An ongoing series looking back at the feature films from Pixar Animation Studios
As with numerous studios and series, second stories can often be worse than their first, and A Bug's Life is no exception, especially with the previous smash-hit Toy Story. Add the big debacle for being the best animated Ant film against Dreamworks' Antz, it might not have been the success it was. However, unlike the critics and audiences during its release, I'm not particularly fond of the film.
The animation is an improvement over their first feature, with the backgrounds being the biggest improvement. The blinking issue has been (mostly) fixed, and the added bonus of being able to animate large groups of characters helping with the idea of having an entire colony of ants and grasshoppers. However, some of the designs of the insects themselves are hit and miss, with the odd colour choice for the ants. I'm unfamiliar with blue ants, at least looking like they do here, which does occasionally pull you out of the film. Thankfully other character designs are successful - although the psychotic grasshopper is a bit too scary for younger audiences.
The story is a little more basic in comparison to Toy Story, with a simple antagonist and a love story which is pushed down your throat. It does portray the circus elements well, but sadly get squandered by the rest of the plot. The comedy does succeed though, with scenes in the city featuring laugh-a-minute one liners being the highlight of that area. Perhaps if there was more comedy in the third act, the film would do better.
The characters themselves are good, although the ants are not the most likable. If anything, the circus bugs are the most successful, but villain Hopper is incredibly menacing. Again, his demise is rather bleak and a bit too dark for a children's film, but following the amount of trouble he's caused during his brief life span it's deserving and well-prepared.
A Bug's Life may have a handful of comedy and be an improvement with the animation style, but the story and characters are a backstep for the studio. I rewatched the film hoping for it to have improved since my last viewing, but alas it doesn't succeed. The outtakes are still hilarious though - probably the only thing which holds up with age. 5/10.
Next Time: The Toys are back in town!
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