What It's About:

An ant colony run by Princess Atta (Louis-Dreyfus) and her mother the Queen (Diller) is in thrall to a ruthless gang of freeloading grasshoppers, led by the menacing Hopper (Spacey). The ants must provide the grasshoppers with food—or else. When enterprising Flik (Foley) accidentally destroys the “offering,” the colony is thrown into chaos. To help the ants recover, Flik sets off in search of help. But the presumed “warrior bugs” he brings home are actually circus performers, including a male ladybug (Leary), black-widow spider (Hunt), stick bug (Pierce), and butterfly (Kahn). If the colony is to survive, Flik must rely on his wits and leadership to free the ants from grasshopper domination forever.

Why I Love It:

Totally kid-friendly and very sweet, “A Bug’s Life” is an utterly inventive mash-up of Aesop’s fable “The Grasshopper and the Ant” and Kurosawa’s legendary film “Seven Samurai.” The animation is vibrant and imaginative, the cast a who’s who of comedic talent, and all the action is set to a charming, Oscar-nominated score by- who else?- Randy Newman. This was the first time anyone thought to run “outtakes” over the closing credits, and they’re hysterical. Film bugs of all ages will love this delightful animated feature.