A Bug's Life - Pixar's forgotten child? (1 Viewer)

[Scotty_McW]

I was watching the preview for The Incredibles the other day, and it got me to thinking. Whenever there is a preview for a new Pixar film, they always mention Toy Story, which is understandable. In the previews for Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, they mention Monsters Inc. The Incredibles also mentions Finding Nemo. Now, perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't remember ever seeing a trailer that mentions A Bug's Life as one of Pixar's films.

Any ideas as to why this is? I think A Bug's Life is a great film, in fact it's my favorite of the Pixar films. I can remember going to see it, and the place was packed. Just seems strange that a film that was so popular is forgotten when marketing a new film.

 

[Ray H]

It's a great flick. I can't say it's entirely forgotten. Toy Story 2 and Monsters Inc. have references to it and they used its DVD re-release to promote Finding Nemo last year. I guess it's just the least popular of the flicks.

 

[Holadem]

I agree, this excellent film somehow gets less mention than the others. It may be because there are no real celebrities among the cast. Also, this is somewhat related, while the characters are great, in terms of originality, they pale in comparison to a Doris, or the Buzz Lightyear juggernaut. I see Monster's Inc suffering the same fate eventually.

--
H

 

[Scotty_McW]

Good point.

As for it's popularity, is it because it's a darker film than the others Pixar has put out?

 

[Jeff Gatie]

That's just because the other films you mention are originals and A Bug's Life was a third time around rehashing of a classic film and it's equally classic remake .

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Huh? Am I missing some joke?

 

[Colin Jacobson]

ABL is probably my fave Pixar flick, so I'VE not forgotten it, at least! I think it gets the least attention simply because it was the least successfully financially...

 

[Nick Sievers]

It is not like Nemo is a wholly original tale either.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

It's basically a remake of The Magnificent Seven, which was a remake of Seven Samurai.

 

[Scotty_McW]

Toy Story 2 could have been renamed Finding Woody. But that title might be seen as not family friendly.

I like all the Pixar films, and I think a lot of the success lies in the writing, and voice acting. None of their stories are all that original, but they tell them in an original fashion.

It still seems odd to me that it's not mentioned in any subsequent Pixar previews.

I'm just glad to see other people like it as much as I do!

 

[Quentin]

I think the reason it is less mentioned is because, despite its excellence, none of the characters have ever become popular.

Toy Story has Woody and Buzz. Monsters has Mike and Sully. Nemo has Nemo and Dory. All these characters are hugely popular with kids - spawning toys, games, etc. Flick just didn't catch on with the kids...

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Got it! I'm dense...

 

[DaveF]

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=bugslife.htm
Domestic Grosses
Finding Nemo $339,714,978
Monsters Inc. $255,873,250
Toy Story 2 $245,852,179
Toy Story $191,796,233
A Bug's Life $162,798,565

Finding Nemo is a smashing success. It is also the most recent. Without a doubt it would be used to remind and inform people of the pedigree behind The Incredibles.

To promo Finding Nemo, the same logic would be applied, and Monsters Inc. gets used. It's the predecessor and was then the most successful film.

Toy Story was the first feature-length CG-only animated film and Toy Story 2 was the tremendously successful sequel, so they would likely get mentioned if Pixar's history is to be brought out in a promo.

And that leaves poor neglected Bug's Life. It's the least of the Pixar movies, financially. Presumably it's also the least popular. So it doesn't get mentioned too much in promoting other movies.

And for me, I believe ABL is the least of the Pixar movies. It is good, but not great like Toy Story 1 & 2. I also found it not as creative as it's competitor Antz. Antz was much more "anty" that A Bug's Life. I'd probably prefer Bug's Life to Antz now, but on release, Antz seemed to tap into the bug's perspective much more strongly.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

When I first saw A Bug's Life, I did not like it. I had seen Antz a month or two earlier, and really liked it. While the animation in ABL was a lot better that Antz, I didn't like the film. It played too much to the kids (where Antz was basically an animated Woody Allen film), the ants looked more like they were designed for toys, etc.

I recently revisited the film in the light of having loved the other Pixar films, and realised it really is a lot better than I remembered. It is the least of the Pixar films, but it is a wonderful film and I now enjoy it a lot.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Well, The Three Amigos is a comedy remake of the Seven Samurai / Magnificent Seven - just with fewer stars. But certainly the idea of actors being mistaken for heroes is an idea common to both.

 

[Amy Mormino]

I recall while watching the DVD extras and commentary on this movie that they never seem to mention that it was inspired by The Seven Samurai or The Magnificent Seven, even though it clearly was. I could be remembering wrong, however, though it is not uncommon for Disney-related movies to be coy about revealing their plot sources.

A Bug's Life suffers only in relation to the very high standards set by the other Pixar movies. If a recent, non-Pixar Disney cartoon had made this much money, I imagine they would be thrilled. Personally I like this one better than Monster's Inc.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Hey, let's not forget about Battle Beyond the Stars!

I agree with those who quietly adore A Bug's Life. I'm not interested in "ranking" which Pixar flick I enjoy the most, but I consider ABL a VERY good movie. It might not be as "dynamic" as its more popular Pixar brethren, but there's a lot of good humor and stunningly beautiful animation to keep me happy. And while it's true that ABL doesn't boast a "standout" voice cast or a few breakout characters... I dig all those goofy little bugs!

Ratzenberger as the flea always makes me laugh.

 

[Richard Kim]

I think that's because ABL has more of an ensemble cast unlike the other Pixar films, which feature a few strong main characters.

 

[Ernest Rister]

"I could be remembering wrong, however, though it is not uncommon for Disney-related movies to be coy about revealing their plot sources."

In Walt's lifetime, when he made a film based on an existing work, he made sure the author or artist was cited in the credits. Many times he would start his film with a book opening, the title of thr work and the name of the author clearly visible to all (20,000 Leagues, Winnie-the-Pooh, etc.) In fact, going over the 80 years of Disney films, it WOULD be uncommon for a Disney film to try and hide their creative sources -- the dubious Lion King controversey notiwthstanding.