9. A Bug’s Life (Written by Ann Hale)

Release Date: November 25, 1998

Voice Talents: Kevin Spacey, Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Phyllis Diller, Hayden Panettiere, David Hyde-Pierce, Dennis Leary, Richard Kind, Madeline Kahn, Bonnie Hunt, John Ratzenberger, Brad Garrett, Roddy McDowell, Edie McClurg

Director: John Lassiter, Andrew Stanton

First Time I Saw It: After falling in love with Toy Story, my best friend and I had to see the next big Pixar film. We were 14 at the time, old enough to see movies on our own in the theater so we loaded up on an obscene amount of candy and ended up in a theater all to ourselves. This was probably a good thing as we laughed so hard, we probably would’ve made everyone else mad.

After we saw, and loved, the movie, my friend and I ended up eating a ridiculous amount of McDonalds Happy Meals in order to collect all of the A Bug’s Life toys, some of which I still have.

Its Impact on the Pixar Brand: A Bug’s Life was the second major release from Pixar. Obviously, Toy Story was a huge hit, but the brand is no good if the rest of the films flop. The success of A Bug’s Life was important to keep Pixar rolling.

The film cost a whopping $120,000 to make and grossed $357,900,000 worldwide. A Bug’s Life helped pave the way for more Pixar films to be made.

Why I Love It: The film is hilarious. With huge comedic names from the likes of The Kids in the Hall, Seinfeld, Cheers and Frasier, how could it not be? They took the time to create some subtle and incredibly clever moments such as the Mosquitos being drawn to the light, the flies thinking Francis the lady bug was a woman and the flies in the bar ordering a steaming pile of poo as their meal.

The whole movie makes you think twice about hurting bugs and gives you an insight on how industrious they all truly are. After seeing the film, I try to rescue as many bugs as I can, with the exception of spiders. They can all still die.

Best Moment: My absolute favorite moment in the film is when the bug circus is trying to complete the Flaming Death trick and it goes completely wrong, leaving PT Flea (Ratzenberger) completely charred, solidifying his circus as a total joke. I still laugh hysterically whenever that part comes on.

https://youtu.be/UqVe07o8UDo

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