...truly a feast for the eyes.
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In another of those monumental coincidences that only Hollywood could manage, two superbly animated cartoons on the same subject from two separate studios arrived in theaters just weeks apart, Disney´s "A Bug´s Life" and DreamWorks´ "Antz." Comparisons were inevitable at the time of their release, and now that both are available on DVD, comparisons are more unavoidable. If you want my advice in a nutshell, though, buy them both. They are visually stunning.
"A Bug´s Life" has the more juvenile story line and the cuter, more Disney-ish, child-oriented characters. However, although it is more obviously aimed at younger audiences than "Antz," it does not necessarily mean that it´s any less entertaining for adults. It may not have Woody Allen´s dry wit, as "Antz" does, but it is the more colorful and more action-packed of the two films.
The star of "A Bug´s Life" is an ant named Flik, perhaps a distant cousin of Allen´s angst-ridden Z. Flik is an inveterate inventor, always thinking up new schemes and ideas. When we first meet him he´s trying out a new cultivator he´s built that´s more trouble than it´s worth. When Flik´s anthill gets beset by their perenniel enemies, the grasshoppers, Flik decides to seek help. He enlists the aid of a group of flea-bitten flea circus performers whom he mistakes for gallant warriors. And that´s actually about all there is to the plot.
The grasshoppers bully the ants; Flik finds help; together they figure something out; Flik and the circus players become heroes. So unlike "Antz," where dialogue, thoughts, and story were foremost, "A Bug´s Life" relies almost exclusively on sights and sound. Fortunately, it succeeds wildly. The voices in "A Bug´s Life" are provided by Dave Foley (as Flik), Kevin Spacey (as Hopper, the villainous head grasshopper), Phyllis Diller, Dennis Leary, Jonathan Harris, Madeline Kahn, Roddy McDowall, and a host of others.
I´ve mentioned in the past that I am immune to most cartoons. "Snow White," "Pinocchio," "Fantasia," "Toy Story 2," that´s about it. But I must admit I was struck by the sheer beauty of both "A Bug´s Life" and "Antz," especially the former. "A Bug´s Life" has far more variety in its range of characters and far more color in its settings than "Antz." For instance, "Antz" was largely done in shades of brown, eight million brown ants in brown holes, while "A Bug´s Life" comes in all shades of all colors of insects and plants imaginable. It is truly a feast for the eyes.
Video:
Equally important, the DVD transfer ranks among the very best I have seen so far on DVD. Sometimes it seems a little less rich than at other times, but overall it is gorgeous. Like "Antz," it is amazing to watch the computer-generated graphics bring so much three dimensionality to all of the characters and objects on screen. And those grasshoppers are some mean dudes! They are the only insects in the film that look truly like insects, and that means they look like they´ve just stepped out of a space-alien horror movie. Scary, but comic, too. Remember, this is Disney. No signs anywhere of digital artifacts, line shimmer, dancing pixels, or what have you. Just pure picture.
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