Bugs in the system

>> Six-legged critters swarm the screen in A Bug's Life

by EMRU TOWNSEND

It would be hard to review A Bug's Life without mentioning its startling similarities to that other recent computer-animated bug film, Antz. Dreamworks' Antz features a misfit ant who has the hots for the colony's princess and struggles to be accepted in a society that puts "we" over "I." However, his idiosyncratic ways prove to be useful when the whole colony is threatened.

Distributed under the Disney banner, A Bug's Life features Flik, a misfit ant who has the hots for the colony's princess and struggles to be accepted in a society that blah, blah, blah...

Look, that's really not important. What is important is that Pixar Animation Studios, the guys who gave us Toy Story, haven't rested on their laurels. Without copying themselves or relying on proven formulas, they've created a solid, entertaining film.

The basic storyline is a variation of the fable about the ant and the grasshopper, the difference being that the grasshoppers, led by Hopper, are vicious brutes who have terrorized the ants into foraging for food to support them. When Flik accidentally botches the annual grasshopper offering, he desperately tries to organize the ants and some other bugs into facing Hopper and his ilk.

In some ways, A Bug's Life is a standard tale: maverick causes crisis; maverick tries to fix crisis; maverick saves the day, learns a lesson, teaches a lesson, gets the girl.

As with Toy Story, the real pleasure is in the details. While all the characters are entertaining, there are three who steal the show: Flik (Dave Foley), who has so many inventive ideas he can barely keep them contained; Francis (Denis Leary), the ladybug who is eternally pissed off at everyone thinking he's a she; and Hopper (Kevin Spacey), who viciously threatens and humiliates everyone around him.

In fact, Spacey's snarling performance, combined with the animators' fine work, makes Hopper one of the more frightening animated villains to come along in some time. Hopper is pure rage given form--when his fury explodes towards the end of the movie, he's less a villain and more a malevolent force of nature. It's a fine piece of acting that proves that Toy Story was no fluke; Pixar's moviemaking talent combined with Disney's distribution and marketing resources will be a force to be reckoned with for some time yet.

A Bug's Life opens Wednesday, November 25