I loved this film as a kid but nowadays it's not really as good as I thought it was. Not to say that it's bad but honestly it's really really hard for me to decide whether I like this movie or not. Let's talk about the good stuff first, the animation, colors, settings, and character designs are all beautiful, it definitely matches up with the cheerful tone that the film is supposed to match up with. A lot of the voices are really good ranging from Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Denis Leary, Richard Kind, Jonathan Harris, David Hyde Pierce, Brad Garret, Madeline Kahn, and even some of the main Pixar guys voiced a few characters. The most memorable part of the film is the circus bugs, they are the film's biggest highlight, Denis Leary is Francis the Ladybug who's constantly mistaken for a woman, David Hyde Pierce is Slim the Stick-Bug who's always used as a prop, Brad Garret is Dim the Beetle who looks dangerous and tough but is actually a gigantic baby that's supervised by Rosy the Black Widow who's voiced by Bonnie Hunt, a pair of acrobats named Tuck and Roll who don't speak English and are my favorite characters, Jonathan Harris is Manny the Prey-Mantis who is a blind fortune-teller and is married to a gorgeous butterfly named Gypsy who's voiced by Madeline Kahn, every scene they're in is constantly hilarious, there's never a single moment involving where I would say "that's not funny...." or "what was the point of that?" Finally as mentioned in the headline for this review, the best part of the film is the fourth and final act, starting from when the last leaf falls, the grasshoppers have moved into the ant-hill and are forcing the ants to get every last drop of food on the island making them their slaves, Dot being the only ant who believes in Flik tries to convince him and the circus bugs to come back to make things right but Flik doesn't want to because the amount backlash he received from the colony after the truth about the circus bugs was revealed finally convinced him that what the colony thought of him was true, that he was a guaranteed failure who tries to make things better for people but instead always made things worse, Dot convinces Flik that it doesn't matter what people think of you, you can always achieve your goals if you just believe in yourself, thus Flik agrees to make things right by using the bird that he and the others built, at first it starts off really well but then it accidentally gets sabotaged, Hopper then forces Thumper to beat him half to death in front of everyone to teach them a lesson saying that ants were put on Earth to serve grasshoppers, but Flik convinces everyone otherwise by saying the best line in the movie, "Ants are not meant to serve grasshoppers. I've seen these ants do great things, and year after year they somehow manage to pick food for themselves and you. So who is the weaker species? Ants don't serve grasshoppers! It's you who need us! We're a lot stronger than you say we are... And you know it, don't you?" Hopper fed up with Flik decides to kill him himself but right when he's about to Princess Atta and the other ants become convinced that they were wrong and stand up for themselves giving us that triumphant feeling that lots of epic climaxes give us, the battle between ants and grasshoppers begins with the all the grasshoppers getting scared away and Hopper about to get shot out of a cannon, but suddenly it starts to rain, which gives Hopper the advantage of grabbing Flik to finish him off, Atta comes to the rescue and Flik thinks up a plan, he gets cornered by Hopper and right when he's about to choke him to death, a bird appears and Hopper gets fed to its babies, the film then ends with the ants saying goodbye to the circus bugs, Atta becoming queen, and Flik is declared being a true hero. But unfortunately what causes the film to go downhill really causes it to go downhill, the adviser ants, Princess Atta, and the Queen are so unbelievably obnoxious, always talking down to Flik and Dot going on about how they'll never achieve anything and this isn't just occasional insults, it happens constantly throughout most of the film, they get on my nerves to the point where it's unwatchable, they even tried to get rid of Flik by saying they'll agree to let him look for warriors when really they're just trying to get rid of him, which is why my least favorite scene is when it's revealed that the circus bugs aren't warriors, therefore the colony has to call Flik a disgrace and kick him out because they apparently would rather be slaves than listen to someone who's just misunderstood, what were they thinking? So this film is nowhere near terrible, as mentioned before the fourth act starting from when the last leaf falls is spectacular, but I just feel that the ants having to be so mean-spirited and cruel towards Flik was just way too much for me.

The Disney animation is again top notch. Like the movie Antz, we have a rebel in the collective. The ant population has been victimized by the bullying grasshoppers who come by each year to collect their "share." They are like mob bosses. They are also huge, compared to the ants. So along comes Flik who because of his best intentions, makes things even worse. He is brought before a tribunal and banished. Of course, like any self respecting outcast, it is his job to reclaim his right to be part of the culture. He is creative and inventive and so he has the tools to manage this. Even though things are predictable, they still come off quite nicely, visually.

Another Pixar classic-of course John Ratzenberger has a voice role in it! This movie features a colony of ants being terrorized by a bunch of grasshoppers into gathering food for them. Among the ants is a well-meaning but bumbling member named Flick who always messes things up. (I can relate!) That seems like the type of role John Candy used to play. When he goes out to find "warrior bugs" to help fight the grasshoppers, he unknowingly recruits a circus troupe. He fails-and succeeds! I think this is a movie about not giving up and the need to fit in. It features a great voice cast.***1/2 out of ****

A Bug's Life was Pixar's second dip into the movie business and is widely considered to be on the lower end of Pixar's quality films. When I was growing up or was one of my favorites, and to this day I don't get where the hate comes from. This movie follows an inventor ant named Flik (Dave Foley) who is your stereotype clumsy dreamer. His colony is extorted through fear of the grasshoppers, led by Hopper (Kevin Spacey), for their food. The grasshoppers make the ants collect food for them to have during the "Rainy Season." After Flik accidentally destroys a large supply of food, causing Hopper to double the quota, Flik goes on a quest to find some big bugs in the big city to protect the colony and stop the tyrannical grasshopper rule once and for all. Unfortunately, he gets a group of bad circus performers instead, and may find a way to use their limited talents to save them all. This movie is underrated. The political undertones to this film speak volumes, especially in our current political climate. The voice acting is decent. Kevin Spacey definitely gives a menacing performance, and it's adorable to hear a young Hayden Panettiere as an ant princess. The animation is pretty nice for its time. Certain moments looked better than others, but the real triumph was texturing, especially in the grasshoppers' designs. This movie isn't perfect. Many moments were predictable, and the movie relied heavily on gags. But still, it's fun and funny. And it does craft moments of actual fear and shows kids the power people can have when they stand together. It's definitely aimed more towards kids (even if it does get a bit...*murdery* seriously, rewatch it, it's very dark), but adults can appreciate that there's something there for them too. Altogether I'd rate this movie a 7. Not a bad Pixar film. Should be seen. PS: Ratzenberger's role in this film was P.T.Flea, the ringleader of the circus bugs. It's a funny role that sits his voice well.