B+ Movie Review
A few years back, Pixar and Disney joined together to bring us
Toy Story, a fun, original film containing some of the best graphics found anywhere. Completely computerized, it set a new standard for animated films, and urged the production of more. Now, Pixar has created
A Bug's Life, a rich, beautiful movie that will excite people of all ages. Unlike
Toy Story, which was mainly a collection of geometric shapes,
A Bug's Life is completely outdoors, requiring new kinds of computer-generated graphics to do the grass, the trees, and everything else...
To start things off, I did not see Antz (which premiered approximately a month before A Bug's Life came out), so there will be no comparison. I find it odd, however, that two separate companies would choose a subject so closely related, and have them come out at the same time. If Antz is anything like A Bug's Life, though, it has to be pretty good.
The graphics in A Bug's Life are spectacular, to put it plainly. They look just cartoonish enough to be a cartoon, but not animated enough to be an animated film. The setting in the movie is extremely life-like, and some of the textures make some objects look like photographs. The ants themselves are very life-like (but not realistic-looking, of course), and the grasshoppers were especially pleasing.
Much like Toy Story, A Bug's Life was amusing but not laugh-out-loud funny. While some parts had me squirming, the majority of it was just cute. My attention roamed in a few parts but overall, I was fixed on the screen. The characters, especially the circus bugs, were great and appealing; my favorites were the squishy caterpillar and the foreign potato bugs. Kevin Spacey also did a great job as Hopper, the grasshopper rulers, and some other familiar voices could be heard as well.
A Bug's Life is a winner in my book... Oh, and actually stick around for the credits. The bloopers they show are the best part of the movie, and the funniest.
