to DVD. Looks almost 3d on a high quality monitor using the S video or component video inputs. And it is a good movie to boot for kids and adults alike.
  
  
• A Big Letdown!
  By AINUHCYIRQBXT on 1999-12-29
  I was very disappointed in this movie. It did not live up to the hype. You do not get emotionally attached to the characters. It is just plain boring. Antz was by no means a good movie, but it was better than this. Do not waiste your money.
  
  

• Monsters, Inc. (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
• Toy Story (10th Anniversary Edition)
• Finding Nemo (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
• Toy Story 2 (Two-Disc Special Edition)
• The Incredibles (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)