The planet Earth has been adorned with an entomological world that not only dwells deep below its surface but also buzzes around in the many layers of its atmosphere. These creepy inhabitants of the Earth’s bio sphere have always intrigued the fiction artists who in turn have strung the curious facets of this form of life in a chain of creative media-art works. Two such computer-animated movies namely “Antz” and “A Bug’s Life” released in the late 20th century are excellent examples of such fictional works. Strange it may sound, yet these movies, sponsored by the production houses: DreamWorks/PDI and Pixar/Disney, support astonishingly identical theme, composition and framework. But despite these similarities, some significant differences intrude upon these peas in a pod.
“A Bug’s Life” was released shortly after “Antz”; separated by a period of less than two months, which is more than a mere coincidence. “Antz” was released on October, 2nd 1998 while “A Bug’s Life” was released on November, 25th, 1998. “Antz” is directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson (Beck, 22) whilst “A Bug’s Life” is directed by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton (Berardinelli, 53). Both movies feature the life of an individual ant who feels himself misfit in the hive until he falls in love with the princess of the colony. He revolts against the consistent oppression and brutality that prevailed in that colony and saves the lives of his fellow-ants from malevolent raiders.
In “Antz”, the colony is bisected into workers and soldiers. The movie converges on the tale of an anxious and confused worker ant named ‘Z-4195’ who is feeling abandoned and forlorn among the millions of ants in the hive. He accidently meets the gorgeous “Princess Bella”. Desperate to have another glimpse of her, he switches his place with his soldier friend “Weaver”. Unluckily, the troops are sent to the battle field by the passionate “General Mandible”. “Z” reappears as the sole survivor of the campaign (as he passes out during war). “General Mandible” wants to divide the colony into superiors (soldiers) and inferiors (workers). He plans to exterminate the workers by flooding the hive but “Z” saves the day (DreamWorks Animation)
Similarly, in “A Bug’s Life”, the character of an innovative and intelligent ant “Flik” is highlighted. The colony of “Flik” is intruded upon by some rogue grasshoppers every season. They take away all the food the ants have collected for themselves as the “offering”. At the end of a season, when that offering is almost ready, “Flik” accidently drops the whole pile of grains into the tiny water channel. Grasshoppers order the ants to stock twice the offering “till the last leave falls” or else they’ll be slaughtered. Desperate to save his hive from the tyranny of the villain grasshoppers, “Flik” embarks upon a journey to hunt for some warrior bugs that may support his cause. As the result of a misunderstanding, he recruits a gang of down-to-their-luck circus bugs. But when the facts are unveiled, not much time is left. Eventually, ants defeat the grasshoppers by dint of their unity (Combs, 102-106).
Furthermore, in both movies, technique of clever comedy is employed to amuse the viewers. The humorous dialogues of the “Antz” make one laugh one’s head off. For instance;
“Z: Wow, every worker in the colony is here. Hey, wait a minute. That guy owes me money.”
“Ladybug: This tastes just like crap.
Beetle: Really? Let me try some. Hey, it is crap. Not bad.”
“Bella: I've been kidnapped by the village idiot.
Z: Who's the bigger idiot? The idiot, or the idiot who gets kidnapped by the idiot?” (Antz)
The jocularity in the dialogues of “A Bug’s Life” is also quite palpable e.g.;
“Cockroach waitress: Here you go, slick. Enjoy.
Slug: [takes one bite and his mouth starts to bubble] Ow, Oww! Hey, I said no salt!”
“Slim: Ladies and gentlebugs! Larvae of all stages! Rub your legs together for the world's greatest bug circus!”
“Flik: I was just trying to help.
Mr. Soil: Then help us; *don't* help us.” (A Bug’s Life)
Mr. Soil: Then help us; *don't* help us.” (A Bug’s Life)
Despite the too many similarities, contrasts are also evident. The main distinction is the voice cast. “A Bug’s Life features the voices of Phyllis Diller, Julia Louls, Dreyfus, Dave Foley and Kevin Spacey … If you compare the voice casts, Bug’s Life falls fairly short considering that Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone, Christopher Walken and Gene Hackman were the main cast (of Antz). It’s almost a duel of TV stars voices dueling movie star voices.” (Dlugos 8). In “Antz”, Woody Allen has exhibited commendable performance in the voice acting of anxious and stutterer “Z”. On the other hand, Dave Foley has left no stone unturned in the background voice of curious and intrigued “Flik”.
Another major point of discreetness between these two movies is the quality of the animation and the graphics. In “Ants”, the graphics designing is not exceptional. The colony appears dismal and dark. It seems that darkness is concealing the imperfection of the animation. However, this murkiness underscores a vital perspective of the theme that hive is assaulted by
the traitors. On the contrary, the colony in “A Bug’s Life” is vibrant and glistening. The graphic designing is striking. At times, the genuineness of the scenes is stretched to such an extent that you let it slip from your memory that it is just an animation.
As far as the character designing is concerned, the color of ants in “Antz” is displayed as reddish-brown, which corresponds to the natural color. It familiarizes the viewer with the scenario. In contrast, the color of ants in “A Bug’s Life” is exhibited as blue, which seems supernatural and weird. However in “Antz”, some characters are so identical in appearance that the audience demands the presence of distinguishing features between them. Such ambiguity actually makes one’s head spin. However in “A Bug’s Life, regardless of the bizarre colors of the ants, characters’ appearances are so explicit that a brief look is enough to recognize them.
Thus, these media-arts creations, released in the same year, support an exclusive story of a tiny forsaken ant that has the blessed capability to love. This miserable being, teeming with a potion of brotherhood and compassion for its fellow beings, fights desperately for the protection of its home and its residents. These adventurous fictional tales have many similarities regarding the format yet the differences in many aspects cannot be neglected.
Works Cited
A Bug's Life. Dir. John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton. Perf. Dave Foley and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Pixar/Disney Land, 1998. Film.
Antz. Dir. Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson. Perf. Woody Allen and Sharon Stone. DreamWorks/Pacific Data Images, 1998. Film.
Beck, Jerry. The Animated Movie Guide. First ed. Chicago USA: Cappella, 2005. Print.
Berardinelli, James. Reel Views 2: The Ultimate Guide to the Best 1,000 Modern Movies. First ed. Boston: Justin, Charles &, 2005. Print.
Combs, Steven C. The Dao of Rhetoric. New York: State Univ New York, 2005. Print.
Dlugos, J. Michael. Mr. Mikey’s Video Views. Vol. One. Trafford, 2000. Print.
DreamWorks Animation. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/>.
