I don't remember my first reaction to the film, much less all the hype that came out while the movie was in theaters. But I've watched this one a few times and I must say it gets better with each viewing. A good cast, good visuals, and lots of interesting characters. I haven't seen anything this detailed since Toy Story. It's also inspired by that fable featuring the grasshopper and the ant. I remember that story vaguely but could not find it again. Regardless of the source, if you're an insect lover, this is mandatory viewing. It may not be entirely accurate, but no movie is entirely accurate. Sometimes you just have to suspend some disbelief while watching movies. So get on it!

It all started with one of Aesop's famous fables, and then in 1934, Disney produced a classic Silly Symphony titled "The Grasshopper and the Ants". It tells the story of a single lazy grasshopper who fiddles his summer away living for the moment while his neighbor ants work tirelessly, squirreling away massive amounts of food for the winter months. When the cold finally arrives, the starving grasshopper is reminded of his laziness and lack of preparation by the ant queen, who allows him to stay with the colony if he plays his fiddle, in a sense, working for the food and warmth he'll be provided.Disney ups the ante in "A Bug's Life" by pitting a grasshopper warlord and his followers against a huge colony of ants by demanding that they provide food for them on a regular basis. Noting that the ants far outnumber the grasshoppers in quantity, little Flik (voiced by Dave Foley) embarks on a series of initiatives to free the ants from domination by Hopper (Kevin Spacey) and his mean crew. I've read other viewer comparisons of the movie to Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven, and that might work except in one respect. When push came to shove, it was Flik and his own ingenuity that helped win the day for Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the colony. With more than a little help from the voiceless, colorful bird that made bird food out of Hopper. I always get a kick out of the ingenuity and cleverness that goes into these animated features and this one provided it in spades. Very colorful and well drawn, the insect characters are unique and fun, especially the 'warrior' bunch from the circus. If you liked this, you owe it to yourself to look up the original Disney Silly Symphony, as the restored version is glorious with outstanding color and first rate animation. You can't go wrong with either one.

It's under-appreciated, but "A Bug's Life" has the ingredients for a worthwhile PIXAR movie; conflict, characters, inventive world-building. If you really want to tear holes, you could argue that the story's been done elsewhere (The Seven Samurai, Three Amigos, Galaxy Quest) but there's creativity here and it still feels like something new.And then there's the cast, all well-suited to their roles (with Spacey nailing the terrifying villain; what can't that guy play?) and the side players lend plenty of color. Does Denis Leary seem like a PIXAR fit? Nope, and it turns out he's a highlight.Seems pretty hard to dislike this movie.7/10

I was 9 when this movie came out. This is a kid's movie. It was amazing. I was there, kids at school loved it. From my understanding, kids at other schools all across the country loved this simple KID'S movie. These aren't supposed to be amazing movies with rich, involving stories, or deep characters. These reviews tearing down kid's movies from getting close to 2 decades ago(check out IMDb's page on The Lion King, it's a disgrace) are getting ridiculous. These movies were created with the sole purpose of entertaining partially developed minds for 70-90 minutes. Give them a break. These movies served a purpose, made a ton of money(and other merchandise), it's heartbreaking to see what sad people on the internet are doing to our childhoods(and admittedly a little funny to see IMDb become the real Movie Poop Shoot).