A Bug's Life

"An epic of miniature proportions."

1998 1h 35m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 9,946

AdventureAnimationComedyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

On behalf of "oppressed bugs everywhere," an inventive ant named Flik hires a troupe of warrior bugs to defend his bustling colony from a horde of freeloading grasshoppers led by the evil-minded Hopper.

“An epic of miniature proportions.”

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Cast

Dave Foley
Flik (voice)
Kevin Spacey
Hopper (voice)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Atta (voice)
Hayden Panettiere
Dot (voice)
Phyllis Diller
Queen (voice)
Richard Kind
Molt (voice)
David Hyde Pierce
Slim (voice)
Joe Ranft
Heimlich / Additional Voices (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Lasseter
Writers: Bob Shaw, Don McEnery, Andrew Stanton
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $80M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

361+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Lasseter, shot by Sharon Calahan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Randy Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lee Unkrich shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dave Foley and Kevin Spacey and Julia Louis-Dreyfus carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Lasseter directs. Sharon Calahan behind the camera. Randy Newman scores. Lee Unkrich cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $80M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Made its money back 4.5× over at the box office.
328 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4361+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by John Lasseter, shot by Sharon Calahan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Randy Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Lee Unkrich shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Dave Foley and Kevin Spacey and Julia Louis-Dreyfus carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "An epic of miniature proportions.".
10IMDB entry: tt0120623 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 17 themes, including "fight", "circus", "winter", "ant-hill".

The technical file

Cinematography: Sharon Calahan
Original score: Randy Newman
Editing: Lee Unkrich
Production design: William Cone
Sound: Gary Rydstrom
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $80,000,000
Box office: $363,258,859
Return: 454% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: A Bug's Life (1998)

Awards

Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Family Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

John Lasseter

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2020-06-20
★ 6/10
The like... sixth-best version of Seven Samurai to date. Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.
r96sk2020-07-04
★ 8/10
A thoroughly enjoyable production from Disney and Pixar. <em>'A Bug’s Life'</em> cobbles together nice animation, fun characters and a memorable voice cast. The premise is entertaining, as the film flies through its 95 minute run time. The score is pretty solid, also. Dave Foley is good in the role of Flik, while Kevin Spacey is actually great as Hopper; shame about the actor himself, obviously. There's a load of other noteworthy members of the voice cast, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Atta), Hayden Panettiere (Dot), Bonnie Hunt (Rosie) and John Ratzenberger (P.T.) as well as many others - one of the studios' best casts. I actually prefer, somewhat controversially I guess, <em>'Antz'</em> to this - only marginally though, as I truly like them both. I'd say watch the pair, if you can!
Andre Gonzales2023-03-20
★ 5/10
I'm not really into a lot of kid movies. My daughter made me watch this with her. It was a ok movie. It was something different to see. I'd probably never watch it again unless of course my daughter wants me to again.