A Bug's Life vs Antz [Spoilers]

Which is best, Pixar's A Bug's Life or Dreamworks' Antz? They are both quite similar, about an ant that doesn't really fit in and wants to change things in the colony and in the meantime falls for the princess.

First of all, from what I've read it was Katzenberg who stole Lasseter's idea about an ant movie. That alone makes me want to give the point to A Bug's Life, but I'm trying to look past that and just focus on the movies themselves.





Let's start with the story. Antz is about an ant called Z, who doesn't feel like he fits in and he wants more out of life than just being a worker ant. One day at the bar he starts dancing with a girl and finds out that she's the princess. To be able to see her again he switches places with a friend who is a soldier ant and soon finds himself going to war. Some way he's the only survivor and returns to the colony a hero, but when they learn that he's a worker ant Z finds himself in trouble again and (a bit accidentally) holds the princess hostage to get out of the situation. Well out of the ant hill Z decides to search for a paradise like place called Insectopia, and princess Bala has to go along. At the same time back at the colony, a power hungry general is setting his evil plans in motion and it's up to Z to save the colony.

A Bug's life is about an ant called Flip, he likes to invent things that is supposed to help the colony but he always seem to screw up. The colony works to gather food for the grass hoppers, but when Flip accidentally makes all the food disappear, the ants are threatened to gather the double in a shorter period of time. While deciding how to punish Flip, he comes up with an idea to go find some bugs that can help fight the grass hoppers. After a misunderstanding Flip recruits some circus bugs and bring them home to the island. The ants are impressed but when the circus bugs and Flip realizes their mistake they have to figure out a way to keep their secret and scare away the grass hoppers once and for all.

The story in A Bug's Life is simpler and more straight forward. Antz is aimed for an older audience, having more adult humor and even some gruesome scenes (a beheaded ant anyone?) I like the Antz story better, there are more things going on and the villain is more villainous. I get more of a sense of danger in Antz. The main villain in A Bug's Life even says that they aren't that big of a threat. Point goes to Antz.

Let's take a look at the characters. The main characters are pretty different even though they might look the same on paper. Z is the neurotic and want more than his predestined place in life. Flip is more the "spacey", excited but a bit careless inventor, who mostly wants to get some respect and help his colony. The princesses are also very different. Bala is ironically more of a Disney princess, she's not really satisfied with her life, she finds it boring and is looking for some adventure. Atta is nervous and trying to get ready to take over as queen but is scared that she isn't quite ready for it. The last same character is the queen. The queen in Antz is very royal, she knows her place and duty and cares a lot about the colony and her daughter. The queen in A Bug's Life (how come neither of them have a name?) is more of a relaxed, fun character. She isn't too worried about much but takes care of her colony.

Obviously there are a lot more characters to go, but we'll be here all day if I were to describe them all. The circus bugs, Zs friends, the villains. Most of them are good in their own way. But which ones do I like more? I have to go with Antz. First the main character, I find Flip a bit annoying. He's just a bit much and I almost want to yell at him to stop fiddling around. Z is fun, he's sarcastic and pessimistic and he knows what he wants. I like Bala more because of her confidence and calm, which creates some contrast to Z. Both Atta and Flip are very jumpy and high-energy characters, and that gets kind of annoying. And then you add a kid character and circus bugs and it seems none of the characters can stand still for more than two seconds. I do like the queen in A Bug's Life a bit more because of her energy and how fun she is, but she's not enough to save the rest. Point goes to Antz.

What is a story without its villains? Not as fun I'm guessing. Both of these have some good villains. Let's start with ABL. Hopper is the leader of the grass hoppers. His goal is to scare the ants into submission so they don't realize that they could stand up against him. He's a very serious and intimidating type but does enjoy some comedy. He's the biggest grass hopper and he's brown which makes him stand out and is easily recognizable among the green grass hoppers.

Antz has General Mandible, the highest general ant who starts of as a bit more than a jerk, but grows more and more dangerous. He wants to create a stronger colony by killing the weaker ants. He is very calm and collected and only gets aggressive or blows up towards the end of the movie, when things go wrong for him.

This is a tricky one because I do like them both, they are both good villains. But I do have problems with one of them and it's Hopper. I like him a bit too much, I like him more than the rest of the characters which makes A Bug's Life harder to sit through because the antagonist has to loose. You might think that'd be more of a problem with the rest of the characters than with Hopper, but I should still want the villain to loose even if I don't like the protagonists. And it sort of fails at that. Mandible on the other hand is intimidating, interesting to watch but you still want him to loose in the end. So the point goes to Antz again.

The last thing I want to comment on is the colony. We learn much more about it in Antz, we find out how it works, that they have soldier ants and worker ants and how they're chosen, that they have a bar/dance club and we even get to see how some of them sleep. In A Bug's Life we don't learn a whole lot about the colony. We know they're routine based and they get anxious when things don't go according to plan. We know they have some sort of council for handing out punishment and we know they never leave the island. Other than that I feel like I know nothing about that colony. And the few ants that we get to hear from are mean and condescending. That leads to me not caring at all whether they make it or not, and that's kind of a big deal since the whole plot resolves around rescuing them. In Antz we see more of their day to day lives and I end up caring more for them. Antz win another one.

"Yowch"

So for me, Antz is the better movie. I'm not surprised that I ended up here because I've thought that for quite a while, but it's been so long since I saw A Bug's Life so I was hoping that I would think it was a better watch now. Some things surprised me though, it had some fun jokes, some very nice colors and I do like the circus bugs more now than when I was younger (though I still have some issues with Heimlich). But it just isn't as good as Antz. I'm sorry Lasseter.

Do you think I'm out of my mind or do you agree with me? Let me know below!

New Trailer for Inside Out

Just saw the new trailer for Pixar's Inside Out. It was fun. But I'm also a little disappointed. I had wanted to see more of the heart of the movie, not just the comedy. I don't doubt there will be heart in the movie, but I fear it will be pushed aside and the comedy will take over, like another movie directed by Pete Docter. Do all animated movies these days have to be advertised as comedies? Will people not go see them otherwise? And yes, I am aware that it's supposed to be comedy.

We don't really get to see a lot from the characters, other than Riley being a typical older child/going on teenager, the mother being the understanding caring one disappointed in the husband, and the neglectful husband who doesn't really pay attention. How many times have we seen that before? I hope there will be more in the movie that makes them unique.

The emotions are kind of fun. They are bringing a lot of energy, but I'm wondering if the whole movie will be like this. I'm going to guess no, but that leaves us with nothing as for how the movie will go, what the story is. We don't even get to know who the main character is, which you would think they would reveal in the second trailer.

The designs are good and the emotions are fun, but other than than I'm hoping that the trailer is not representative of the movie.

Christmas Present Ideas For an Animation Nerd

It's that time of year again. Brace yourselves, Christmas is coming. And with that all the Christmas presents. You might really enjoy giving presents to other people, or you might hate all the stress and wish you could just give hugs. Whatever your feelings on the matter is, I'm here to give you a little help with ideas. This blog post will be a gift guide for all of you that have someone in your life that's into animation. (Disclaimer: if your present receiver is a huge nerd, they may already have all the things listed below. You might want to consider a scarf.)

The Art of The Incredibles by Mark Cotta Vaz

First off, this is a beautiful book. The cover is gorgeous and the art inside it is very interesting to look at. It has forewords by John Lasseter and Brad Bird, and about every other page has some insight to the creation of the characters and the world. This is a must for anyone who is interested in the design or is a fan of The Incredibles.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Steve Jobs knew he was going to die and asked Walter Isaacson to write a biography about him. A very Jobs-y thing to do, and you'd think that's a setup for a glorifying biography about the genius Steve Jobs. But it really isn't. Isaacson was allowed to write about both the good and the bad sides of Jobs character and life, which makes it a very well-rounded portrayal. I'd suggest this book to anyone, it's so interesting and really sucks you into the story. If you know someone who's interested in technology or Apple this will be the perfect book to give them, but I think most people can enjoy this one. It's a pretty long book at over 600 pages, but well worth your time.

The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company by David A. Price

This is one for all Pixar fans. Do you want to know how Pixar got started? This is the book for you. It starts back when Ed Catmull was studying at the university and moves through time to the production of Ratatouille, though an updated epilogue goes further. This book is really good, it's so fascinating reading about everything that contributed to Pixar being just Pixar. It's relatively short at 258 pages excluding epilogue, which is noticeable in some parts where they look over a few things a little fast. But it's good for those that aren't fans of very long books. I think it's a good marriage between too long and too short, but I would recommend the Steve Jobs book for further reading on Jobs part of it. All in all, a very good book.

Pictures from here, here and here.

Fearing The Four:Toy Story 4

When I woke up and read through Twitter I couldn't believe how many tweets had been written during the night. I didn't have to feel confused for long, as I read through the tweets. Pixar had released the news that they are making Toy Story 4, and everyone on Twitter was highly opinionated. I have landed a bit after the (though mild) chock, so I can now tell you how I feel about this news.

First of all, I do not think that Pixar is "dying". I do not think that they are running out of ideas. I do not think that they are just after money. I do not think Pixar is losing it's touch. With that out of the way, I really don't like the idea of them making a fourth movie. Pixar's track record with sequels is pretty good so far, the sequels have, in my opinion, always been as good or possibly better than the original. (I don't like Cars or Cars 2, but in my opinion they are equally not-so-good.) So my reasoning for not being excited about the new movie is not that I'm scared that they will do a bad job. And I'm not that against sequels, well okay a little, but I have faith in that Pixar has a story before they decide to make a sequel, not just because the original is popular and making a lot of money.

The problem I have with them making a fourth movie, is that the third one was so good at closing the series. They say goodbye to Andy, he moves out and they are left in the care of Bonnie. Unless they're going to make three more movies where we see Bonnie grow up, it's going to stick out like a sore thumb. I also wonder what more they can do with the characters. Woody and Buzz have already fought and had their differences and have come to like and respect each other. And Jessie already had her movie. This series, to me, is a finished chapter, and it feels very unnecessary that they are opening it up again.

With that said, I'm very curious about this movie. How can they progress the story and characters after such a good ending? But as for me, I would rather they'd just leave this series as it is, one of the best movie series.

Image: Disney